On Photography

General discussion and anything that isn't covered by the other categories.
Mike Farley
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On Photography

Postby Mike Farley » Thu 27 Oct 2016, 08:57

Thanks to everyone who gave me feedback for my new lecture "On Photography" which I gave for the first time at the club last night. As with a number of my talks, I try to do things a bit differently to other speakers, who tend to do things such as travelogues or sessions such as "here are some of my images". There is nothing wrong with that, although travelogues based on holidays taken by the author on organised, non photographic trips can be very dull as opportunities to get worhwhile pictures are limited. I have seen a few of those over the years.

A lot of thoight and effort went into my talk, but straying from the more conventional and thus safer formats is not without its risk, especially given the nature of the topics included in last night's session. It is not until the litmus test of presenting to an audience do I really know if I have succeeded, so having the facility to try it out in front of people I know is invaluable. Yes, it had some rough edges and was a bit too long, but those issues can be remedied. Timing can be especially difficult to gauge in the abstract.

Having had time for reflection, If anyone does have any further comments, I would be appreciative if you could post them here.

One thing which has already been said is that the talk contained a lot of information which was not easy to take in. The normal method of addressing that issue is to prepare handouts. That's OK in a professional environment, but given that I do not charge for my talks, it is not a practical option. However, I do have a website which includes a blog, so I shall be looking at ways in which I can incorporate the topics into those. It will also mean that they will be available to a wider audience than if I post here. As is my custom, I will provide links on the forum whenever there is something new on the website.
Regards

Mike Farley
(Visit my website and blog - www.mikefarley.net)
Iggy
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Re: On Photography

Postby Iggy » Thu 27 Oct 2016, 10:39

Hi Mike,
I enjoyed your talk that offered lots of interesting aspects On Your Photography and that of others too.
Audience participation did add to the presentation.
I found Tony's 13 or more musings on street photography rather helpful and did take some notes.
Would it be possible to post that one slide on this forum or if not send it to me as an email attachment.
Good to see such a good turn out for your CCC presentation.
Kind regards,
Iggy
Mike Farley
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Re: On Photography

Postby Mike Farley » Thu 27 Oct 2016, 12:47

Thanks for the feeback, Iggy.

Most of the audience interaction came at the end in the "Zero, C or D" section when I was asking people to guess what Rod Wheelans had said about my images. There was less egagement for the more introspective parts when I was asking people to think about their own motivations and photography. Afterwards one member did say that they would have liked more time to do that as a group discussion. That was not really the purpose of last night's presentation, but maybe it is something we could explore further in a future members' evening if there is sufficient interest?

Tony Ray-Jones "Don't take boring pictures" note to himself is fairly well known. I first encountered it, where the original was on display, at the exhibition of his work put on by the Science Museum in 2013. It was a show well worth seeing. When preparing my talk, I found it here: http://erickimphotography.com/blog/2013 ... ray-jones/.
Regards

Mike Farley
(Visit my website and blog - www.mikefarley.net)
Iggy
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Re: On Photography

Postby Iggy » Thu 27 Oct 2016, 15:21

Hi Mike,
You did present a full session where there was no time really to cover any discussion at the end.

Thank you for Ton Ray-Jones notes that also lead to some of his old photographs which is helpful.

I have had a quick look for a wifi PowerPoint controller, the most abundant being similar to the one below and costing just £6.39 and it works on a single AAA battery. I guess they all do the same job.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-2016-Power-Point-Presentation-Remote-Control-with-Laser-Pointer-15M-Range-UK-/322106334501?hash=item4aff089d25:g:XDIAAOSwl-FXNJLq
I will donate the controler to the club after I use it as it is much nicer to have speakers facing the audience as you did, rather than sitting at the back controlling their laptop.
Iggy
Mike Farley
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Re: On Photography

Postby Mike Farley » Thu 27 Oct 2016, 16:00

Iggy wrote:You did present a full session where there was no time really to cover any discussion at the end.

As I said, getting the timing right first time out is always problematic, but I would always prefer at the outset to have too much material rather than too little. There were 180 PowerPoint slides in last night's presentation, which I have now reduced to just under 150. Hopefully that will allow for a slightly more relaxed session when I give the talk again next month.

Iggy wrote:Thank you for Ton Ray-Jones notes that also lead to some of his old photographs which is helpful.

You are welcome. I enjoyed the exhibition of his work, so it is worthwhile seeing what else you can track down.

Iggy wrote:I have had a quick look for a wifi PowerPoint controller, the most abundant being similar to the one below and costing just £6.39 and it works on a single AAA battery. I guess they all do the same job.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-2016-Power-Point-Presentation-Remote-Control-with-Laser-Pointer-15M-Range-UK-/322106334501?hash=item4aff089d25:g:XDIAAOSwl-FXNJLq
I will donate the controler to the club after I use it as it is much nicer to have speakers facing the audience as you did, rather than sitting at the back controlling their laptop.

Gosh, those things have become cheap. I have had mine for a few years now and there was not so much choice back then. The one you have found looks as though it will do the same job and it will be useful for visiting lecturers who do not have one themselves. It should work with any presentation which can be advanced to the next slide by using the keyboard cursor keys.
Regards

Mike Farley
(Visit my website and blog - www.mikefarley.net)
Iggy
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Joined: Thu 09 Apr 2015, 09:48

Re: On Photography

Postby Iggy » Fri 28 Oct 2016, 00:22

There were 180 PowerPoint slides in last night's presentation

Hi Mike,
Knowing the number of slides in your presentation is very helpful in the preparation of other Member's up coming presentations, including mine this November.

Tony Ray-Jones' notes to street photography are something that I shall bear in mind whenever I step out with my camera.
Unfortunately,Tony does not follow his own guidelines, especially "Take Simpler Pictures" as many of his images are rather overcrowded for my liking.
Kind regards,
Iggy
Mike Farley
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Re: On Photography

Postby Mike Farley » Fri 28 Oct 2016, 08:03

Iggy wrote:
There were 180 PowerPoint slides in last night's presentation

Knowing the number of slides in your presentation is very helpful in the preparation of other Member's up coming presentations, including mine this November.

180 slides is way, way too many. I knew that when I was preparing the talk, but did not want to be left with too little material. Classic presentation anxiety on my part.

Talks need to be around 90 minutes in duration, which allows time for announcements and a break. Although that is a lot of time to fill and quite a number of my slides are only displayed for a few seconds, a rate of two a minute proved to be optimistic. Think about what you want to say and tailor the number of slides accordingly. Stick to bullet points and keep them simple. A lot of words will result in a small font, which people will find difficult to read. It will also mean that they will be concentrating on what you have written, rather than what you are saying. As with many things, KISS applies.

Iggy wrote:Unfortunately,Tony does not follow his own guidelines, especially "Take Simpler Pictures" as many of his images are rather overcrowded for my liking.

Rather proves my fina point above!

Personally, TRJ's composition is not an issue. I enjoyed exploring what he included in his shots, but we all have varying tastes and nothing has universal appeal.
Regards

Mike Farley
(Visit my website and blog - www.mikefarley.net)
Mike Farley
Posts: 7316
Joined: Tue 11 Sep 2012, 16:38
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Re: On Photography

Postby Mike Farley » Fri 28 Oct 2016, 08:12

I have just found this great quote at The Online Photographer. I touched on the topic with my John Rothenstein quote*, but this goes beyond that. Maybe I'll find a way of incorporating it into my talk, but maybe it could be the basis ofr a whole new presentation about the appeal of photography. Not the taking, but the results.

http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.co ... dgson.html

* "Photography is the dominant and fascinating and only folk art of the twentieth century."
Regards

Mike Farley
(Visit my website and blog - www.mikefarley.net)
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davidc
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Re: On Photography

Postby davidc » Fri 28 Oct 2016, 12:52

Sorry I missed it but I've not had time in most cases - or energy in others - to make it along :(

And it was the Bake Off final!
Check out my website - davidcandlish.photography
My Top 50 album is here
Iggy
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Joined: Thu 09 Apr 2015, 09:48

Re: On Photography

Postby Iggy » Fri 28 Oct 2016, 15:22

Bake Off? That's no excuse unless we get to taste your home baked cake one of these days.
I gave up watching Man City vs Man United to see Mike's presentation, but it was worth it. Apparently, both the Mans were poor!

Mike, just wondering what camera settings you used in your Scottish Reflections.

David, might see you on Wednesday at the 2nd DPI Comp if you want your images critised. Entries by 12 midnight tomorrow by email attachment.

Iggy

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