Club Meeting, Seeing & Making Landscape Images - Tuesday 3rd December 2019.
On Tuesday 3rd December 2019, Morpeth Camera Club welcomed guest speaker Jeff Teasdale with a talk entitled Seeing
and Making Landscape Images. A landscape photographer from Chester le Street, mainly a print photographer, he began
by saying that ‘seeing’ is different from ‘looking’, and that he preferred to describe photography as ‘making’ rather than
‘taking’ or ‘capturing’. He explained his introduction into photography, from being a 7 year old, and having moved to the
country, his appreciation for the landscape was ignited. At 15 years old he started work photographing oriental art to
illustrate books and during this period he developed a love of the minimal and use of space which he said, has stayed
with him throughout his photographic life. After early retirement and realising he needed to keep busy he proceeded to
make and sell his photography as a second career.
Illustrating the difference between seeing and looking, we saw alternate landscape and seascape views which, when
taken from unusual angles, he said were more of a reflection on what he was thinking. Most people think of landscapes
as bright and brash but he prefers a more subtle and thoughtful approach which evokes emotion. A book he found on
the formula and rules of better photography had blank pages, which in his view was correct. His own elements of visual
design are about scale, space and balance; he works to a predetermined formula, prefers the square format and goes
out on location with a square template ‘view catcher’ through which to view certain aspects of a scene. The lower third
of a scene is important; he said that a landscape has to have a base on which to sit, such as rocks or dunes.
He organises both pre and post production, although this is normally associated with film making, he said ‘one has to
have a plan’. Pre-production is where you get your inspiration, studying other photographers and visiting galleries is
good but there is a fine line between inspiration and imitation. Musicians, artists and writers have all been inspired by
landscapes, and, after all, photography is not far away from painting, he said. His pre production also includes finding
new locations and watching out for weather conditions on the internet.
We saw lovely images taken at Hodge Close Quarry in Cumbria, where he had explored the potential of the many colours,
shapes and textures of wet slate, re-growth of trees, moss and fungi. Following on with post production, Jeff explained
that he didn’t want to make just an image of somewhere, it had to be expressive. He went on to explain his methods in
Light room and Photoshop, demonstrating subtle changes with great effect. Including a small border therefore revealing
the paper, he says, increases the tonality of the scene. Tips and methods of mounting, using his preferred square format,
concluded the first section of his presentation.
Portfolio – a Personal Approach followed where Jeff showed scanned images from his film years of Lindisfarne, Breamish
Valley, Bamburgh, Holy Island and Malham Cove, minimalist views which demonstrated the Japanese influence he had
retained from his early employment. Abstract tranquil banks of colour, where the sea meets the land and sky and beach
scenes where a muted sun peeps through morning mist, soft colours of forests & waterfalls, light glowing into the edge
of woodland, big skies and reflections were all included in Jeff’s selection of images.In contrast, ‘The Hand of Man’, urban
shots of graffiti, ironwork seating, textured peeling plasterwork, wrinkly tarpaulins, stone bridges, they all illustrated an
alternative view of landscape photography.
Concluding his presentation he explained his alternative vision; he went back to film photography using pre war lenses,
which make for a soft image, and pinhole photography which produces images which are unique and different. He then
showed the audience examples of his work using a mirror lens, explaining that it is hard to focus on a subject and only
has a narrow angle of view, his depiction of flowers and plants using this method, had an eerie, dreamlike quality. We
also enjoyed a series of Jeff’s infra red images. With this genre of photography anything green in the scene becomes
white and anything blue becomes black; his scenes of sunlit woodland, foliage and grasses possessed a dramatic and
surreal quality. This was a very interesting evening, presented by an insightful, innovative photographer whose desire
is to continually create something new. A short question and answer session followed and club member Dave Atkinson
thanked Jeff for his excellent presentation, after which coffee was served.
Steph.
and Making Landscape Images. A landscape photographer from Chester le Street, mainly a print photographer, he began
by saying that ‘seeing’ is different from ‘looking’, and that he preferred to describe photography as ‘making’ rather than
‘taking’ or ‘capturing’. He explained his introduction into photography, from being a 7 year old, and having moved to the
country, his appreciation for the landscape was ignited. At 15 years old he started work photographing oriental art to
illustrate books and during this period he developed a love of the minimal and use of space which he said, has stayed
with him throughout his photographic life. After early retirement and realising he needed to keep busy he proceeded to
make and sell his photography as a second career.
Illustrating the difference between seeing and looking, we saw alternate landscape and seascape views which, when
taken from unusual angles, he said were more of a reflection on what he was thinking. Most people think of landscapes
as bright and brash but he prefers a more subtle and thoughtful approach which evokes emotion. A book he found on
the formula and rules of better photography had blank pages, which in his view was correct. His own elements of visual
design are about scale, space and balance; he works to a predetermined formula, prefers the square format and goes
out on location with a square template ‘view catcher’ through which to view certain aspects of a scene. The lower third
of a scene is important; he said that a landscape has to have a base on which to sit, such as rocks or dunes.
He organises both pre and post production, although this is normally associated with film making, he said ‘one has to
have a plan’. Pre-production is where you get your inspiration, studying other photographers and visiting galleries is
good but there is a fine line between inspiration and imitation. Musicians, artists and writers have all been inspired by
landscapes, and, after all, photography is not far away from painting, he said. His pre production also includes finding
new locations and watching out for weather conditions on the internet.
We saw lovely images taken at Hodge Close Quarry in Cumbria, where he had explored the potential of the many colours,
shapes and textures of wet slate, re-growth of trees, moss and fungi. Following on with post production, Jeff explained
that he didn’t want to make just an image of somewhere, it had to be expressive. He went on to explain his methods in
Light room and Photoshop, demonstrating subtle changes with great effect. Including a small border therefore revealing
the paper, he says, increases the tonality of the scene. Tips and methods of mounting, using his preferred square format,
concluded the first section of his presentation.
Portfolio – a Personal Approach followed where Jeff showed scanned images from his film years of Lindisfarne, Breamish
Valley, Bamburgh, Holy Island and Malham Cove, minimalist views which demonstrated the Japanese influence he had
retained from his early employment. Abstract tranquil banks of colour, where the sea meets the land and sky and beach
scenes where a muted sun peeps through morning mist, soft colours of forests & waterfalls, light glowing into the edge
of woodland, big skies and reflections were all included in Jeff’s selection of images.In contrast, ‘The Hand of Man’, urban
shots of graffiti, ironwork seating, textured peeling plasterwork, wrinkly tarpaulins, stone bridges, they all illustrated an
alternative view of landscape photography.
Concluding his presentation he explained his alternative vision; he went back to film photography using pre war lenses,
which make for a soft image, and pinhole photography which produces images which are unique and different. He then
showed the audience examples of his work using a mirror lens, explaining that it is hard to focus on a subject and only
has a narrow angle of view, his depiction of flowers and plants using this method, had an eerie, dreamlike quality. We
also enjoyed a series of Jeff’s infra red images. With this genre of photography anything green in the scene becomes
white and anything blue becomes black; his scenes of sunlit woodland, foliage and grasses possessed a dramatic and
surreal quality. This was a very interesting evening, presented by an insightful, innovative photographer whose desire
is to continually create something new. A short question and answer session followed and club member Dave Atkinson
thanked Jeff for his excellent presentation, after which coffee was served.
Steph.