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For
those who know Georgette's work, this honour will come as
no surprise for she has consistently produced top quality
work despite being a "comparative newcomer", having
joined BSoUP only three years ago. Her entries for the "Focus
On" monthly competitions have nearly always come in the
first three and to confirm her talent, she was voted "Best
Beginner" at Brighton 1983.
Despite
this success in the underwater photography world, Georgette
remains a quiet BSoUP member preferring to let her work do
the talking, leave. her to concentrate on future images. This
quiet exterior is deceptive for it protects an underwater
photographer whose determined enthusiasm is infectious and
reminiscent of early BSoUP members as they reacted to this
new and exciting medium.
Using
standard Nikonos equipment, Georgette has produced results
in both British and Tropical waters which show a different
approach to the medium and which provide a refreshing change
to the majority of work. Her work underwater is really a natural
progression for she had been involved with art from birth
in an artistic family and later attending art college. In
addition to this has been taking land shots for many years.
It is because of this that she finds it hard to discuss her
work at length for, when taking shots, she is merely responding
to almost subconscious reactions - pressing the trigger when
the subject looks pleasing to her eye. For those of us with
a sparse artistic background whose introduction was through
diving. we must accept that underwater photography will always
be hard work, until we can react to a subject and produce
well composed interesting shots.
Originally
shooting with colour slide film, Georgette's early work was
concentrated on achieving consistent results in a world dominated
with seemingly complicated equipment. Her extensive experience
in land photography helped to some extent but, in generally
she had a great deal of equipment to overcome. She simplified
her approach by concentrating on close ups with a single flashgun,
taking shots which satisfied her interest in marine biology.
Operating
from Lundy and Plymouth in the U.K., her early submissions
to BSoUP Slide Clinic showed a new talent with a fresh approach
and gave her the beginnings of a competitive spirit. She admits
that BSoUP is responsible for this and relies on attending
the monthly meetings to provide stimulus and a springboard
for her results.
Yet,
despite her achievements, Georgette feels that there is still
a long way to go. Her Nikonos camera does not give the reflex
image so vital when composing so accurately. This has led
to extensive use of colour negative film so that re-composition
can be done in the darkroom and also, with a wide exposure
latitude, she can concentrate much more on the subject and
less on the mechanics of exposure. Her early work with transparencies
introduced her to Cibachrome for producing colour prints from
colour slides but with the advent of negative film, she can
produce much more pleasing prints in a fraction of the time
with lower contrast and at lower cost.
The
use of negative film is mainly responsible for Georgette's
performance. When she is happy with her material she produces
her best work. If she feels that she has the wrong film it
will curb her concentration and this will ultimately show
in the results. The limitations of Nikonos camerae are balanced
with the latitude of colour negative film to produce a working
solution.
However,
with the imminent arrival of a housing for her Pentax LX,
Georgette is eagerly awaiting the possibilities. The ability
to compose in the reflex viewfinder will allow her to use
Kodachrome slide film - a film she praises highly for its
ultra fine grain and pure colours. This in turn will encourage
her to submit her work to agencies - something she has never
considered until she joined BSoUP. Most libraries/agencies
insist on colour slides from their photographers as the printing
industry is geared up to handle these.
Preferring
to work with one camera per dive she would look upon a second
camera as a means of having extra film or a different film
but always the same lens system so that her concentration
could he on the subject. Switching from wide angle to close
ups during the same dive would add complications which impair
the concentration.
When
on location, an on-site processing facility would prove useful
for the initial rolls but, once it was established that gear
was behaving itself, Georgette prefers to save the processing
until she can get back to her 6' x 41 darkroom and steam into
the films as soon as she returns home. With the rolls of colour
negatives dry, she is ready to make contact sheets and then
prints of individual frames up to 1011 x 1211. This is an
extremely time consuming process but is one she sees as entirely
necessary. If slides are required, these are produced using
print film (Process C41) and copying the negatives same size.
The beauty of colour negative film is that you have a wide
exposure latitude when shooting the original and you can then
make top quality prints and still be able to make perfectly
acceptable slides.
Always
an advocate of "shoot as much film as you can" Georgette,
as are we all, is happy if there are 3 or 4 good images on
a roll of film. What we must take account of however is the
high standard Georgette sets on her work and the enthusiastic
effort she applies to the task of producing underwater images.
It is this standard which, I feel sure will prove to be a
major influence for BSoUP members who appreciate such qualities. |
