John Brown

*John Brown*

John Brown (65) was born in Newcastle upon Tyne. He is married with two children and four grand children and currently lives in Brandon. John is a Past President of the Society and, for some time, has been the Webmaster for the DPS website which has become one of the most dynamic and up to the minute in the photography club world.

Royston Thomas says: "He knows as much about the technical side of taking and producing digital images as anyone I know and this, combined with his skill and versatility in seeing great images, makes him a most accomplished photographer".

MY PHOTOGRAPHY

My photographic interests are wide ranging and I’ve tried most of the popular subjects - landscape, portrait, architecture etc. In the last couple of years, I’ve become well and truly hooked on action/sport photography. I’m not a sports fan as such, but I find this an exciting and challenging way of photographing people – just a different kind of portrait if you like! I still have a huge love for ‘black and white’ and I’ve chosen nine B&W images for the gallery. Two of them, “Alpine Journey” and “Shadowland” are scanned from film negatives.

THE BIGGEST INFLUENCE

Right from my earliest years I remember my dad as a keen photographer and I’m sure this is what led me to a lifelong passion for the hobby. As for influence, I think I’m in some way affected by every image I see, whether it’s an exhibition print, a TV commercial or a news story. On a more conscious level, I’ve been influenced by the enthusiasm and dedication of many fellow DPS members, and photographers I’ve met at other NCPF clubs.

MY FIRST CAMERA

I can’t remember the make or model, but the very first camera I used was one that my father gave me. I’d be about twelve years old then and I developed the films in enamel dishes and made contact prints. My first SLR was a second-hand Praktica – it was one hundred percent manual control, no metering and with a Preset Diaphram.

MY FAVOURITE CURRENT KIT

When I made the move to Digital cameras in 2004 I also made a system change from Nikon to Canon and I’m gradually building an outfit that will suit the type of work I do, currently based on a Canon Eos 1D mk 111.

MY FAVOURITE PHOTOGRAPHERS

Of the ‘all time greats’, the names that come to mind are Ansel Adams, Cartier–Bresson and Don McCullin. All talented men who produced images that I see as honest and unpretentious, yet inspirational.

ME AND THE DPS

I joined in 1977 and soon realized that I was in awesome company. I’ve had the privilege of meeting some fantastic people during all those years. Some of them are no longer with us, others thankfully are still around. I’ve been lucky enough to get my name on most of the DPS Trophies, but one, the Harvey Adams cup, has (so far) eluded me. The most prominent memory would be of my two years as president, but many, many moments come to mind, moments of elation, moments of sadness and moments of hilarity - all securely tucked away in the memory bank.

THE 3 THINGS I ENJOY MOST BEING A MEMBER OF THE DPS

The friendship, the banter and the PHOTOGRAPHY.

THE PEARL (Advice to budding photographers)

This is a tough one! It seems so arrogant to give advice. I think the best I can offer, is a summary of my own philosophy.

“You won’t become a better photographer by sitting in front of a computer, get out and take photographs – a lot of photographs: AND, keep your eye on the ball”.

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