Last Friday Bangor & North Down Camera Club welcomed Jane Lazenby BA [hons] Fine Art QTEF ASEA LRPS DPAGB BPE4 EFIAP AMPA. who gave a presentation of her fine art photography.
Jane commenced speaking with the musical cadences of her Barnsley accent, and with clarity and humour outlined her influences such as the work of the great masters of the past . To recreate the style, look, lighting and emotion of Rembrandt and others is where she draws her passion for image making.
Jane's background is in fine painting, she also teaches as well as running a successful photography business concentrating on equine, people, wedding and commercial photography. She gives talks to camera clubs, and runs Photoshop workshops and tutorials. She has also been invited to to give a talk on Photoshop at The Photography Show 2021.
To achieve the look she wants Jane principally employs textures which are overlaid on an image imported from a camera . Usually she applies three such layers which sit stacked one above the other . If you think of this as like a pack of cards you will get some idea of this.
In Photoshop these layers are adjusted in many ways but principally attaching a layer mask to an overlaid layer it is possible to cut through a layer to reveal part of the image below, considered essential to the photographer. In addition additional processing and adjustments to colour, lightness, darkening, contrast, saturation and much more can be made.
Jane explained how she has built up a library of layers which she makes herself and in this all manner of surfaces can be photographed to make a texture. Old stonework, Brick. Concrete, art paper, materia, things found in the garden or around the home . The list is endless.
Jane also relies on Photoshop brushes to adjust fine detail and has here again built up a library of brushes to be used time and time again. While commercially available textures and brushes are available to a photographer, Jane counselled that some distinction awarding bodies prefer to see photographers make their own.
In the second part of the evening Jane treated those present to a workshop demonstration of how she used the textures and brushes to make a final image and used photographs provided by club members.
This was most instructive and her practical demonstration served to explain the essence of her work.
The before and after images shown here show something of the possibilities of her process which is non destructive in that the original image can be accessed at any time in the editing procedures.
You can access You Tube videos of these processes at https://www.ejlazenbyphotography.co.uk
This award winning photographer displays a unique and envious talent for her art and craft not equaled by many, combining so many prolific activities.
All present were enthralled by this astounding tour de force and wish Jane every future success.
NEXT WEEK - Nature in Macro Photography- A talk by Roger Hance.