Innholdsfortegnelse for November 9, 2013 i Amateur Photographer

I HAVE often wondered why the landscape remains the most popular subject for photography enthusiasts. God’s ever-changing world is, after all, one of the more difficult things to make good pictures of. The landscape photographer needs patience and needs to remember to exercise it. To make use of that patience, time is required too, in abundance, and the discipline to squeeze the trigger only when the moment is right no matter how long the wait. With a still life I can make the sun rise and set when I like, and use diffusers to make a cloudy day, or none to enjoy the direct beams of my electronic daylight. But the landscape photographer can only look upwards to ask for the right weather, and then will it to arrive. And…

Submerged by Tyler Shields Until 9 November. Imitate Modern, 27a Devonshire Street, London W1G 6PN. Tel: 0207 486 9927. Website: www.imitatemodern.com. Open Mon-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat 10am-5pm, Sun by appointment. Admission free IN ITS very last week, this exhibition sees Hollywood photographer Tyler Shields exploring new ground with a series of images taken underwater. The shots feature participants in sartorial dress – ballgowns and black tie – striking poses and creating tableaux in sub-aquatic conditions ranging from Grand Canyon lakes to home bathtubs. The lighting is often quite sparse, looking like little more than a single strategically placed point-source light, and this lends the images a certain simplicity that counterbalances the elaborate concept. Many of the people featured are advertised as Hollywood stars, although I confess that the top-billed names such…

I READ recently in the press that wildlife and photo-tourism was starting to have an adverse effect on the very wildlife (and environment) that people were spending large sums of money coming to see. Increasing numbers of tourist buses travelling into wild areas, together with ‘safari-camps’ and hotels, were starting to impact on the ecosystem. Given the large numbers of tourists – and their requirements – this would seem to be inevitable. With so much money coming in, it seemed wrong to me that the benefits of tourism were not always filtering down to local people, and that even the wildlife itself was being disturbed. We are all aware of the shocking level of poaching taking place in Africa, which is increasing at an alarming rate, despite the money coming…

AP guide to… A MULTICOLOURED sphere of light hiding among the trees, perfectly symmetrical blue domes growing out of the ground, bursts of colour dancing over the landscape – these supernatural-looking images are not tricks with Photoshop, but are in fact ‘light paintings’. They are all created in-camera by long-exposure photography expert Andrew Whyte. However, this is a skill Andrew came to by circumstance, not design. After quitting his job working in education to look after his children full-time in 2007, he found that he only had time to take photographs at night. This led to him experimenting with what was possible in darkness. Inspired by his childhood passion of writing his name with sparklers on Bonfire Night, and drawing on some previous attempts at light trails and light painting…

It has a 921,000-dot EVF and articulated LCD screen alongside its 12.2-million-pixel sensor and premium build body, so is the Nikon Coolpix P7800 the best P-series compact camera yet? Callum McInerney-Riley Technical writer THIS series of Nikon Coolpix cameras – the first of which was released in February 2007 – were originally flagship models in the company’s compact camera range, and were often widely regarded as among the best compact cameras on the market. However, the rise in smartphone photography has seen overall sales of compact cameras decline sharply year on year. For this reason, many other manufacturers have turned to developing premium compact cameras – a market that was previously dominated by Nikon and Canon – and their proliferation means that the Nikon Coolpix P7800 will really have to…

REJECTED LIBRARY PHOTOS Q I submit photographs to a photo library and occasionally have rejections for poor focus. The shots are mainly architectural and are taken on sunny days, often with a polarising filter, and using either a Sigma 10-20mm or a Nikon 18-200mm lens. The typical exposure is 1/250sec at f/8 and ISO 200. Much of the time I use the wideangle lens at 10mm, but I am wondering if the focus quality at the wide end of the zoom does not meet the library’s standards. Should I only use the Sigma from, say, 12-18mm, or should I replace it with a Nikon equivalent and restrain the use of my 18-200mm to well within its limits? Alternatively, is it just inconsistency with photo library staff? Ron Ellis A Without…

News I Analysis I Comment I PhotoDiary 9/11/13 Fuji to take on Olympus and Panasonic • X-E2 due this month FUJIFILM X-E2 IN BID TO FEND OFF CSC RIVALS FUJIFILM has revamped the X-E1 in the form of the X-E2, in a bid to fend off competition from compact system camera (CSC) rivals Olympus and Panasonic. Fuji claims that the X-E2 has better AF speed and handling than the X-E1 and expects it to pitch up against the likes of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7 when it goes on sale this month, priced £799.99 body only. In common with a growing band of cameras, the imaging sensor on the X-E2 comes without an optical low-pass filter – to help improve reproduction of image detail. Among ‘60 differences’ over the X-E1 is…

A round-up of the latest photography books on the market ● TWENTIETH CENTURY COLOUR PHOTOGRAPHS by Sylvie Pénichon, £39.95 As an on-hand reference, this overview of the history of colour photography is superb, with abundant information on shooting colour photographs, printing them and preserving them for the future. There’s a decent range of illustrations throughout the book, which is helpful for explicating the differences between films and printing methods. Be aware that the ‘colour photographs’ of the title refers exclusively to colour photography using film. For those whose interests lie in that direction, this is an excellent reference book. ● A YEAR AT STONEHENGE by James O Davies, £16.99 James O Davies has put a year into getting familiar with one of Britain’s bestloved monuments, and documented his journey with…

THIS image, called ‘Highway 395’, was taken six or seven years ago. It’s in northern California, pretty much right next to the highway – hence the name. There had been a forest fire a few years prior, explained the local guide, who also told me that there was a really big snowstorm coming through that day. I thought the scene was kind of evocative of the whole place. This image was shot on a very wide lens, which is unusual for me. It was 72mm lens on a Linhof Technikardan, which I suppose is the equivalent of around a 20mm lens on full frame. That may not sound that wide, but it certainly is for me! On this occasion, I wanted to include the tuft of grass in the foreground…

NOW IN its seventh year, the Take a view Landscape Photographer of the Year competition has produced yet another crop of superb images. Landscape photographers have been trying to impress a team of judges, including Charlie Waite and AP Editor Damien Demolder, for a chance to win the top prize of £10,000. Here, Charlie shares his thoughts on a selection of the best images from the 2013 event. You can also see these images – and more – at London’s National Theatre from 7 December. A book is available with all the best entries at the discounted price of £15 (normal price £25). See page 45 for more details. Overall Young winner Christopher Page Nikon D5100, 34mm, 1/50sec at f/11, ISO 800 ‘The colour of the autumn leaves at Polesden…

ONE VERY useful feature on the Nikon Coolpix P7800 is its in-camera raw-file processing. This allows some adjustments and changes to be made to improve or correct the raw file. Once a picture is taken, select Playback>Menu>Raw (NRW) processing. This will allow the user to select the picture that is to be processed. To the right is a menu where it is possible to change the white balance to any of those featured in the shooting mode, and alter the exposure by ±3EV in whole steps. Below that is an option to select different picture controls, including standard, neutral, vivid and monochrome. These can be adjusted to add sharpening, contrast and saturation. On top of this, picture quality can be altered, as can image size, while distortion correction and control…

ONE OF Nikon’s recent lens releases is the mighty 800mm f/5.6E lens, which matches the existing 800mm f/5.6L from Canon. Both these lenses allow the photographer to capture the proverbial gnat’s whisker across a football pitch. They are the epitome of the long lenses seen ringing stadiums at major sporting events. Many amateur photographers covet such lenses and the ability to bring distant objects in close. The problem for the amateur, of course, is the price. The Nikon lens costs £15,599.99. The Canon is a little cheaper at ‘just’ £12,600. Either way, one needs to be a truly committed and very well-heeled amateur to afford these lenses. For the rest of us, our solution to capturing these distant objects is to use shorter, more affordable lenses and extend the ‘reach’…

AP hands-on WHILE the serious enthusiast is unlikely to be swayed into buying a Nikon DSLR over a Canon model purely because the Nikon camera is newer, the reality is that at the non-premium end of the market this is how some people make their buying decisions. ‘Newer’ must mean ‘better’. This demand for the ‘new’ explains why we see such short product cycles in the camera market, and why manufacturers feel the need to introduce even small advances in technology or feature sets in cameras with completely new names – rather than a ‘Mark II’ type of naming format. Those familiar with Nikon’s range of DSLRs may not see the sense in the company’s introduction of the new D5300, especially as Nikon will maintain the D5200 alongside this model…

LETTER OF THE WEEK Wins a 20-roll pack of 36-exposure Fujifilm Superia ISO 200 35mm film or a Fujifilm 8GB media card* USING THE FREE TORCH While in the process of producing quality photographs, one would find a good location in which to exercise one’s compositional skills, then set the camera to the appropriate settings, as one does with film and digital photography. With care, the best light and lots of determination and patience, we can all create that killer image. Or can we? Arriving back home after a long enjoyable and fruitful day of photography, a time of suspense ensues. Setting up our darkrooms – mine is under the stairs – we enter the reddish and very dimly lit room for the printing stage. Before that comes the loading…

Four lucky AP readers learn from wildlife photographer Dave Stevenson about how to capture great animal shots at ZSL London Zoo. Tom Doyle reports MOST people have neither the time nor the money to get away and land scintillating photos of glorious animals in their natural habitats. The next best thing, however, may just be an AP Masterclass with a professional photographer in a more accessible setting. Robin Bailey, Alan Clifford, Lesley Madigan and Paul Stoddart went to London Zoo to learn from renowned wildlife photographer Dave Stevenson about the secrets of getting great animal shots. We begin the day with a talk from Dave on the basics of wildlife photography, as he takes us through some of the highs and lows of chasing all manner of beasts around the…

Twice a month we test of six of the best accessories on the market Gloves for photographers Winter is coming, and cold hands are a photographer’s worst enemy. Jon Stapley rounds up the best gloves for operating a camera in chilly conditions Etre Touchy Gloves £40 www.etretouchy.com Etre Touchy is a range designed, unsurprisingly, for touchscreens. Given that more and more new cameras are coming equipped with touch LCD screens, Etre’s niche is expanding beyond the scope of just the smartphone. The woollen gloves are missing tips for the index finger and thumb, allowing the user to finely operate touchscreens and other devices without removing them. The homespun yarn is comfortable and warming on the hands, but isn’t very grippy. I found operating a touchscreen on a phone to be…

RRP £499.99 Sensor 1/1.7in CMOS sensor with 12.2 million effective pixels Output size 4000 x 3000 pixels Lens Nikkor 6-42.8mm (equivalent to 28-200mm in 35mm format) File format Raw (NRW+) + JPEG simultaneously, JPEG Compression 3-stage JPEG Shutter type Mechanical and charge-coupled electronic shutter Shutter speeds 60-1/4000sec Max flash sync 1/4000sec Aperture f/2-4 in 1/3EV steps ISO 80-3200 (H1 6400 expanded) Exposure modes Program, aperture priority, shutter priority, manual, auto, effects and scene modes Metering system 224-segment matrix, centreweighted and spot Exposure comp ±3EV in 1/3EV steps White balance Auto1, Auto2, 7 presets, plus 4 custom White balance bracket Yes Drive mode Up to 8fps in continuous high full-resolution, BSS selector, multi-shot 16 and 120fps in high-speed mode LCD 3in, TFT LCD vari-angle RGBW monitor with 921,000 dots Viewfinder type…

IT’S MUCH easier for a (bad) teacher to train people to repeat, parrot-fashion, what they’re told than to let them ask awkward questions. This is the fundamental difference between training and education. Training teaches people how to do a specific job. Education teaches them to think and to find things out – and, if need be, to question or even challenge the teacher. Education is partly utilitarian, it’s true, especially when it comes to basics like reading and writing. Mostly, though, it is open-ended. Sadly, many teachers think like trainers. Combining education and training is often possible, usually desirable and sometimes necessary. But always, real learning involves three steps. First, what do you want or need to know? Second, where do you look for that information? Third, how do you…