INSPIRATIONINSPIRATION

Just rewards

Just rewards“A neighbour’s child, Jack. I
tried to recreate a scene frommy own childhood. Every detail
was controlled, the street
scene researched and the postprocessing chosen to recreate
the muted colours. When his
mother saw the finished print
it brought tears to her eyes – it
far exceeded her expectations.”
Nikon D3, 24-70mm f/2.8 at 24mm,1/250sec at f/13, ISO 800 withbalanced fill flash

JUDGEMENT DAY

Judge not, lest ye be judged. Unless of course you’re Brian Hopper,
multi-talented photographer who, after ten years of salon success,has recently taken up his own seat on the judging podium
WORDS TIM MCCANN PICTURES BRIAN HOPPER

10 ADVANCED PHOTOGRAPHER ISSUE 38

www.advancedphotographer.co.uk

www.advancedphotographer.co.uk

ISSUE
ISSUE3838ADVANCEDADVANCEDPHOTOGRAPHERPHOTOGRAPHER 1111

INSPIRATION

Just rewards
12T

hough based in a sleepy seaside
village in County Louth, Ireland,
photographer Brian Hopper’s
ambitions have global reach. His
carefully crafted images are regularly
plucked from storage and dispatched to all
corners of the earth where they battle against
the competition in international photographysalons, hopefully finding their way homeweighed down by awards and accolades.
It goes without saying that your images
need to be of a certain, very high standard
in order to make an impact during the brief
window of time where your shots are paradedin front of the judges. Additionally, eachcompetition is subtly different, requiring
close reading of the rules to give your images
a fighting chance – but once you’re familiar
with the process and have the expectedcamera skills, entering international salonscan be deeply rewarding.
With 251 salons under his belt and a haulof 1674 acceptances and 191 awards collectedin the past ten years, Brian’s extremely
well-placed to explain the appeal. “I enter

competitions to challenge myself, to find out
what other judges think of my pictures andto see how my work is accepted in different
countries,” Brian explains, “and as an entrant
you’re anonymous and you succeed purely
on the strength of your images. I like to thinkpolitics do not exist as they may in a local
camera club.”
When approaching a new competition,
Brian’s experience has taught him to tread
carefully. “Some competitions do notrespect copyright and seem to be legitimate,
but after reading the ‘small print’ they’reexposed simply as trawls for images on thecheap,” he warns. “It is critically importantto see that competitions are ratified byinternational bodies like FIAP (Fédération
Internationale de l’Art Photographique) or
PSA (Photographic Society of America) –they gain these ratifications by adhering toestablished exhibition practices.”
Once the competition has been deemedworthwhile, Brian turns his attention to thejudges, their qualifications and interests,
before deciding which of his images toI enter competitions to challenge myself, to find out
what other judges think of my pictures and to see how
my work is accepted in different countries
12 ADVANCED PHOTOGRAPHER ISSUE 38

www.advancedphotographer.co.uk

www.advancedphotographer.co.uk

1 MARTIN THE PRINTER “I took this at the BlackCountry Living Museum in Dudley. Sites like these,
which are run by trusts and staffed by volunteers,
are a godsend to photographers.” Nikon D3, 24-70mm f/2.8 at 38mm, 1/100sec at f/5, ISO 1000

2 BARBER TO THE FAMOUS “I spotted
this barber’s shop and walked away feeling
disappointed as the shop was closed. My
daughter turned around and noticed the barber
beckon us back – he did not need to signal
twice.” Nikon D3, 24-70mm f/2.8 at 24mm, 1/15sec atf/4, ISO 400

submit. “In an international salon the image
appears on screen for five to ten seconds,”
he says, “so it has to impress the judges
straightaway as there are normally many,
many images entered.”
As an example of the process, Brian
revealed the results of his entries in a
recent Serbian salon called Child 2013.
“There were 7447 photographs entered by505 authors from 67 countries. Each salon
is judged by three judges and photographs
are scored from four to ten marks, then
all the top entries are assembled andawards are allocated. To be selected fromthat collection of entries is a lottery,but I managed my best ever result in aninternational salon – nine awards, includinga Best Author award given to the entrant
with the most accepted photographs.”

ISSUE 38 ADVANCED PHOTOGRAPHER 13

INSPIRATIONINSPIRATION

Just rewards

Just rewards
345

In addition to the awards, most salonsoffer a printed catalogue or CD showing thebest images, which is an extremely helpful
way to determine the skill level and rangeof pictures being submitted. “These also
help to broaden your tastes and trends,”
Brian says. “It is well worth entering salonswith the best-rated printed catalogues: theTrierenberg Super Circuit comes to mind –some of the best ‘coffee table’ photographicpublications available, anywhere.”
As well as assessing his fellow
competition entrants, Brian reads magazinesand seeks out the experience of others. “I dothink it is very important to purchase goodreference books and research online articles.

I search out subjects with ‘character’, those whowear their lives on their faces. I look for the qualities
women constantly spend small fortunes to eliminate
14 ADVANCED PHOTOGRAPHER ISSUE 38

I think, like most, I am self-taught, withconstant topping up required.”He’s also constantly topping up hisportfolio: as fashions change, so too do thestandards and tastes of the judges, requiringconstant work to produce new images to
wow the international scene. In order to stayat the front of the pack, Brian stretches his
photographic ability by steadfastly refusing
to be pigeonholed in a single genre: though hedoes admit to a fondness for environmentalportraiture. “I think there is no greater
challenge than to meet a total stranger,

www.advancedphotographer.co.uk

strike up a conversation and walk away witha photograph which describes the person
you just met to a T,” he says. “I constantly
search out subjects with ‘character’, those
who wear their lives in their faces. I look forthe qualities women constantly spend small
fortunes to eliminate – lines and wrinkles.
The trick is to have your subject relax enoughto allow you to capture a natural pose. My
style depends on engaging the subject andcapturing a photograph which is natural
without being posed – you know when you
get that magic moment.”

www.advancedphotographer.co.uk

Artfully balancing his photography withhis family life, Brian captures a great dealof his images while his daughters shop,enjoying wandering around looking for
subjects to photograph. “I don’t head off
with any particular expectations, and findthat subjects and opportunities present
themselves. My daughters are experts atspotting characters for street portraiture.”
Once the image is safely stowed in his
Nikon D3 (of which the photographer
speaks fondly: “I have yet to exhaust itscapabilities”), Brian sets to work back at his

3 AT HOME WITH CHE “I asked the owner ofthis cockerel to pose and he chose to pose withit on his shoulder while tightly grasping the one
peso note I paid him.” Nikon D3, 17-35mm f/2.8 at

17mm, 1/60sec at f/6.5, ISO 650, fill-in flash

4 TO CATCH A BUTTERFLY “This is a studio
photograph of my daughter, Karen. I had theidea for this image in my mind for months. I was
pleased with the overall feel of the image andmy wife Ann has a framed A2 copy of the image
proudly displayed in her office.” Nikon D3, 24-70mm f/2.8 at 32mm, 1/250sec at f/20, ISO 640

5 FISHERMAN AT LOUGH CURRY “A composite
image, employing a portrait taken in Cuba and alake in County Cavan, Ireland.” Nikon D3, 17-35mm

f/2.8 and 24-70mm f/2.8, 1/80sec at f/4.5, ISO 250

ISSUE 38 ADVANCED PHOTOGRAPHER 15

INSPIRATIONINSPIRATION

Just rewards

Just rewards
678

6 DUNLUCE CASTLE “Part of the castle fell into
the sea one stormy night in 1639.” Nikon D3, 24-70mm f/2.8 at 24mm, 45secs at f/22, ISO 100, Lee Big
Stopper and 0.6EV ND grad on the sly

7 PRIZE FIGHTING COCKS “My most successful
image in international salons. I asked the farmer
to pick up one of his fighting cocks and was
surprised when he chose the poorest looking
specimen in the coop.” Nikon D3, 17-35mm f/2.8 at

17mm, 1/80sec at f/5, ISO 200

8 I’M NOT BOTHERED “A composite image ofan uninterested young girl is combined witha busy street scene.” Nikon D3, 17-35mm f/2.8 at

35mm, 1/250sec at f/13, ISO 200

digital darkroom. “It is important to knowwhat you want from a photograph before
you start post-processing,” he advises. “Inormally have a final image after 15 or 20
minutes of work. I do find it important toseek another view – at home or with trusted
members of a camera club, just to verify thewhole process.”
Brian’s range covers everything fromhyper-real HDR to surreal dreamscape
images, and is perhaps best expressed in

The most important thing is the final image – andhow the photographer captured and processed thatimage is secondary
16 ADVANCED PHOTOGRAPHER ISSUE 38

the two images he picks out as his mostsuccessful. “Prize Fighting Cocks is probably
my best-awarded or most-accepted imagein international exhibitions, although theselection of To Catch a Butterfly as the Most
Recognised Work and the Best Image in the
12th Virtual Image 2013 in Argentina wasprobably the most rewarding for me as this is
an image of my daughter, Karen.”Though Brian has no desire to enter
the long-standing debate surrounding
photography versus digital art, he does
have an opinion on the matter. “The mostimportant thing is the final image – and how
the photographer captured and processedthat image is secondary,” he explains. “Aswww.advancedphotographer.co.uk

far as I am concerned, if the image works
we shouldn’t have to dissect it to the extent
that the image becomes debased. Over theyears many processes have been employed
to produce photographs, and those processes
themselves have changed. The ability toadapt has enabled photography to progress.
Digital photography has opened the pastime
to many more people who otherwise would
not be involved.”
Having said this, he does acknowledge thatsome photographers take post-processing too
far. “A minor proportion believe any image canbe rescued in the post-processing stage – but
it’s still important to get it right in camera.”
Those considering entering theirwww.advancedphotographer.co.uk

photographs into salons would do well to heed
Brian’s advice, as last year saw poacher turngamekeeper when he took part in an Irish
international salon – but this time, as a judge.
“I love looking at other photographers’ images
and feel it is an honour to be considered goodenough to participate in a salon as a judge,”
he says.
“I’m looking forward to taking up some
invitations to judge in other countries,
and I will continue to participate ininternational salons for as long as I enjoy
the whole process. I have one outstanding
goal which has eluded me: to have one of myimages printed as the sole cover shot of aninternational salon catalogue. Additionally,each salon is a unique challenge, as each setof judges are different.”
The photographer had this final pieceof advice: “Go for it! You will only know
where your photography is by enteringinternational salons,” he said. “Remember,
everyone has had images accepted in one
salon, awarded in another and rejected inothers. No matter what you do in life there isalways someone who can do better – that’s
part of our life experience.”
SEE MORE:

www.creatingapicture.com

ISSUE 38 ADVANCED PHOTOGRAPHER 17