The guest speaker at our October meeting was our own CPS club member Brian Henson. Brian's chosen topic was "Ramblings of an Old Fart," as he had a number of topics he wanted to cover.

He brought along a number of his exceptional prints to demonstrate the points he was making. His images are created from regular and infrared monochrome negatives, shot on medium format and occasionally 35mm cameras.

Brian Henson

Brian joined the Calgary Photographic Society in 1991. In the past, he has paid his dues as a member of the executive.

Brian is a very active photographer. He's known to hop in his car for photographic junkets to other provinces and to the USA. As well, he has flown to other countries in his quest for images. At several CPS meetings in the past, Brian has made public invitations to others who might want to share in his adventures!

Brian's ability to spot and shoot an image that other photographers fail to see is well-known. But there are two sides to the print equation: in addition to being able to "see" an image and capture it on film, Brian is capable of ensuring that same image is created in his darkroom. Brian's darkroom prowess produces world-class prints!

Brian entered prints in the monthly competitions until 1999. When it got to the point that he consistently won in the advanced categories, he chose to withdraw from the competitions. Attendees of the monthly meetings now see his work in the "exhibition" category. Brian's images can be seen routinely at local galleries.

Brian's work is heavily influenced by that of Wynn Bullock, Edward Weston, and Ansel Adams. It's obvious he shares their views considering the number of times he quoted them during his presentation!

During his presentation, Brian took some time to dismantle a few photographic "rules."

In particular, he showed how robot-like adherence to one of his pet peeves - the so-called "Rule of Thirds" - could damage the composition of a print. He summarized, "I'd much rather work on my instincts than I would on rules."

Brian presented some comments made by judges from past competitions, and explained why the comments were inappropriate. This was both educational and entertaining.

Brian's thoughts on digital imaging versus classic techniques were no surprise to attendees.

Brian admitted that digitally-created colour prints are approaching the quality of opto-chemically created ones. However, he doesn't care for the colour manipulation that some people use.

Regarding digitally-created monochrome prints, however, he feels that digital printing techniques still have a long way to go. Presently-available printers, even ones costing $2500, don't produce prints up to Brian's standards. He stated that they all seem to produce "flat" prints.

He commented, "Emotion seems to be missing nowadays, particularly since digital has become prominent." And also, "You've got to get into the darkroom, don't ruin yourself on the computer!"

Brian summarized with a few tips for those who aspire to better printing.

Practice - a lot! A fellow CPS member spotted Brian purchasing a case of paper from a photo store, and wondered if Brian was going into mass production. Brian stated that he could go through that much paper in 6 months - and most of it winds up in the trash. He stated "you must print as though someone else is buying your paper for you!"

Make mistakes and learn from them in the darkroom. For example, Brian found by accident that printing a bit dark can sometimes bring out emotion in a print - and he had an example of this on display.

Enter competitions. Let others see and comment on your work. You'll learn from their comments - and it will thicken your skin!