David Hurn: A Life in Pictures

Details and discussion for any up-coming outings, exhibitions, or general photographic events.
Mike Farley
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Joined: Tue 11 Sep 2012, 16:38
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Re: David Hurn: A Life in Pictures

Postby Mike Farley » Wed 03 Jan 2018, 07:58

Iggy wrote:A man after my own heart!
But what to do? I belong to a camera club!

One of the great things about photography is that there is more than one approach and all are valid. Unfortunately, it is also true that the images which often tend do well in competition are those which have have been heavily processed to achieve a "perfection" which probably did not exist in the scene. For examples, just look at the successful submissions to a PAGB assessment where photographs are scrutinised for just a few seconds each. They have to achieve instantaneous impact, but I quickly become bored when looking at more than one or two of those.

Our approach is being skewed by the selections judges make, combined with a natural desire to succeed in competitions. it is too easy to be influenced by what the judge wants, rather than satisfy our own creative pursuit. I doubt whether Hurn's work would do well in front of many camera club judges. Many of them are just not equipped to recognise the skill which he brings to his work.

Personally, I rarely go anywhere near Photoshop and side with Hurn in my preference for a natural looking image. That said, a straight shot rarely works without techniques such as dodging and burning. It allows the photographer to emphasise those aspects of the photograph which they consider important, as Hurn acknowledges. I find that there are usually sufficient adjustments available within Lightroom to achieve what I want.

Remember, also, that Hurn's output is mainly in monochrome. Some of his more commercial work for film studios was in colour, but black and white is his true metier. That brings its own challenges, but the absence of colour also simplifies post capture processing.
Regards

Mike Farley
(Visit my website and blog - www.mikefarley.net)
Iggy
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Joined: Thu 09 Apr 2015, 09:48

Re: David Hurn: A Life in Pictures

Postby Iggy » Thu 04 Jan 2018, 14:33

Hi Mike,
In my previous life during Adventures in Fish Photography which was just a hobby as had a full time job in research, for many crazy years, I was writing 40 to 50 feature articles a year (~1 a week) for several UK & US magazines that were embellished with images that I had taken. In 1993 I was using a Pentax Z20 film camera with a wonderful 50mm Pentax macro lens and more that was loaned to me by the CEO of Asahi Pentax Japan. However in 2004, I switched to a digital Fuji S7000 that had superb macro facilities that I purchased. With 30 to 50 images in publication each month, all as a hobby, although I did have PhotoShop, I never had time to use it. Hence all images had to be print ready when I pressed the shutter button! (I did say some of this in my member's presentation last year).

Life at Croydon Camera Club is very different and after some 2 years I am still learning about preparing acceptable images for competition. I am also still learning the basics of PhotoShop via YouTube videos, but even now, finding the time to fine tune images to a higher standard is the problem.
I did buy the stand alone, one time payment LightRoom 6 but have yet to load it on to my PC. Perhaps I need a mentor!
A few successes along the way helps to keep the morale up.
I live in hope.
Iggy
Mike Farley
Posts: 7316
Joined: Tue 11 Sep 2012, 16:38
Contact:

Re: David Hurn: A Life in Pictures

Postby Mike Farley » Sat 06 Jan 2018, 23:43

I have now received my copy of "On Being a Photographer". It takes the form of a transcribed "conversation" between David Hurn and Bill Jay, albeit they were longstanding friends and the conversation lasted for over 30 years as they expounded their thoughts about photography. For anyone who wants to find out more about Hurn's approach, it is a worthwhile read. For anyone who has not heard of Bill Jay, who sadly is no longer with us, his views are worth knowing as well.
Regards

Mike Farley
(Visit my website and blog - www.mikefarley.net)

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