Club Meeting, Abstraction 2022 (Altered Realty) - Tuesday 11th October 2022.
On Tuesday 11th October, our own Vice Chairman Peter Downs, LRPS, entertained us for the evening with
his presentation entitled ‘Abstraction 2022 (Altered Reality)’. On a theme of a timeline Peter began with his
first piece of school artwork which dramatically differed from his peers’ work in that it was totally abstract.
He began to realise that he sees the world differently, imagining everyday objects in a more abstract way
which inspired him to look for things to photograph which others would normally walk past and not notice.
Examples of colour popping, and composite images followed where Peter showed before and after shots,
including some failures, which he said were inevitable. Monochrome abstracts followed, of navigation boards,
curves and stark triangles, modern architecture, street scenes and candid people shots. He went on to say
that he uses cropping for effect and drama, homing in on areas which have a story telling quality, a letterbox
crop to achieve something different, a square crop which provides and edge, and creative borders which add
atmosphere and depth.
Being a photographic competition judge himself, he advised that one should not fear what a judge has to say
about our work; we have great equipment and imagination to express ourselves; it is good to experiment,
so don’t be afraid to fail. His aim is to create ambiguity, to provide a suggestion of what is going on and to
allow the viewer to use their imagination.
He went on to explain blending modes, using images from various locations, adding tints and colour to add
interest, to create ethereal images, showing examples which had a Rothkoesque quality. He said that he can
experiment with a huge amount of manipulation to achieve the effect he wants, so complex that each image
is individual.
He gets inspiration from paving slabs, dredge boards and rusty iron to flowers, reeds and trees, especially
silver birch. He also uses intentional camera movement, posterisation to alter tones, and textures to add
depth. The use of negative space is important to Peter; he is inspired by Japanese Art, with its simplicity
and pastel colours, and the audience enjoyed seeing examples of his minimalism which is Peters trademark.
It is the photographer not the camera which is the instrument, he concluded, adding that he tries to maintain
the curiosity that one has as a child which can so easily be lost in adulthood.
Club Co- chair, Roseanne Robinson thanked Peter for the journey through his photographic life, the fact that
he went in his own direction photographically, and most importantly, that he likes and enjoys his own work.
Steph.
his presentation entitled ‘Abstraction 2022 (Altered Reality)’. On a theme of a timeline Peter began with his
first piece of school artwork which dramatically differed from his peers’ work in that it was totally abstract.
He began to realise that he sees the world differently, imagining everyday objects in a more abstract way
which inspired him to look for things to photograph which others would normally walk past and not notice.
Examples of colour popping, and composite images followed where Peter showed before and after shots,
including some failures, which he said were inevitable. Monochrome abstracts followed, of navigation boards,
curves and stark triangles, modern architecture, street scenes and candid people shots. He went on to say
that he uses cropping for effect and drama, homing in on areas which have a story telling quality, a letterbox
crop to achieve something different, a square crop which provides and edge, and creative borders which add
atmosphere and depth.
Being a photographic competition judge himself, he advised that one should not fear what a judge has to say
about our work; we have great equipment and imagination to express ourselves; it is good to experiment,
so don’t be afraid to fail. His aim is to create ambiguity, to provide a suggestion of what is going on and to
allow the viewer to use their imagination.
He went on to explain blending modes, using images from various locations, adding tints and colour to add
interest, to create ethereal images, showing examples which had a Rothkoesque quality. He said that he can
experiment with a huge amount of manipulation to achieve the effect he wants, so complex that each image
is individual.
He gets inspiration from paving slabs, dredge boards and rusty iron to flowers, reeds and trees, especially
silver birch. He also uses intentional camera movement, posterisation to alter tones, and textures to add
depth. The use of negative space is important to Peter; he is inspired by Japanese Art, with its simplicity
and pastel colours, and the audience enjoyed seeing examples of his minimalism which is Peters trademark.
It is the photographer not the camera which is the instrument, he concluded, adding that he tries to maintain
the curiosity that one has as a child which can so easily be lost in adulthood.
Club Co- chair, Roseanne Robinson thanked Peter for the journey through his photographic life, the fact that
he went in his own direction photographically, and most importantly, that he likes and enjoys his own work.
Steph.