Virtual Meeting, Twenty Twenty Vision - Tuesday 1st December 2020.
On Tuesday 1st December Morpeth Camera Club got together for a virtual meeting to welcome Stan Farrow FRPS
EFIAP DPAGB with his talk entitled ‘Twenty Twenty Vision’. Stan, from the St. Andrews area in Scotland, is a highly
regarded creative digital photographer who has had several hundred images accepted into exhibitions and has won
many awards for his work.
He began by giving the audience his background; his original degrees were in Biological Sciences and Postgraduate
Diploma in Educational Technology included Print Design. He returned to university to study History of Art before
returning to his first love, photography. He went on to stste that his presentation would include images he prepared
for a photographic exhibition in 2019, entitled ‘PhotoArt’, before going on to show some of his more recent work
produced during the Coronavirus lockdown.
He opened with the quotation by Dorothea Lange; ‘The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see
without a camera,’ and continued with an array of his vibrantly colour images of selected areas of graffiti, close ups
of bubbled and peeling paintwork on boats, which captured the imagination into seeing images resembling seascapes
and landscapes. We saw boldly coloured images taken in Antelope Canyon which had been overlaid with texture which
contrasted with his Intentional Camera Movement shots of Hebridean shorelines in muted pastels. On to snowscapes,
which Stan described as ‘proper photography’, we enjoyed seeing detailed hedgerows in the snow and mist, with
receding fence posts against pure white snow; a minimalist treat in monochrome.
In his Composite Creations, Stan explained how he produces his textured backgrounds, by photographing ancient
maps, copper plate manuscripts, legal documents, old letters, flaking paint on rusting boats, lace handkerchiefs,
even patterns taken from a whitewashed shop window. He will stick together muslin, linen, scrunched tissue paper
and then add interest with texture paste and paint. He then introduces props such as bird skulls, feathers, keepsakes,
keys and shells to produce ethereal story telling creations.
In lockdown he occupied himself, with the use of a light pad, by photographing skeletal leaves and feathers which he
sprinkled with salt crystals to add more texture. He produced minimalist patterns formed from curls of stapled card,
resulting in simple abstract designs in line and shadow. He used this time to create multi layered composite images
with his backgrounds, images of birds and skeletal trees, props including, bark, twigs, old glass bottles, even an oven
shelf was used to evoke ‘being caged in’. A trip to Harris with horizontal rain didn’t deter Stan; he still made use of his
props, captured views from his cottage of the sea using Intentional Camera Movement, producing surreal landscapes
in blue and grey. He concluded the evening with his collection entitled ‘White on White’ where, white paper, spray
painted white stones, cloth, twigs and white bowls were arranged to create striking, Zen-like graphic images.
He ended his presentation with an Ansel Adams quote: ‘When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs.
When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence’. Stan’s interest in art, art history, his experience of
print design and his conviction that photography emulates art has been a massive influence on his impressive portfolio
of work.
A short Q & A session followed after which Club Chairman, John Barnes thanked Stan for sharing his inspiring images.
Steph.
EFIAP DPAGB with his talk entitled ‘Twenty Twenty Vision’. Stan, from the St. Andrews area in Scotland, is a highly
regarded creative digital photographer who has had several hundred images accepted into exhibitions and has won
many awards for his work.
He began by giving the audience his background; his original degrees were in Biological Sciences and Postgraduate
Diploma in Educational Technology included Print Design. He returned to university to study History of Art before
returning to his first love, photography. He went on to stste that his presentation would include images he prepared
for a photographic exhibition in 2019, entitled ‘PhotoArt’, before going on to show some of his more recent work
produced during the Coronavirus lockdown.
He opened with the quotation by Dorothea Lange; ‘The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see
without a camera,’ and continued with an array of his vibrantly colour images of selected areas of graffiti, close ups
of bubbled and peeling paintwork on boats, which captured the imagination into seeing images resembling seascapes
and landscapes. We saw boldly coloured images taken in Antelope Canyon which had been overlaid with texture which
contrasted with his Intentional Camera Movement shots of Hebridean shorelines in muted pastels. On to snowscapes,
which Stan described as ‘proper photography’, we enjoyed seeing detailed hedgerows in the snow and mist, with
receding fence posts against pure white snow; a minimalist treat in monochrome.
In his Composite Creations, Stan explained how he produces his textured backgrounds, by photographing ancient
maps, copper plate manuscripts, legal documents, old letters, flaking paint on rusting boats, lace handkerchiefs,
even patterns taken from a whitewashed shop window. He will stick together muslin, linen, scrunched tissue paper
and then add interest with texture paste and paint. He then introduces props such as bird skulls, feathers, keepsakes,
keys and shells to produce ethereal story telling creations.
In lockdown he occupied himself, with the use of a light pad, by photographing skeletal leaves and feathers which he
sprinkled with salt crystals to add more texture. He produced minimalist patterns formed from curls of stapled card,
resulting in simple abstract designs in line and shadow. He used this time to create multi layered composite images
with his backgrounds, images of birds and skeletal trees, props including, bark, twigs, old glass bottles, even an oven
shelf was used to evoke ‘being caged in’. A trip to Harris with horizontal rain didn’t deter Stan; he still made use of his
props, captured views from his cottage of the sea using Intentional Camera Movement, producing surreal landscapes
in blue and grey. He concluded the evening with his collection entitled ‘White on White’ where, white paper, spray
painted white stones, cloth, twigs and white bowls were arranged to create striking, Zen-like graphic images.
He ended his presentation with an Ansel Adams quote: ‘When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs.
When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence’. Stan’s interest in art, art history, his experience of
print design and his conviction that photography emulates art has been a massive influence on his impressive portfolio
of work.
A short Q & A session followed after which Club Chairman, John Barnes thanked Stan for sharing his inspiring images.
Steph.