What does Brexit mean for love?

Mar 15, 2018

A portrait series by Laura Pannack

Separation is a series of 13 portraits that explore the angst and myriad emotions experienced by London-based couples who, as a result of Brexit, have been forced to contemplate separation. Brexit has long garnered column inches for its political implications, but what does it mean for love?

We were planning to get married at some point in the future but the referendum result hurried us along” – Stuart and Giulia

The couples that feature in Separation are all of different nationalities: one half of each is British and the other half from elsewhere in Europe. The nationalities of the featured couples are: British, Italian, Finnish, Bulgarian, Spanish, Polish, Swedish, French and German.

At least one half of each of the couples featured in Separation works in London’s creative sector, a diverse and thriving industry that has long been a draw for Europeans moving to the capital. The job titles of the couples include: film programmer, arts tutor, sound artist, graphic designer, animation designer and professional drummer, amongst others.

View the full series on the Brithis Journal of Photography at www.bjp-online.com/tag/laura-pannack-brexit

Jana (German) and Luke (British)

Jana: We love London. Despite being financially squeezed, we managed to buy a small two bedroom flat in Islington. It is is our home and gives us everything we need to live a happy life in London. We are part of the local community and have made many friends. Our daughters are going to nursery and school here and we don’t really want to move.

After the referendum we thought a lot about relocating our family to Germany, and we still do. Although the UK is our home, the uncertainty, not only with my status, but also with the UK economy, has made us consider a move. There is so much instability in the UK and a lot of stability in Germany. Our lives there would be more predictable and more secure. Our German community has also shrunken drastically. Out of the eight local families we used to meet regularly, six have moved back to Germany. This is not all down to Brexit but it was definitely a contributing factor. Britain’s future out of the EU will be bleak; I can already feel it crumbling around me.

Nadia (Italian) and Paul (British) Photographer, tattoo artist

Nadia: I had a view of Britain as a multi-cultural melting pot that accepts everyone and embraces difference. When the referendum result was announced, it was clear that the reality is very different. I am sad that this nice country, one that once accepted the world, is closing its doors, but at the same time I don’t feel pushed away by the vote. Brexit means that Paul will need to marry me so I can stay in the UK.

Paul: I voted Remain. In a world already so divided, the idea of Britain going at it alone does not seem right. The referendum result was a surprise for me. After living in the UK my whole life, and growing up surrounded by a mixture of cultures, I am open to the world and what it means to have cultural differences. I hope that the decision to leave the European Union was not just about immigration and border control.

Mirjami and Adam

Graphic designer, support worker

Mirjami: When Brexit happened, I took it personally. I come from an immigrant family and had been exposed to racism and stereotyping throughout my childhood. I was born in Finland but my parents are Chinese so I’ve always felt like an outsider. When I moved to London, I felt like everyone came from elsewhere for the first time; everyone looked different, everyone felt like they belonged. That made me feel like I belonged here too.

After the Brexit vote, I felt that same feeling I had felt as a kid, like I’m not wanted and I’m just a nuisance to the locals. That made me bitter and angry and I felt this massive gap between me and British people. As Adam himself is British, sometimes I felt that gap between us too, even though he did not feel the same way. Adam also resented the referendum result, but he has always remained nonchalant in his belief that it won’t have any bearing on our relationship and future.

JOEL MARKLUND DOCUMENTS THE LIVES OF SWEDEN’S SAMI PEOPLE

Feb 25, 2018

Sweden’s indigenous and unrepresented community is brought into focus through a powerful portrait series

Nikon European Ambassador Joel Marklund has completed a unique project profiling Sweden’s community of Sami people – a subject close to his heart. With his D5 and NIKKOR lenses, Joel aimed to go beyond the stereotypes he feels the Sami community is associated with, showcasing their everyday lives through a series of intimate portrait images.

The Sami people traditionally inhabit a territory known as Sápmi, which traverses the northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Russian Kola peninsula. Although divided by the formal boundaries of the four states, the Samis exist as one group, united by cultural and linguistic bonds and a common identity. Joel wanted to communicate the true nature of this identity and move beyond surface-level perceptions of ‘reindeer herders living in the mountains’.

“The best stories aren’t always the ones in the most exotic or remote locations,” comments Marklund. “I was determined to cover something I believed in, something that really mattered to me. The Sami story has not been told by many, so, having grown up in Boden near to where some of their communities resided, it was one I felt both compelled and humbled to tell.”

To document what it is like to live as a Sami today in Sweden, Joel spent six weeks visiting the community, embedding himself in the lives of twelve of its people – from singers and dancers to drum makers and students – to tell their individual stories. During the project, he paired the D5 with the AF-S NIKKOR 35mm f/1.4G, AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4G and AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II.

Joel’s images reveal the Sami people in both their traditional environment, wearing traditional clothing called ‘gákti’, and their day-to-day working lives that are more intertwined with the rest of society. This cultural contrast runs through the series.

For example, Joel discovered Marika Renhuvud helping her family with the reindeer slaughter before learning, after a few days of photographing Marika, that she was a student at Ballet Academy Stockholm.

Maxida Marak, meanwhile, who grew up in Stockholm, before moving to live among a traditional Sami community, has headed back to the city to become a successful singer, while another story follows Merethe Kuhmunen, a student aiming to promote LGBT rights in Sápmi.

Affinity Photo for iPad got strong improvements

Feb 22, 2018

Apple’s reigning ‘App of the Year’, Affinity Photo for iPad, now includes even more powerful professional features.

Developer Serif has issued the third substantial free update to the app since June when Affinity Photo for iPad was launched on stage at WWDC2017. To celebrate, for a limited time, buyers can also claim three bonus content packs made specially to harness the creativity of the app on iOS. Designed to be the first complete, professional photo editing app for iPad, Affinity Photo was selected as the 2017 ‘App of the Year’ by Apple, as well as featuring in countless ‘best of’ end-of-year lists. The latest version, 1.6.7, includes a raft of enhancements which make it even more capable of handling a full professional workflow on the go:

New Features

Save overwrites back to the same location, without needing to create a copy
Shoot direct in RAW or HDR from within the app
Major upgrades for RAW processing including adjusting shadows, highlights and clarity on RAW images
Ability to add your own fonts
Opening and editing files in place directly from the iOS Files app
A new ‘Solo Layer View’ mode, allowing you to isolate individual layers instantly
Further enhancements to the handy Drag & Drop functions introduced with iOS11
A new ‘Show Touches’ option to create more detailed screen captures – great for users who create tutorials

Serif Managing Director Ashley Hewson says: “These latest additions will make working life simpler than ever for photographers who have embraced Affinity Photo and the iPad as the core of their professional workflow.

“Affinity Photo was created to take full advantage of the amazing technology the latest iPads offer, and our developers continue to work tirelessly to cement its reputation as the benchmark for creative apps on iOS.”

Ashley Hewson adds: “Improved RAW editing and the added convenience of using Files and Drag & Drop are further steps forward. And we’re delighted to see so many users are already publishing their own tutorials, so the ‘show touches’ screen-recording capability is really big news for them.
“Meanwhile Solo Layer View means you can instantly isolate a particular layer to work on, even in the most complex multi-layered documents. It all adds up to a faster, smoother workflow than ever, to take wherever you go.”

To celebrate the latest update, for two weeks Affinity Photo for iPad is being offered with two free brush packs and a macro pack, together worth almost as much as the app itself (offer ends 8 March).

They are:

Luminance Brush Pack (value £9.99 / $9.99): A vibrant collection of 13 breath taking light effect brushes
Retouch Brush Pack (value £9.99 / $9.99): 20 studio quality retouch brushes for enhancing portraits
Live Filters Macro Pack: Harness the full power of 28 non-destructive live filter layers

Affinity Photo for iPad is priced £19.99 / US$19.99 / 21,99€ (subject to regional currency variations) with no subscription from the App Store.

Affinity Photo for iPad is compatible with the iPad Pro 9.7-inch, 10.5-inch and 12.9-inch

, iPad Air 2, iPad 2017, and optimised for Apple Pencil. For more information go to affinity.serif.com/ipad-update. Existing users should claim the free update by following the prompts in the app.

The bonus content can be downloaded from affinity.serif.com/ipad-update.

How to Edit Black and White Images with Luminosity Masks

Feb 21, 2018

Color preparation is the most important thing when working on a Black & White conversion. If you use photoshop or any good image editing software, the first thing you see is a window with color sliders. If you want to darken a sky, increase the blues, if you want to whiten foliage, work on the yellows, reds and greens. You will see drastic changes in your image tonality. But sometimes, you want to work on specific color zones of the image, this is when masking comes into place. Luminosity masking is without a doubt the best way to precisely target colors. In this movie by Greg Benz, the creator of Lumenzia luminosity masking panel, you will see how he targets specific zones and works on the mood of an image.

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Lumenzia by Greg Benz

One of the best luminosity masking panels for Photoshop. Visit the website and learn more about this great tool for both Black & White and Color images.