Neil Scott – Making a Silk Purse out of a Sow`s Ear

Neil Scott FRPS, another excellent speaker this time from Edinburgh presented our latest monthly Zoom talk. The title of his talk was “Making a Silk Purse out of a Sow`s Ear”. He went on to describe what he meant with his title by showing and talking us through the techniques he employs to turn an ordinary picture into an award winning one.  During a process using the tools on one of the specialist photography computer programs he manipulates the image he has chosen. “Translocations” is his term for what he does, or swapping places. Using parts of different earlier taken shots to make a composite image. Layering by adding figures or objects or backgrounds and sometimes reversing, also removing unwanted intrusions as well as altering colour to black and white with outstanding effect. Neil has been taking photographs since his early teens and has tried and excelled in many aspects of photography including, Street, Still Life, Candid, Portraits, Abstracts, and has also tried Infa Red. He has recently been taking what he calls Metallography shots, abstract pictures of metal objects. Niel`s philosophy is be creative, be individual, please yourself and remember we are making pictures rather than taking pictures because we can.