Zoom Meeting, ‘Photography, a Personal Perception' - Tuesday 2nd Jan 2024.
At their first meeting in the New Year, Morpeth Camera Club welcomed guest speaker Richard Spiers DPAGB APAGB
BPE2* with his Zoom presentation entitled ‘Photography, a Personal Perception. A very accomplished photographer
from Carlisle, Richard is a member of Dalston Camera Club and he enjoys photographing a wide range of subjects
including nature and landscapes. As well as giving lectures to camera clubs, he judges camera club competitions
and adjudicates in National and International Competitions.
Richard began his two-part presentation by saying that he had always had a fascination with the fact that we all see
things differently. Personal perception involves the nervous system which is shaped by learning and built up memory.
Just as aromas can trigger memories from the past, this applies to vision also. When light hits the retina it generates
an electric signal to the brain and picks up light and colour appreciation. He went on the compare the human eye with
the digital camera, using pinhole photography as an example. Pinhole photography produces an image which is upside
down as does the human retina, but the brain can send signals to combat this.
He went on to explain the eyes’ rods and cones which pick up a range of colours, showing comparisons with that of
horses, other animals and insects whose abilities to see colour vary greatly according to their environment and need
for survival. An interesting subject followed involving Saccades; rapid eye movement which shifts the centre of gaze
from one part of the visual field to another to build a comprehensive picture. He then displayed a selection of pattern
images and shapes proving that the brain can trick the eye into thinking they are something different.
Moving on he went through the colour wheel, describing colours which encourage positive or negative thoughts, the
colour preferences between men and women, when we age, how our personal emotions react to different colours and
how adept advertisers are in choosing colours to influence decisions. The ‘after image’ was demonstrated and proved,
by asking the audience to stare at a colour and then look again at a plain white screen. A faint ‘after image’ of the
complimentary colour on the colour wheel will appear momentarily.
After a short break, Richard went on to describe his sense of place; an area to which one returns to at different times
of the day and year. So keen is he to capture light in his sense of place, the Lake District, that he uses an application
called Photographers Ephemeris which can tell him when the light will fall on the land, day or night. He illustrated this
with lovely images of light beams appearing through the mountains into misty valleys below. Being particularly fond
of old wind blown hawthorn trees he photographs the subject from different angles in order to use the branches as an
attractive lead into the landscape.
With the area being an aircraft corridor, one sees the ubiquitous vapour trails but Richard uses them as an advantage,
especially when they disperse to form patterns in the sky. He uses gnarled, crab apple, ash and rowan trees to create
a relationship between foreground and background in a landscape and by cropping and converting to mono, he creates
the dramatic effect he is striving for.
Sometimes, he said, one can be disappointed at the results of a photo shoot, this is because the eye continually scans
to build up a picture and this is not always replicated in the camera. Because of this, he tries to restore through post
processing, the image that he saw originally. He went on to show us lovely images taken at Tewet Tarn; on a still day
to perfectly reflect the mountains, at first light, at sunrise and in winter snow. He returns on different days under
different weather conditions to capture changes in light and effect.
Another favourite place for Richard to photograph is Gilsland with its own little rainforest. We enjoyed seeing light
rays through lichen-draped trees milky waterfalls and whirlpool patterns. He concluded his talk by providing
information regarding his use of filters, shutter speeds and the use of post processing using layers to add effect
and to create the conditions which were unique to him when it was visited.
Peter Downs thanked Richard for a very interesting presentation which included both science and photography.
Steph.
BPE2* with his Zoom presentation entitled ‘Photography, a Personal Perception. A very accomplished photographer
from Carlisle, Richard is a member of Dalston Camera Club and he enjoys photographing a wide range of subjects
including nature and landscapes. As well as giving lectures to camera clubs, he judges camera club competitions
and adjudicates in National and International Competitions.
Richard began his two-part presentation by saying that he had always had a fascination with the fact that we all see
things differently. Personal perception involves the nervous system which is shaped by learning and built up memory.
Just as aromas can trigger memories from the past, this applies to vision also. When light hits the retina it generates
an electric signal to the brain and picks up light and colour appreciation. He went on the compare the human eye with
the digital camera, using pinhole photography as an example. Pinhole photography produces an image which is upside
down as does the human retina, but the brain can send signals to combat this.
He went on to explain the eyes’ rods and cones which pick up a range of colours, showing comparisons with that of
horses, other animals and insects whose abilities to see colour vary greatly according to their environment and need
for survival. An interesting subject followed involving Saccades; rapid eye movement which shifts the centre of gaze
from one part of the visual field to another to build a comprehensive picture. He then displayed a selection of pattern
images and shapes proving that the brain can trick the eye into thinking they are something different.
Moving on he went through the colour wheel, describing colours which encourage positive or negative thoughts, the
colour preferences between men and women, when we age, how our personal emotions react to different colours and
how adept advertisers are in choosing colours to influence decisions. The ‘after image’ was demonstrated and proved,
by asking the audience to stare at a colour and then look again at a plain white screen. A faint ‘after image’ of the
complimentary colour on the colour wheel will appear momentarily.
After a short break, Richard went on to describe his sense of place; an area to which one returns to at different times
of the day and year. So keen is he to capture light in his sense of place, the Lake District, that he uses an application
called Photographers Ephemeris which can tell him when the light will fall on the land, day or night. He illustrated this
with lovely images of light beams appearing through the mountains into misty valleys below. Being particularly fond
of old wind blown hawthorn trees he photographs the subject from different angles in order to use the branches as an
attractive lead into the landscape.
With the area being an aircraft corridor, one sees the ubiquitous vapour trails but Richard uses them as an advantage,
especially when they disperse to form patterns in the sky. He uses gnarled, crab apple, ash and rowan trees to create
a relationship between foreground and background in a landscape and by cropping and converting to mono, he creates
the dramatic effect he is striving for.
Sometimes, he said, one can be disappointed at the results of a photo shoot, this is because the eye continually scans
to build up a picture and this is not always replicated in the camera. Because of this, he tries to restore through post
processing, the image that he saw originally. He went on to show us lovely images taken at Tewet Tarn; on a still day
to perfectly reflect the mountains, at first light, at sunrise and in winter snow. He returns on different days under
different weather conditions to capture changes in light and effect.
Another favourite place for Richard to photograph is Gilsland with its own little rainforest. We enjoyed seeing light
rays through lichen-draped trees milky waterfalls and whirlpool patterns. He concluded his talk by providing
information regarding his use of filters, shutter speeds and the use of post processing using layers to add effect
and to create the conditions which were unique to him when it was visited.
Peter Downs thanked Richard for a very interesting presentation which included both science and photography.
Steph.