Innholdsfortegnelse for 26-Apr-2014 i Amateur Photographer

Amateur Photographer For everyone who loves photography WHEN I first started at AP, the unwritten rules about the length of time between camera releases were clear. It was a year and half between consumer and enthusiast DSLR cameras, while professionals would have to wait around two years. I can’t remember when this unwritten rule was thrown out of the window, but Nikon now seems to update its entry-level DSLR cameras almost every other week, while Canon has taken an eternity – well, three years – to update the EOS 1100D to the EOS 1200D. This begs the question, how often should manufacturers upgrade their cameras? Often, there is barely any difference between models, with little in the way of new technology or improvement in image quality. The more cynical would…

AT A GLANCE ● Platform: Android ● 5in, full HD 1080p LCD ● Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 quad-core CPU ● HTC Sense 6 ● Duo Camera with 4.1-million-pixel UltraPixel sensor ● Weight: 160g ● Size: 146x70x9mm ONE OF the comments I often hear from casual photographers is that they want their images to look more professional ‘with blurred backgrounds’. Obviously, the shallow depth of field associated with large apertures and full-frame lenses is impossible with most consumer cameras. However, a quick look in either the Android or iOS app store shows a wealth of applications designed to selectively blur parts of an image to achieve this effect. The HTC One (M8) smartphone goes one step further. The phone has two cameras that are slightly offset from each other, like a pair…

IN RECENT years the resolution of cameras has increased, with the most marked improvement for the ‘middle-range’ photographer. With prices falling, many more of us can now afford 36-million-pixel cameras, with full frame now not just the preserve of professional shooters. This growth in potential image output, alongside greater mechanical and technical know-how, has seen the number of people seeking outlets for their creativity increase. This is where, for some, stock libraries enter the picture. At first, it looks to be a great, easy way of earning cash from images that otherwise spend their time on our hard drives. However, the realities aren’t as glossy as the casual browser may be fooled into thinking, as there are several areas that should be known before budding stock photographers wait for the…

1 Sam Rowell Lancashire 50pts Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3, 7-14mm, 1/160sec at f/4, ISO 200 Peter Sellers Judges say Street photography is always a popular subject in APOY and this year was no different. It wasn’t easy picking a winner. However, Sam’s image was one of the real standout images. It’s a beautifully observed scene and demonstrates a photographer with a keen eye and a quick hand. The wonderful pools of light on the walls are a compositional bonus that add interest and balance to the shot. This is a fantastic image 2 Dan Deakin Bristol 49pts Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7, 20mm, 1/80sec at f/1.7, ISO 1600 Kissing Couple Judges say This image is by 2012’s overall winner of APOY, Dan Deakin. Dan has recently made a temporary move to Vancouver in…

Twice a month we review six of the best accessories Crumpler Jackpack Half Photo Backpack £139 www.crumpler.eu The Jackpack Half Photo Backpack is engineered around the astute realisation that people who want to carry a lot of camera kit might also want to carry a lot else. Thus the Half Photo system was born. The interior space of the backpack is divided into two parts: one for camera gear and the other for anything else. Crumpler is held in high regard for the superior construction of its bags, and the Jackpack Half Photo is no exception. The 1000d ChickenTexSupreme exterior fabric (yes, that’s correct) is resistant to abrasion and tearing, and a protective lining within keeps camera gear safe. Measuring 32x45x19cm and weighing 1.27kg, there’s room for storing a decentsized…

‘When the lens is mounted on an Alpha 7 or 7R, the combination feels reassuringly steady ’ ONE OF the few complaints about the new Sony Alpha 7 and 7R cameras is that there is currently only a handful of compatible lenses available. A key set of lenses was prioritised for the launch of the Alpha 7 and 7R, as they are for any new camera system, and in this instance Sony opted for a 35mm f/2.8, a 55mm f/1.8 and a 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom. Of these three initial lenses, the Carl Zeiss-branded 35mm and 55mm prime lenses impressed us when we tested the two new cameras. Both lenses were very sharp and could realise the full potential of the 36.4-million-pixel sensor in the Alpha 7R. The sharpness of these…

‘I would suggest that you take praise at least ten times as seriously as condemnation or even mild criticism’ POSTING your pictures online and asking for appraisals can be invaluable. The AP website has an Appraisal Gallery for this very purpose. But you need to look very hard at the answers, for two reasons. The first is a simple question. What is the picture for? Are you trying to win a camera club competition? Or to get an Acceptance (and God willing, a prize) in an international Salon? Do you want to put together an exhibition? Are you considering going for an RPS Distinction? Are you looking for publication? If so, where? A television weather programme, a book on the homeless, or a magazine dedicated to fine art? All will…

News I Analysis I Comment 26/4/14 “It’s just another nail in the coffin of freelance photography… Special report on photo rights and the web, pages 6 and 7 ” Battle over palace photo revealed • Victims speak out for first time RIGHTS STORM OVER DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARDS PIC Committed to defending your photographic rights! THE UK’S largest schools photography company is still being hired to photograph Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) winners at St James’s Palace, five months after it was found guilty of breaching copyright, AP can reveal. Tempest Photography – employing 450 photographers nationwide – was sued by rival Success Photography, which won £1,880 in damages at the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (part of the High Court) on 21 November 2013. The DofE, which continues to use…

Circus By Giuliano Plorutti. Damiani, hardback, £25, 120 pages, ISBN 978-8-862-08324-9 FROM the phantasmagorical scenes by filmmakers such as Federico Fellini to the creepy stories weaved by Ray Bradbury, circuses have long provided suitable backdrops for artistic projects. Nothing so sinister here in Giuliano Plorutti’s document of travelling performers. In fact, the images capture the joy of performing for a crowd. Despite the pictures being in black & white, there’s ample colour in the characters and scenes. The images are also notable for the fact they are able to freeze-frame the performances. A large portion of the book is devoted to portraiture, of the performers and the people working behind the scenes. This is a book that demonstrates just how powerful a photo essay can be. The Art of Fashion…

BRINGING YOU ESSENTIAL EXPERT ADVICE EVERY WEEK SEAN BATTEN Sean Batten is a 41-year-old photographer who is originally from Bristol, but now lives in Surrey. He works in London as a software developer. He has been interested in photography for years, but became seriously involved about four years ago when he bought his first DSLR. Sean’s favourite photography genres are architecture and street photography, and working in London gives him plenty of opportunity to practise these. He says he tries to get out with his camera whenever he can. I GOT into photography seriously around four years ago, when I bought my first DSLR. Since then, architecture and, more recently, street photography have become my favourite subjects. As I live in London, I’m fortunate enough to be able to do…

MORE than 50 years after Marilyn Monroe’s death in 1962, she remains a potent sex symbol and cultural icon. Her beauty, glamour and vulnerability were captured by a number of major photographers, including Richard Avedon, Eve Arnold, Milton Greene, Bert Stern and Cecil Beaton. However, perhaps the most famous image of Monroe – and the one that confirmed her international stardom – was created by her close friend, Sam Shaw. Born in New York in 1912, Shaw had been an artist before taking up photography in the 1940s. He initially worked as a photojournalist for Collier’s magazine and carried out documentary assignments on subjects including jazz musicians, coal miners and sharecroppers. In the early 1950s, Shaw was working in the film industry as a stills photographer. While on the set…

AT A GLANCE ● 16.3 million effective pixels ● 1/2.33in (6.16x4.62mm) sensor ● 21x optical zoom (23-483mm equivalent) ● ISO 100-3200 ● 50GB free Dropbox cloud storage ● Large 1280x720 HD resolution touchscreen ● NFC and Wi-Ficonnectivity ● Street price around £399 AFTER stealing the march on the competition by successfully marrying a digital camera with a smartphone significantly better than anything else on the market, Samsung is at it again with its latest Galaxy Camera. The first Samsung Galaxy Camera, while innovative, wasn’t without its shortcomings. Its size was one point of contention. Although slim, the 4.8in screen meant that its body is naturally much larger than many other rival compact digital cameras. The lack of any physical controls was another issue for some users who have become accustomed…

BEST LENS AND SETTINGS Q I have just added a Canon EOS 600D with 18-55mm IS STM and 55-250mm IS lenses to the list of my possessions. Last year, I took some fairly decent shots of the Red Arrows using my Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ7 on burst mode and I’m looking at taking some more this year. However, which lens and which settings are likely to give me the best results using my new camera and lens kit? Mib150 A As PeteRob on the AP forum has already suggested, your longer lens (the 55–250mm) is almost certainly going to be the better option and you could check the Exif data of your previous (successful) images to see what settings were being used there. This is sound advice, but as a general…

UP TO 350 billion images were uploaded to the internet last year, according to industry estimates. That’s more than 50 images for every person alive on the planet. If these were printed as 6x4in photos and laid end-to-end in a line, they would stretch almost as far as Mars. Instagram alone says 55 million pictures are posted using its photosharing service every day. Getty Images last month decided to make 35 million of its pictures (almost a quarter of its entire archive) available for non-commercial purposes on websites and blogs, without users paying a penny – a move many photographers were quick to condemn. Internet users can post Getty images for free on Twitter, for example, and if they want to, later, buy larger versions of the ‘embedded’ photos, for…

LETTER OF THE WEEK Wins a great shockproof, waterproof and dustproof 5-Proof Technology 16GB Samsung SDHC Plus memory card offering up to 48MB/sec transfer speed. www.samsung.com/memorycard WHERE TO DRAW THE LINE? When considering nude and mildly erotic photography (AP Readers’ Poll, AP 5 April), I am bound to ask, ‘Where does one draw the line?’ Essentially, there are degrees and types of photography that have to be considered. First, there is the straightforward, carefully posed photograph that is designed to be artistically pleasing. Second, there is the mildly erotic, bare-breasted pose that one national newspaper has been publishing for years. Third, there is the ‘girly magazine’-type shot that is clearly designed to titillate and can only be described as pornography. So where does AP stand? I, like many others, can…

‘I’ve always loved photographing on the Tube. I see it as a subterranean version of London, as complex as the city above’ WHEN Bob Mazzer was a schoolboy, the first subjects he chose to photograph were passengers on the London Underground. Later, in 1969, when he had his first pictures published, they included one taken on a Tube train. More than 40 years on, Bob retains his lifelong fascination for photographing on the London Underground network. Bob’s archive now forms a unique document of life on the Tube. His pictures show passengers in all their rich variety, from attention-seeking extroverts to the sad and lonely. There are kissing couples, beggars, women feeding babies, tourists, late-night revellers and bored commuters, all randomly and fleetingly brought together in the same small, dimly…

Foggy lakeside, Thessaloniki, Greece Barbara Polyak Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1, 20mm, 1/40sec at f/4, ISO 100 THIS is a lovely view of a foggy morning, with the neat tree line and its reflection mirrored in the water’s surface. That lovely pink tint that tells us we are up very early in the morning. Barbara has picked her subject well, but I suspect the exposure settings were not chosen with quite so much care. The break-up of tones in the bottom left of the frame tells us that the pale mist has come about via some serious processing of a JPEG that just didn’t have enough information. You can see an exaggerated view in the frame that I have adjusted – the yellows and reds have split. This is a result of…

AT A GLANCE ● 18-million-pixel, APS-C-sized CMOS sensor ● DIGIC 4 ● ISO 100-6400 (extended to ISO 12,800) ● Canon EF-S mount ● Full HD 1080 movie recording ● 3in, 460,000-dot, TFT LCD screen ● Street price around £349 body only or £449 with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS III lens HISTORICALLY, Canon has produced some fantastic entry-level DSLR cameras tailored to the first-time buyer. This type of camera is aimed at someone who is upgrading from a compact camera or smartphone, who may find the functionality of a DSLR a little daunting, and the new Canon EOS 1200D has been targeted at these photographers. Interestingly, shortly after the camera’s announcement at CP+ in Tokyo, Japan, a new EOS Companion app was released that is designed to be a learning aid for…

DATAFILE Range ISM 2.4GHz digital transmission (more than 100 metres) Connections Digital Channel Matching provides reliable connections LCD Backlit, indicating groups A, B and C, on/off and flash power output settings Groups Each group can be turned on/off or flash power output adjusted with individual control button on the Viper transmitter Receiver 2.5mm socket and a Mini USB socket to connect to studio lights Mini USB socket For software upgrade or external 5V power supply Power 2x AA batteries (each on transmitter and receiver) for approx 120 hours Compatibility For Canon cameras/flashguns and compatible models FOR ANYONE who would like to explore the benefits of off-camera flash, there’s a huge selection of wireless flash triggers to choose from. Budget radio flash triggers, such as those found on eBay for around…