About Robert Friel
Rob Friel, an advisor at Revvity, discussed how he earned an Associateship distinction from the Royal Photographic Society (RPS) using images taken with an iPhone. In a 2019 interview, Friel said he began taking photographs through train windows during his commute, using apps to process the images on his phone. He stated that he created a body of 20 images, which he presented at an assessment day, and noted that he was the second person to receive an RPS distinction with images taken from an iPhone.
Friel described the process as requiring passion and commitment, saying that the RPS panels are bodies of work rather than single images. He said that he edited down 300 to 400 Instagram images to select 15 that told the right story, and advised others pursuing a similar goal to choose a subject they are passionate about, as the process took him two years. He added that achieving the distinction meant a great deal to him, given the respect associated with it.
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Robert Friel's recent appearances.
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Transcript (9 segments)
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Interviewer0:10
Rob Friel, an RPS. How does that sound?
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Robert Friel0:13
Fantastic, really. It's a long time to get there and quite a journey, so it's a real achievement.
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Interviewer0:22
Well, talk about your journey. This is rather appropriate, isn't it? Because you can tell us how you got the inspiration for this panel.
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Robert Friel0:29
Yeah, I'm a sort of landscape and nature photographer by background, and I'd been commuting in and out of London to my day job for many years. You whistle through the countryside at this time of year, with the rising light and the light levels angled, and I'd think, 'I'd rather be out there doing that than sitting on this train going to work.' From that, I started taking some little sketches and ideas on my phone through the train window, and that started to become a daily post. I sort of learned to take the pictures, found some apps that allow me to make it look more ICM and longer shutter speed, because I've always been quite influenced by that kind of work from the likes of William Neill and others to make that sort of more abstract work. So I started looking for that, and I found apps that allow me to do the processing on the phone. So I started creating images on the train on the way to work and on the way home, and that evolved into another 20 images that I took to an assessment day with Ray Spence and Sue Ellen. They also said, 'Well, you talk about it as a journey, so present it as a journey. You don't need to present it as mounted images on 40 by 50 mounts. So do something different.' It is quite different, so do something different. So I did, and that journey became that panel.
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Interviewer2:02
Well, they said do something different. It is very different, and actually only the second person to have a distinction with the images taken from an iPhone or camera. Quite an achievement, actually. I didn't know that until you said it today. So what does it mean to you having this distinction?
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Robert Friel2:21
A huge amount. I know a lot of people who are RPS members and distinguished RPS members. The RPS panels are bodies of work; they're not just single images. It's no good having 10 or 15 single images; you've got to create a body of work. I think that takes more than just producing a few nice pictures. It's a bigger commitment; it requires that you show vision and passion. So I think you see the people who have them and the respect they're given. It means an awful lot to me to have achieved this.
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Interviewer2:56
So if anyone else is planning to do what you have done, go for an A panel. What would your advice be?
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Robert Friel3:03
Go for it, but pick something that you are passionate about. It took two years to do this, so you've got to want to take the pictures because you're not going to be able to do 15, knock them out, get them right, and submit them. That happens very rarely. It takes a lot of time to find 15 images. There must be 300 or 400 images on Instagram that were edited down and selected to tell the right stories, to give the right shapes of frames, to have the right colors, to have the right impact. Doing that takes time and effort. So it's a great thing to do, it's a great journey to go on, and I think it elevates you as a photographer. So do it, but do something you're passionate about and can keep going at.
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Interviewer3:52
Rob Friel, thank you so much. Thank you.
