Richard has joined us for two amazing sessions, “Towards Abstraction in the Natural World” and “The Expressive Power of Tones!" He provides an opportunity to discover alternative ways to work creatively. Whether you are interested in landscapes, portraits, architecture and so forth, there are almost endless possibilities for expressing your feelings and vision photographically.

1. Towards Abstraction in the Natural World

A presentation for photographers who are technically experienced, visually aware and who are looking for a different direction in their photography. This session provides an opportunity to discover alternative ways to work creatively. Whether you are interested in landscapes, portraits, architecture and so forth, there are almost endless possibilities for expressing your feelings and vision photographically. The challenge is to communicate these feelings, without letting technique overwhelm vision. The main purpose of abstraction in art is not to tell a story, but to encourage involvement and imagination. Abstract art’s main objective is to provide viewers with an intangible and emotional experience, being completely different for everyone, depending on their personality and mood. Uncovering concepts means peering into our imagination. We must be free and relaxed to learn how to play, to take risks, to trust our instincts and impulses, our dreams, and spontaneous associations. We must learn to welcome and recognize the ambiguous, the accidental and the illogical, to allow reality to become surreal, metaphorical, and imaginary. The session is concerned primarily with an exchange of ideas and aims to challenge the celebrated and introduce new possibilities. It will provide aesthetic exploration of individual creativity. I will examine a body of work characterized by how design, form, and structure take precedence over the subject itself. This emphasis on deliberate structure and design can apply to a wide range of different images – from natural straight photography to manipulated abstractions.

2. The Expressive Power of Tones

I consider myself a black and white photographer working in colour because structure is extremely important to my compositions. A large percentage of my own photographs are composed of monochromatic colour. However, there are times when colour impedes the central theme in a photograph, by competing for attention or dominating certain elements in the picture space. I love the two mediums and feel fortunate to have the ability to work in both over the past 40 years.

Black and white transforms photography back to its fundamental building blocks of light and dark values. With the absence of colour, black and white images have the potential to produce powerful contrasting tones. As a photographer it is particularly important to have an ability to recognize tonal values and contrasts and the role they play in composition— establishing mood and contributing to the structure of the photograph. The intuitive process of visualization can only be learned through consistent study and practice.

Studying tonal relationships will help you refine your intuition and judgment, allowing a greater understanding of monochrome’s creative potential. How you assign tonal values in a photograph depends upon what you are trying to achieve. Ultimately, design should never follow rules; intuitive judgment is the only method that that enables an imaginative approach.

Outcomes:

• Recognize tonal values and the role they play in composition.
• Creating impact with tone.
• Learn to distinguish Value contrast (relative lightness or darkness).
• Learn how value and colour are related.
• Creating mood using the subtlety of tone.
• Side by side comparisons of colour and monochrome interpretations.