This evening saw a presentation by Robert Bolton, of our own parish, on minimalism in photography, entitled "Quiet, abstract and otherworldly landscapes".
He said that in the beginning his photography was characterised by "saturated sunsets and leading lines", but as time went on he started to embrace a more minimal style, quoting Jonathan Critchley in that photographs "need a star, maybe a co-star, but no extras".
Over time he moved from colour photography to mainly black and white, changing this camera settings to display only black and white in the viewfinder and on the screen, and using coloured filters to achieve the effects he wants. He prefers a square format to the more "normal" 4:3 or 2:3 ratio cameras so often provide.
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Waiting for the Catch © Robert Bolton Winner 2025 Sony World Photography Awards Open competition |
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Icelandic Waterfall Detail © Robert Bolton |
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Fishing hut, Japan © Robert Bolton Won 2nd place in the Architecture category of the Monochrome Awards 2024 |
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Lake Biwa, Japan © Robert Bolton |
Robert quoted John Ruskin, referring to the need to bring something of yourself to an image that has "kindly vacancies"... you might say a positive aspect to negative space!
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Lone Tree, Japan © Robert Bolton |
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Luskentyre Beach © Robert Bolton |
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Salt flats, The Air Project, South of France © Robert Bolton |
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Salt flats, The Air Project, South of France © Robert Bolton |
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Salt flats, The Air Project, South of France © Robert Bolton |
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Iceberg off the coast of Greenland © Robert Bolton |
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Þóristindur, Highlands of Iceland © Robert Bolton |
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"Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass" Washington Street, New York © Robert Bolton |
After a break for tea and coffee, we continued with our challenge for the letter "O":
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O is for an Old Ship © Adam Jacques |
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O is for Old Man's Beard © Amanda Gregory |
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O is for Ostrich © Ann Horne |
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O is for Other Birds are Available © Caroline Howe |
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O is for On the Wing © Craig Purvis |
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O is for Ointment (Anti Gas) © Derek Liversidge |
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O is for Oval © Sue Power |
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O is for Opinion © Sue Power |
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O is for Otter © Rose Porfirio |
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O is for Open Door © Rose Porfirio |
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O is for Onion © Rob Macklin |
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O is for Orange Tipped Butterfly (female) © Phil Male |
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Tawney Owl over Bluebells © Phil Male |
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O is for Odd One Out © Pam Bamford |
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O is for Orca © Jeremy Fox |
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O is for Orb Spider © Jeremy Fox |
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O is for Oradour-sur-Glane © Lesley Cadger |
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O is for Ocean © David Sage |
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O is for Ocean © David Sage |
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O is for Obscured by Clouds © Julia Lloyd Parks |
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O is for Obscured by Clouds © Julia Lloyd Parks |
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O is for (Barn) Owl © Lesley Cadger |
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O is for Owl © David Liversidge |
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O is for Oranges and Lemons © David Eagle |
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O is for Oil on Water © David Eagle
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O is for Orton Effect © Tony Bamford |
We then discussed further arrangements for the annual club exhibition. Members are reminded to finalise their image titles by 18th April and to get any requests for mounts, mounting board, tape and plastic cases to Danny as soon as possible.
Finally we discussed selling greetings cards at the club exhibition. Caroline will organise a Google Drive directory in which members can place images they want printed, together with a spreadsheet to say how many times to print each image, etc.
Our next meeting will be on 10th April.