Innholdsfortegnelse for October 19, 2013 i Amateur Photographer

I DON’T have a favourite camera brand. As with music, I prefer the songs before the bands. There are plenty of cameras I love to use, and I appreciate the style and atmosphere of certain ranges. What sets one camera apart from the others are the unique characteristics of handling and quality that particular body designs, processors and optical arrangements afford. My connection to one brand is no more or less than to another, and I wish that all manufacturers could enjoy the success they deserve: a success deserved by the efforts they put into not just innovation, but also to understanding the qualities we want in a camera, then delivering them. When one manufacturer slips behind, for whatever reason, I am disappointed for the company, its heritage and for…

Portrait of the Writer: Literary Lives in Focus Foreword by Goffredo Fofi. Thames & Hudson, £24.95, hardback, 512 pages, ISBN 978-0-500-51717-8 GREAT writers portrayed by great photographers: if the idea appeals, and if you’re the sort of person who loves the sound of a portrait of Samuel Beckett made by Henri Cartier-Bresson, then this wonderfully thick book will keep you poring over it for hours. More than 250 literary stars are encapsulated in 512 pages, with the photography varying from the stately and formal to inventive works that are approaching abstraction. On the writers’ side, we’ve got Sylvia Plath, Kurt Vonnegut, Franz Kafka, Margaret Atwood and F Scott Fitzgerald. From the photography pool there is Man Ray, Pablo Picasso, Abbas, Bruce Davidson and Robert Doisneau. It’s probably already obvious whether…

COMMERCIAL photography, and photography itself, has changed a lot over the past ten years. When I started taking photographs, it was quite technical. You needed to know water temperatures and chemical formulas, and pretty much everything was done under a red light or, if you were lucky enough to be developing film, complete darkness. For firms and Individuals, that meant lots of shots that didn’t work out. I’m pretty sure that most people have an image of themselves when they were younger where the negative was pre-exposed accidentally, leaving a band across the print. At the firm I used to work for, it cost around £20,000 a year for all the developing, scanning and using of images. However, with the advent of digital photography, suddenly you could shoot as much…

LOOKING at Betina La Plante’s portraits, it’s undeniable how accomplished they are. You may be surprised to learn, then, that Betina has been taking images seriously only for the past four years. ‘I’ve always had an interest in photography, having been given my first camera for Christmas at the age of 14,’ she says. ‘However, at the time, it was simply a way of taking snap shots.’ Betina, who was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and studied art in London and Rome before working in film and television production, found her way into photography after meeting Magnum photographer Elliott Erwitt in New York. Following this, Betina started to regard photography in a different way. ‘Seeing how Elliott worked, his approach to the medium in general, gave me a new appreciation…

Lexar Professional Workflow HR1 £64.99rrp www.lexar.com/workfl ow THE LEXAR Professional Workflow Reader Solution is a system that allows up to four memory cards to be read and downloaded to a laptop or computer at once via USB. This is perfect for anyone who shoots lots of images and wants them downloaded quickly. The main hub (HR1) allows four separate readers to be inserted. The readers are purchased separately and allow the user a choice of SDHC/SDXC, UHS-I and UDMA 7 CompactFlash (£24.99) and XQD (£35.99) formats. Lexar states that the HR1 system is future-proof because users can swap the readers should technology change and different cards be released. It is also useful for photographers who change to a camera that supports a different card type. Thankfully, these readers are not…

THE APPEAL of mobilephone photography lies largely in the ability it lends us to shoot an image, edit it and share it with the world within seconds, and the QX cameras are no different. Two-million-pixel, low-resolution images can be opened and edited in Instagram or other applications, then uploaded online or shared via email. However, the QX cameras can also transfer a 20-millionpixel, high-resolution image to the connected device, although this is not really any different from using any other Wi-Fi compatible camera. In fact, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II, which has the same sensor and lens as the QX100, can transfer images via Wi-Fi. Editing a full-sized image on a mobile phone isn’t ideal. While basic brightness and colour adjustments are fairly straightforward, and adding a gradient to help…

Man in a chair Morris Clifford Panasonic DMC-TZ6, 300mm equivalent focal length, 1/400sec at f/5.6, ISO 125 THIS image came on a disc that Morris had labelled ‘unusual holiday photographs’ and this is certainly not your standard ‘happy holiday’ picture. The reason I picked this particular shot was initially because of its quirky composition. We can often become bogged down by ‘rules’ regarding what should go where, and while it’s good to know these things (and apply them), it’s also good to know when avoiding convention might create a stronger result. Here, for example, it’s as if Morris has taken the rulebook and thrown it out of the window. The strongest line in the image (the division between the sand and the water) is almost central, which is usually an…

K-3 to boost Pentax DSLR range • Built-in anti-aliasing ‘simulator’ PENTAX UNVEILS K-3 TO TAKE ON CANON AND NIKON RICOH Imaging has launched the Pentax K-3 in a serious bid to pull photographers away from the two biggest-selling DSLR brands, Canon and Nikon. It is the third Pentax DSLR to be unveiled in four months. Due out in November, priced £1,099.99 body only, the K-3 is billed as a ‘significant upgrade’ and aimed at dedicated enthusiasts and semiprofessional photographers. The K-3 features a new 24-million-pixel, Sony-made, APS-C-sized CMOS imaging sensor and a revamped, 27-point (25 cross-type sensors), SAFOX II AF system with a claimed minimum luminance of -3EV. Pentax now has seven DSLRs, with the K-3 taking the K-flagship position, sitting above the ‘mid-class’ K-5II and K-5IIs in the range.…

● FAVOURITE WALKS IN DEVON WITH LOCAL AUTHORS AND WALKERS, edited by Simone Stanbrook-Byrne and James Clancy, £6.99 A host of Devon’s respected walkers – which is apparently a thing a person can become in Devon – have collaborated for this book of the best circular perambulations the county has to offer. There’s a lot of decent photography that gives the chapters some welcome visual flavour, although it’s not clear why so much had be monochrome. The half-page colour images do a much better job of showing off why Devon is worth walking around. ● THE ART OF IPHONE PHOTOGRAPHY by Bob Weil and Nicki Fitz-Gerald, £34.50 Given the recent release of the iPhone 5s and its beefed-up camera, photography with the iPhone, already the most popular camera on Flickr,…

THIS image was taken very close to where I live in Knokke, in north-east Belgium. There used to be a butterfly garden near my home and it was a place that I had planned to shoot for a long time. One day, news reached me that the garden was about to close. I think the reason the closure was planned was because they wanted to build some houses on the site. That information made me jump to attention and realise that I was now facing a pretty strict deadline if I wanted to get some good butterfly images. It also forced me to go into the butterfly garden with a clear idea of what I wanted to do with this project. I didn’t have time to mess around and experiment.…

MICHAEL Kenna loves what he does. ‘I have a passion for it and am absolutely amazed that I have been on this fabulous journey for so long,’ he says. It’s a journey that has taken Michael from his workingclass roots in the industrial town of Widnes in Lancashire to his status as one of today’s most highly regarded fine-art landscape photographers. Next month, Michael’s journey reaches a significant milestone: he will be 60 in November. This birthday is being marked by an exhibition of his work in Runcorn in Cheshire, a few miles south of his birthplace. The 50 prints on show range from early work exploring his local area to the minimalist work made during the past few years in locations far from home, including China and Japan. The…

ONE OF the mantras we often hear is that the introduction of digital imaging means that cameras don’t have to look like cameras any more. The mechanics, wind-on mechanisms and motors are, of course, obsolete nowadays, and even optical viewfinders and single-lens reflex systems are found less frequently. Yet despite this, the basic design of cameras has remained roughly the same. In fact, most compact system cameras are designed to look like the models of yesteryear, whether they are styled as a rangefinder or an SLR. That said, alternative designs have appeared recently – the Lytro Light Field Camera was launched earlier this year and now we have new Sony Cyber-shot DSCQX10 and QX100. If you have missed our coverage of these innovative devices, they are cameras that consist simply…

THE SONY Cyber-shot DSC-QX10 and QX100 are more than just mobile-phone ‘accessories’. The QX10 will appeal to many consumers as a replacement for a compact camera. Being small and light, it is the perfect accompaniment to a smartphone. Although the QX100 is the superior camera, it is caught in a strange place in the market. Without the ability to change sensitivity or shoot raw images, it lacks two significant features that enthusiast photographers require. Furthermore, neither camera carries a flash, and I would like to see more image and shooting settings. With those features we would end up with the RX100 II – which costs some £250 more. What you get with the QX100 is a device that offers flexibility and connectivity. It is a fantastic replacement compact camera, but…

Amateur Photographer’s… ICONS OF PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTOGRAPHER I PHOTOGRAPH I ICONIC CAMERA THE MIRANDA FvT appeared in 1966, some 12 years after the first Miranda model and about six years after the Miranda D, the first version generally available in Britain after import controls were relaxed. The FvT was far from the first Miranda and it was not the last, which came some ten years later, yet it seems to be the most memorable Miranda for many classic camera users. The FvT was memorable because it brought together in one amateur package features that made professional SLRs, like the Nikon F, so desirable to impecunious amateurs in the mid-1960s. Interchangeable viewfinders, instant-return mirror, TTL exposure measurement from the screen and quality auto-diaphragm interchangeable lenses were all there, plus the feature missing…

WHEN I first held the new Nikon 1 AW1, it wasn’t quite what I had been expecting. Usually, waterproof cameras come in a range of bright, garish colours, with thick rubber coatings and clunky plastic buttons. Not so the Nikon 1 AW1, as its appearance is very conventional. In fact, the camera is designed to look just as much at home taking street photographs or landscapes as it does taking underwater images. FEATURES Crammed inside the body of the AW1 is a 1in, 14.2-million-pixel CMOS sensor, with ISO sensitivity spanning ISO 160-6400. Like other recent Nikon 1-system cameras, the AW1 can shoot with continuous AF at a rate of 15fps, or without AF at 60fps, all at full resolution. However, it is what Nikon describes as the camera’s ‘adventure’ features…

LETTER OF THE WEEK Wins a 20-roll pack of 36-exposure Fujifilm Superia ISO 200 35mm film or a Fujifilm 8GB media card* RUSHING THE PROCESS Regarding to the Backchat from Lee Osborne (AP 5 October) concerning the way in which smartphone technology may influence camera design and functionality in the future, I have thought on several occasions that it would be nice to be able to snap a subject and upload it ‘to the world’ immediately. However, it would not be an important factor when considering the purchase of a camera. The idea of cameras where we take, view, edit, upload and then move on to the next subject leaves me rather cold. I feel this type of instant photography is more suited to camera phones, the importance of the…

I REGULARLY pass the tree in this picture while on walks through a local forest, and recently I decided to spend some time photographing it. I set the camera up on a tripod and hung around for half an hour or so, repeatedly taking photographs whenever the dappled light hitting the tree looked interesting. I did so with the intention of somehow combining all the shots together into a single image. The method here relies on the use of Smart Objects and ’stack mode processing’. I should point out that Smart Objects has, until recently, been limited to the extended versions of Photoshop only. However, this feature is now available in the latest Photoshop CC. If you don’t have access to Smart Objects in Photoshop, you can still get the…

James Sleigh Leicestershire While James was first attracted to photography because of the technology, he soon discovered that he loved everything about creative image-making. He says his favourite photographic subjects are flowers, because of their beautiful colours and the vast variety of different species. James finds photography particularly appealing because of its near-limitless scope for invention: ‘Anything can be created and result in truly stunning photographs,’ he says. Droplets in garden 1 The water droplets form fascinating sculptural shapes that dominate this image Fujifilm X10, 28-112mm, 1/550sec at f/2, ISO 550 Three 2 The three disparate subjects make for a fresh, intriguing image Fujifilm X10, 28-112mm, 1/680sec at f/2, ISO 200 IF YOUR PICTURES ARE FEATURED 1 YOU’LL RECEIVE… £50 The Editor’s Choice wins a Vanguard GH-100 3-in-1 pistol grip…

THE CAMERAS connect to a smartphone via a sprung folding grip that sits at the back of the camera. The arms of the grip stretch apart, allowing it to be used with smartphones with a width of 54-75mm and a maximum thickness of 13mm. I found that even with a fairly substantial case around an iPhone 5, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-QX10 and QX100 could be attached easily. The grip itself can be easily removed from the camera by pressing a catch and giving the lens a twist, in much the same way as a lens with a bayonet mount fits on a camera body. There is even a case for the Sony Xperia Z smartphone that has the QX bayonet built in to the reverse, so there is no need…

BACK-UP LENS Q I have had a Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 lens for a while and I love it. I’m now at the stage where I am backing up most of my equipment. I don’t want to buy another Nikon 70-200mm because of the price, so does anyone know of a similar lens for a cheaper price? newfocusphotography AApart from a couple of high-profile professionals with specialist needs, I’ve not come across many people who have felt a need to have back-up lenses. Cameras, yes, but not lenses. The main reason is that lenses rarely fail and, if they do, it’s possible to work around the problem with another lens. Moreover, when you say you don’t want a Nikon 70-200mm, that’s exactly what you’re doing – adding an extra lens to…

I MEET Eli on London’s South Bank on a gorgeous late-summer Sunday afternoon. We’re out to photograph what’s likely to be the last good weekend for street photography this year: the families out shopping; couples without children dropping into museums on their way to lunches; market stalls slashing prices; and cafés pulling out all the stops for the last consumer spend of summer. Then there is Eli and me, two fools with cameras, falling behind the crowds and arguing over f-stops. ‘F/11 for everything,’ I say. ‘It keeps you covered for almost every situation.’ ‘You and your little rules,’ he replies. And then a situation occurs. A crowd forms outside a small gallery, where a scantily clad, beautiful young woman appears to be edging her way out from an exhibition…