A very simple challenge we have done a few times now is to randomly assign pairs in the group. Then each pair have to take phots of one another to bring back to the group. This time round there were 5 pairs and people brought results to show at the July meeting. Below is one photo from each but lots more were shown. We await one pair to show their results next month which we'll add here. The meeting was rich as other photos were also shown, a zine of mannequins in Iraq, another photo book and Fabrizio brought along photos from his recent exhibition. 

Fran by Mel

Mel by Fran

Frankie by Jonny

Jonny by Frankie

Chris by Robert

Robert by Chris

Sean by Sarah

Sarah by Sean

Arun by Angelika

Angelika by Arun

We decided to run a little challenge whereby we were paired off into twos and each person swapped a collection of their photographs for the other person to edit/curate into a smaller selection. The idea was to go through a process of deciding what went together, what the connections were, what the appeal was and to explore the issues around selection and curation. So far Dorota and Frankie have reviewed each other’s images, each coming up with completely different selections and now Sean and Carolyn have done the same with their two collections of black and white prints. Their process brought them both to very similar selections, each filtering images though into their different forms of connection.  We’ll carry on with this as and when the other pairs of photographers work through their assessment as it’s interesting to see how other people view your work.

On a slightly rainy evening in the middle of February, a number of the Ealing LIP braved the weather to practice their night photography in the City of London.  The walk looked to cover a wide variety of different cityscapes ranging from the historic, labyrinthine back alleys off Fleet Street to the modern chrome and glass offices of the multitude of banks and law firms.

The weather was challenging but the mood atmospheric and Dan provided some background history on some of the sights, including one of the oldest hospitals in the world, the primary execution sight in London and the origins of the phrase “laughing one’s head off”.  We were also lucky to combine the walk with the City Lights expedition, a collection of temporary art installations set up across the Square Mile that focused on light.  These were well visited by the general public and gave the distinct impression that the City was coming back to life after the pandemic. 

[Office buildings by Jonny Baker]

[A night bus by Sean McDonnell]

[City Lights by Richard Baker]

[We’re back baby by Frankie McAllister]

[City Lights by Rui Gouveia]

A great evening exploring an area with some fantastic pictures to show for the March meeting topic of night photography.    

Written by Dan Dodman

We got on a roll in February's meeting and planned the next few months activities which are...

Feb - Dan organising a nighttime City of London photography walk with some history thrown in for good measure. 

March meeting - theme of night photography so do bring along any photos on that theme. And we will share photos from the city walk in Feb . There may even be a quiz to interject. 

April meeting - Creating personal projects that re-ignite the creative spark - Ray to present/lead. And we will be sharing phots from the Trickster wheel of ruses challenge (see below)! Also in April an offer of a woodland visit

May - photobook sharing like with the Book of Veles - Kyun has one to share. Anyone else is welcome to offer!

Following Jonny's presentation in January on Trickster he had revisited the book and pulled out 45 ruses of trickster - ideas, sentences describing how trickster acts in the stories. These were put into a wheel and everyone present got a random spin and has been a ruse to take photos in response to. Some were pretty tricky! If you want to try it out the wheel of ruses is here. Simply click and watch the wheel spin. But if you do, let us know what you come up with. You must go with the first ruse that comes up!

Then as ever group members shared photos. Here's a selection of the delights...

["Early Morning at St Paul's" by Dan Dodman showing phots to the group for the first time. The view from the Golden Gallery of St Paul's cathedral (85 metres high) to the Tate Modern on a crisp October morning.]

[Inspired by the trickster theme Jonny Baker showed a few of thresholds and doorways]

[Miner Ian Turner, at the end of his shift. Aberpergwm Mine is the only remaining operational coal mine in the UK the only source of high-grade anthracite in Western Europe. Aberpergwm Mine, Glynneath, Neath, Wales, UK. July 30, 2021. Copyright Photo: Edmond Terakopian/2021]

[A protestor dances on the roof of the fake wedding bus used to block the road. Extinction Rebellion protestors block off the southern end of London Bridge. London, UK. August 31, 2021. Copyright Photo: Edmond Terakopian/2021]

[Ray Higginbottom shared some images that are part of a presentation around personal projects and ideas to get you motivated to pick your camera up and go out and shoot something different. These were from litter discarded in some Country lanes in Bucks. We will be revisiting this in the group.]

A while we back we set the oblique strategies challenge - see here for the explanation. But essentially each person drew a card at random and took an image in response. I have pasted the photos (or one of them for each photographer) and the oblique strategy and photographer below each image.

"which elements can be grouped" by Robin Segulem

"towards the insignificant" by Minako

"disconnect from desire" by Danilo Leonardi

"use an unacceptable colour" by Melissa Lestari Meigh

"define an area as 'safe' and use it as an anchor" by Chris Kirkpatrick

"the inconsistency principle" by Frankie McAllister

"make a blank valuable by putting it in an exquisite frame" by Jonny Baker

"accretion" by Chris Moxey

"always first steps" by Richard Baker Donnelly

At our monthly Ealing LIP meeting yesterday we were set an interesting photographic challenge when our chairman, Jonny Baker produced a set of “Oblique Strategies” cards.

The cards (subtitled Over One Hundred Worthwhile Dilemmas) are a deck of 7-by-9-centimetre printed cards in a black container box, created by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt. Each card offers a challenging constraint intended to help artists break creative blocks by encouraging lateral thinking.

We used the cards by each of us drawing a single card from the shuffled pack, a method intended for when a dilemma occurs in a working situation. In this case the card is trusted even if its appropriateness is quite unclear…

My card said “Which elements can be grouped”

Everyone will reveal the photographic outcomes in August.

If any other LIP member would like to take part, leave a comment at the bottom of this post for a card and we'll draw one randomly and send you a photo of it and you can then bring along your response to our August meeting.

Here's group member Mel taking note of her strategy at the meeting!

There's a web site that produces an oblique strategy randomly if you want to have a go yourself - but the idea is not to keep trying for a card you like but to work with what is given.

From time to time the group take on a challenge. The latest one was to pick names at random so that group members were put in pairs. The challenge was simply to come up with a portrait to bring back to the group. It was both a great way to get to know group members, stretching (especially if portraits is not particularly your area of experience), and good fun. Here is a selection of the results. From top to bottom they are:

• Angelika by Marie
• Chris by Fabrizio
• Dorota by Ray
• Fabrizio by Chris
• Marie by Angelika
• Jonny by Mel
• Mel by Jonny
•  Ray by Dorota