Diane Seddon provided a fascinating presentation via Zoom Illustrating her activity largely begun during lockdown to create images that were different and even odd. She was not out to please the judges although she has had much success with her images and is herself a judge. She had been a professional photographer often making images of celebrities but is also an active member of a camera club and often uses club members in her projects.
She encourages creativity and warns not to let the camera get in the way of the photography. In other words, thoroughly learn how the camera and software work. Make sure you can operate your camera in the dark, she says. She urges building creativity in the photographer’s head, doing something different and not being afraid to fail. Treat it all as a learning experience. If photography technology ground to a halt, she asked, “would your photography decline, remain the same or improve?’ Emphatically she argued it would improve, almost repeating “necessity is the mother of invention”.
Her technique is very much based on intentional camera movement, multiple exposures and composites with extensive use of layers, layer masks and changing blending modes in Photoshop. The illustrated image began as a zoo image of an elephant and its calf with an ugly background. The key elephant image and a rock feature was retained from the original with texture and landscape added to create a totally different background. She also uses friends, models and actors who are willing to dress up and photographs them in both ordinary and extraordinary situations and imports backgrounds to create the final image.
There are no rules in photography, she says, only guidelines. She also encourages copying other photographers but insists that the copier does something different with the image. Art and photographic exhibitions are frequent sources of material and inspiration.