saw faster paced seminars, with appearances from Denis Hyland, Adam Woolfitt, Godfrey Johnson, Maggie Miller, Simon Jones and Emma Hurley. Emma’s emotive story of the Sri Udom orphanage in Sri Lanka left very few dry eyes in the house. She’s organising charitable dona- tions to the orphanage and is looking for childrens’ clothing in particular; used digital camera equipment would also be very useful for the project. Simon John also faced a grilling in an interview session with George, a very revealing segment that once more reinforced the value of “vision”. Cyprus-based Dinos Yiangou braved remarkable travel conditions to deliver an evening seminar, enlightening delegates on cross-cultural and


social photography.


There isn’t the space for a blow-by-blow account, and with so many speakers so well known, you may feel that it wouldn’t be relevant. What is important, what comes out of PTO, is the absolute strength of the group, the networking and friendships that result. It’s not a party, it’s not a holiday; there’s so much work to be done, so much to be learned – yet in the spaces between seminars, the time spent watching the light fade, conversations and shoots, adventures and escapades, inspiration becomes infectious. And I’d do it all again just for the chance to meet the many talented, enthusiastic people that shared our time in the resort.


master test


Cartier-Bresson’s legacy to the camera that made his reputation remains; you can’t hold a Leica M without wanting to capture every fleeting moment, and you can’t want to emulate that style without lusting after the Leica. So, faced with a tiny cabin baggage weight allowance that made packing for PTO look like preparing a Formula One car, I took the necessary decision to leave my Nikon D3S kit behind and instead, packing a Leica M9 and a quintet of lenses; the Leica 75mm and 35mm ƒ2 Sum- microns, Voigtländer 15, 35 and Zeiss 85mm M-mount glass. It felt like a tough decision purely because I knew that I would be facing similar conditions to the work I do in the UK – indoor, low-light, fast speakers and a variety of subjects; as a camera to take on holiday the M9 is a luxury item indeed. To get the boring stuff out of the way first – the Leica M9


MASTER PHOTOGRAPHY 14 photography


Richard Kilpatrick used the Leica M9 to report on PTO 2011. Here’s his impression of the rangefinder digital, two premium grade Leica lenses, and some affordable Voigtlander alternatives.


Which I think is the key to the success of PTO over the years. The tutors often return as delegates, there are many regular delegates, returning to enjoy the environment and learn again, from new people. Meanwhile it remains sup- ported by firms like Fujifilm and Towergate, whilst One Vision support the contests. This year’s PTO Photographer of the Year is MPA member Kenneth Roberts, taking the title from his wife Liz!


The final word really belongs


in true PTO style to a late-night conversation in the deserted discotheque. Thomas Cook’s handler for the region, Hesham Elhadi, is young with a striking almost Scandinavian appear- ance. We’re discussing his


wife’s career in photography, politics, just passing time, and he glances at the photographers sitting at the table. “You all have such vision, such passion... I have never seen one group so united, by this one thing”. At a time when a planned demonstration in Cairo was set to reach one million protesters, that was quite a compliment. He’s right though. Regardless of age, of busi- ness or qualifications, everyone is united in their passion for photography.


– Richard Kilpatrick Ì


PTO: www.pto-uk.com Emma Hurley’s website: www.emmahurleyphotography.com carries details of her work with the Sri Udom orphanage.


is the third digital rangefinder from Leica, following on from the M8 and heavily revised M8.2. It’s the first full-frame rangefinder in the world, and


sports an 18Mp Kodak CCD with ISO from 160-2500, SDHC card storage, a reasonable 2.5” LCD display and a maximum shutter speed of 1/4000th. Compared


Above: Hurghada construction worker – a classic environmental portrait using the 35mm ƒ2 Summicron at ƒ6.7. 1/2000th at ISO 160.


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