John Rank Gallery
Bognor Regis Camera Club present their 75th anniversary exhibition.
Bill Brooks - Tales From a Riverbank
Tales From a Riverbank is a series of landscape photographs, telling stories from the Arun valley in West Sussex. The photographs trace the path of the river from its source in St Leonard’s Forest, to its destination in Littlehampton, where it meets the English Channel.
The photographs shown in this exhibition are a selection of six, taken from a photobook of the same title. The book supplements the photographs with various stories (both true and more fanciful!), taken from the history of the region.
Copies of the book are on sale for £28, of which a donation of £5 per copy will be given to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).
Carolyn de Ruiter - Light Through the Gloom
When Covid hit the Nation and we were all locked down, I developed a habit of composing rhymes in my head, on my solitary early morning walks, which I took, regardless of weather. I found solace in this; it helped me process the bad news from around the world.
Walking through nature, when the weather’s not bright, you see through the trees, a first glimpse of light.
Brightness emerging, through the mist and rain, out of the gloom, shapes are forming again.
A stillness in the air, you no longer feel cold, a spiritual awareness, a presence to behold.
You feel at peace, in a much better mood, your senses alive, you’re feeling good.
The majesty of the trees, the sights and sounds, the smells of the forest, where nature abounds.
Mental health improving, you’re pleased to be out, capturing images in bad weather, walking about.
Janet Brown - Vindication Swim
Vindication Swim is the second feature film from young director Elliott Hasler. It portrays the struggles of Mercedes Gleitze, the first British woman to swim the English Channel in 1927. I was invited to photograph the making of the film and produce images for publicity.
My role was to show the filming process. This involved developing a rapport with the director and actors and observing Elliott’s strong vision coming to life through his script and camerawork. Dealing with whatever conditions were scripted without artificial lighting or getting in the way called for creativity and good reactions, especially on a moving boat.
The film was shot in various locations in South-East England. The images presented in this exhibition were from film shoots in a vintage bus at Amberley Museum, at Hastings, from a boat off Newhaven and at Cuckmere Haven.
Joan Barham - Kaleidoscopic Images
When I was a child, my Mum and Dad gave me a kaleidoscope to play with. I spent many happy hours fascinated by the changing patterns that could be created by simply rotating its base.
The creation of patterns has stayed with me throughout the years and has been a source of inspiration for a number of hobbies and crafts.
Photography is probably my greatest love. Although I enjoy many aspects of the subject such as landscape, the natural world, architecture and travel, I felt that I wanted to broaden my horizons and try something different from taking straight photographs. So I started to explore new ideas and experiment with the photographs I had taken.
I discovered that it was possible to make kaleidoscopic images from my photographs and, so you could say, I have come full circle and my fascination with kaleidoscopic patterns has once more emerged.
The panel of Floral Kaleidoscopes, which I have submitted for this exhibition, has rekindled for me the fascination and creativity I discovered many years ago.
Kevin Harwood - White Storks
Enjoying and being able to photograph nature and wildlife has always been a passion. The introduction of the storks and successful wild stork breeding in 2020 the first since 1414 has allowed everyone an opportunity to see these birds and their chicks.
Being involved in the re-introduction of White Storks in the UK through volunteering with the White Stork project has provided me with an opportunity to not only see these wonderful birds but also to study their behaviour and activities.
There are a number of dead trees that they like to use as a perch and I have enjoyed trying to capture stork families, breeding pairs or individuals in different light and poses.
Liz Barber - South Downs Patchwork
This series of images I am presenting were taken on a local, early morning walk. The sun was low and the sky blue with a few clouds scattered around, in the distance the South Downs. The foreground, agricultural land, is left to pasture for sheep to graze. Trees are also present, mainly old field boundaries. It is peaceful and there’s a sense of solitude. My intention was to try and capture the patchwork of colours in front of me but also to introduce a sense of the gentle breeze present that morning.
By moving the camera during the exposure I am able to produce a more abstract painterly effect. As the colours present, often blend into unexpected and unpredictable results. A sense of movement is introduced as time is captured in this way, which I why I particularly like this form of photographic expressionism.
Madi Brookman - Views From Sussex
The inspiration for the panel of images I am exhibiting started with the Murmuration at West Pier, Brighton, an effect I stumbled upon by experimenting with layers and backgrounds. I felt inspired by the result so proceeded to take images from around the county of Sussex, both East and West, and created the backgrounds with complimentary colours and effects. These photographs have enabled me to use my creativity using light, colour and composition, as well as increasing my knowledge of digital software.
I am continuing to add to these images by visiting and expanding my photography by taking images of landmarks in other counties around the British Isles.
Mark Brookman - Fine Art Interpretation
With modern cameras being able to take near ‘perfect’ photos I was seeking to produce an image that reflected the beauty of the subject in an artistic, fine art way rather than a clear, well exposed, camera influenced straight image.
After a number of years of trial and experimentation I progressed to achieving an image that reflected the subject as my imagination saw it. This is an ongoing work which changes depending on the subject or influence I acquire from fellow photographers.
The panel I am exhibiting is based on my love of old cars especial Hot Rods, Rat Rods and Vintage cars, which I feel have an aesthetic beauty in the gentle curves and lines of their sensual bodywork, not necessarily found in modern cars.
Martin Tomes - Steyning’s Trees
Steyning is situated on the border of the South Downs National Park.
The three photographs I am exhibiting were made early on autumn and winter mornings with the combination of frost and dawn light creating colours unique to a cold sunrise. It’s at the time of day that the world wakes up, quiet gives way to birdsong and there’s a stillness and calm which I hope comes across as you view these pictures.
Pam Breen - Modern Architecture of Barcelona
Despite thoroughly researching this modern architectural complex before I travelled to Valencia, I was astounded by its scale. In the “City of Arts and Sciences”, all the buildings follow a theme based upon innovation, science, technology and education.
The images included in the exhibition are the Príncipe Felipe Science Museum (completed 2000), which resembles the skeleton of a whale. The Opera House and performing arts centre (2005). The final image is called “L’Hemisfèric” (1998 - also known as the “Eye of Knowledge”), housing a IMAX cinema and planetarium.
Photographing these buildings was interesting, because they appeared so different - depending upon weather, light and the time of day and both the whole structure and smaller details provided almost endless possibilities. The buildings lend themselves to monochrome and colour photography.
Roger Crocombe - Woodland Impressions
Walking into a wood or forest at any time of year always has a profound effect on me. The peace and tranquillity, and evidence of the endless cycle of nature, from birth to death and rebirth being played out, transports me to another plane.
The sounds and sights inspire me to build a three-dimensional impression in my head, encouraging me to look beyond the immediate surroundings to the splashes of colour and texture further afield, giving a depth and complexity to my enjoyment and in doing so, pushing the clamours of modern life away.
Never has there been more need to protect our woodlands and forests as “lungs for the world”. They are both an incredible amenity for our communities and an essential asset for our future good health.
Rob de Ruiter - Light on White: Exploring the Third Dimension
We live in a three-dimensional world. But our three-dimensional surroundings are often represented in two dimensions (or flat planes), on our television, computer screens and in photographs. In the process something is inevitably lost.
Use of directional lighting at the photography stage thereby increasing the effect of perspective, and giving an appearance of depth weight and mass, the end result prompts the question – do we always experience the photographic image as absolutely flat?
By translating three-dimensional reality into two dimensions, and conveying a sense of space, when viewing the images, you are invited, without the distraction of colour, to imagine the experience of passing from one dimension to another, and sometimes back again.
Susan Fletcher - Highgate Cemetery
Highgate is a Victorian Cemetery in North London. Over the years, as nature has intruded, the graves are collapsing, leaving haphazard groups of stones. I have tried to represent this chaos, as the corroding stone breaks up. I have used infra-red photography to enhance the texture of the ivy and other greenery against the stone.
The dappled light on the day of my visit seemed to add to the poignancy of the words on the gravestones and monuments. Sometimes these give a brief but moving insight to an individual or whole family.
Tony Lord - Surrealism and Nature
We live in a world filled with Nature - but modelled by man. Without the natural world we could not exist, but humans have always attempted to modify that natural world to fit into either our needs or our perception of how it could be done 'better'. Farming is the largest example of this with fields of uniform monocultures fed specifically to produce high yields for food, but other examples are around us with parks and formal gardens using careful selection and breeding to produce specific results.
As photographers we are observers and recorders of what is in front of us. But as artists we choose how to display those images using a set of skills to show our personal view of nature as it is or as it may be, one that can give pleasure or insight to the eye and mind of the beholder.