Innholdsfortegnelse for 09-may-15 i Amateur Photographer

When I bought my first studio-lighting kit, I spent a few days obsessed with photographing pretty much everything I could find. I looked for objects that had different textures and surfaces, all with the aim of learning how to use the lights and how to illuminate different subjects. One thing that I found really difficult was food photography. I’ve since learned that studio lighting isn’t always the best option, and as we show on pages 22-23, natural light is often the best and easiest solution. On reflection, using a microwavable chicken curry as my subject was never going to provide a fantastic image of the kind the shortlisted photographers of the Pink Lady Food Photography Competition have produced on pages 18-21. Having been inspired by these images, maybe I’ll have…

In AP 25 April we published an image showing the eruption of Mount Sinabung in Indonesia. Now we have this incredible scene from David Cortes Serey. While the image may not of the best quality, it is enough to communicate the awe-inspiring nature of the scene. The view, from Puerto Varas in southern Chile, shows a column of ash and lava emerging from the Calbuco volcano. Calbuco erupted on 23 April, spewing a giant funnel of ash into the sky near the southern port city of Puerto Montt and triggering a red alert. Such was the force of the explosion that authorities ordered people to evacuate an area within a six-mile radius of the volcano. Words & numbers ‘It ismore important to clickwith people than to click the shutter’ Alfred…

Ever since smartphones became everyday, carry-anywhere items, using them to take pictures has turned into an extremely popular activity. Mobile phones have long been the most popular cameras on image-sharing sites such as Flickr, leaving even the most popular compact brands from Nikon or Canon far behind. The trend has also pushed the massive growth of mobilespecific image-sharing apps and services, such as EyeEm, VSCO Cam and Instagram. In 2012, Instagram was bought by Facebook for an incredible $1 billion, and with 200 million users it is now more popular than Twitter. This shows that smartphones have provided access to photography to a much larger group of people than any other new camera technology in history, and the term ‘mobile photography’, although coined only fairly recently, has already made it…

Email amateurphotographer@timeinc.com and include your full postal address Write to Inbox, Amateur Photographer, Time Inc. (UK), Blue Fin Building, 110 Southwark Street, London SE1 0SU LETTER OF THE WEEK Wedding tales The ‘check it and see’ bonus of photographing a wedding with a digital camera is a million miles removed from my days photographing this challenging genre (AP 25 April). During the 1980s, I was the official photographer at many local weddings. In hindsight, my approach was astonishingly naive. Armed with a Canon AE-1, a 50mm standard lens, a flash unit, a couple of rolls of film and a rather forceful personality, I shot more than 30 weddings without, I’m proud to say, a single complaint. However, on one occasion, I went to straighten the groom’s tie and accidentally dislodged…

Brian Duffy, along with David Bailey and Terence Donovan, changed the face of fashion photography for good. In fact, for a time, these three photographers were bigger draws than the models they were shooting and the magazines that published their work. Nicknamed ‘The Terrible Three’ by the press at the time, with Norman Parkinson going a little further and labelling them ‘The Black Trinity’, Duffy, Bailey and Donovan would shake up the fashion establishment, with Duffy quoted as saying, ‘Before 1960, a fashion photographer was tall, thin and camp. But we three are different: short, fat and heterosexual!’ Duffy got his first commission from The Sunday Times, and shortly afterwards in 1957 he was hired by British Vogue, where he stayed until 1963. It was this decade that would see…

Auto correcting in Camera Raw AUTO camera features are great for making photographers’ lives easier, although it’s best not to become reliant on them – you still need to be aware of when it is best to override auto settings. For example, in this photograph by Riddhi Deb, the centre of the frame is pointed at the bright daylight area in the distance. As a result, the camera’s auto metering was fooled into compensating by selecting a darker exposure. Judging by the focusing, it looks like the lens was focused on the distance, too. However, auto functions can also be used to improve images at the postprocessing stage. In Camera Raw, there are auto settings such as the Auto tone adjustment option in the Basic panel, which adjusts parameters such…

When we received the Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II at the beginning of March, it went straight to AP technical editor and Olympus user Andy Westlake for test (see AP 21 March). However, before Andy put the camera through its paces, Andrew Sydenham subjected it to a number of tests in the lab to find out how the 16.1-million-pixel Four Thirds sensor performed. Unsurprisingly, the OM-D E-M5 Mark II delivered some fine results, with a dynamic range of 12.5EV and a resolution of 3400l/ph at ISO 100. At these low ISO sensitivities, the Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II showed it is on a par with many APS-C DSLRs. However, for many photographers the highlight feature of the OM-D E-M5 Mark II is its 5-axis in-body stabilisation. This moves the sensor…

LAUNCHED 1962 PRICE £192 19s 9d (£192.98) with 50mm f/1.8 Super Canomatic lens GUIDE PRICE TODAY £75-£200 with 50mm f/1.8 Super Canomatic lens THE CANONFLEX RM of 1962 was the most successful of Canon’s first range of SLRs. With the same Canon R lens mount (same breechlock as the later Canon FL and FD lenses, but different diaphragm actuation), it was very different to earlier models. The wind lever was a conventional lever in an appreciably higher top-plate, the delay action lever was ‘normal’ and a selenium-cell exposure meter was built in. The higher body permitted a low-profile prism, with much of the depth of the prism inside the camera. What’s good The RM is easy to handle, has fast accurate, focusing and a quiet shutter. There is a limited…

Camlet Mount The Camlet Mount allows photographers to control a DSLR or CSC using a tablet or smartphone, claims David Slater, who is seeking $45,000 to fund the project via Kickstarter. Photographers will be able to view their images on screen, and edit and share photos using the touchscreen of a tablet or smartphone. Visit www.camletmount.com. Nikon/Sigma truce Nikon has ended its patent-infringement battle with Sigma, following a ‘judicial settlement’ with the company. In 2011, Nikon accused Sigma of infringing a patent for Vibration Reduction in DSLR lenses. The firms remained at loggerheads, despite a court ordering Sigma to pay 1.5 billion yen to Nikon. Camera bags Three new Hiker shoulder bags and two new backpacks have been launched by Nest. Priced £49.99-£129.99, the Hiker camera bags are made from…

PENTAX brand owner Ricoh has revamped the K-3 to announce the Pentax K-3 II, a new K-series flagship DSLR with several features designed to boost image quality. The K-3 II seems to largely resemble the K-3, although, unlike its predecessor, there is no flash. Features include a 24.35-millionpixel imaging sensor, a 27-point AF system, top ISO of 51,200 and continuous shooting at 8.3 frames per second, according to Ricoh. However, the K-3 II also boasts improved AF, through a ‘more responsive phase-matching AF system’ and better image stabilisation via improved shake reduction – for compensation ‘of up to 4.5 stops’. In a statement, Ricoh added: ‘The Pentax K-3 II delivers exceptionally high-resolution images supported by state-of-the-art technologies, including an enhanced shakereduction system – the most highly effective in the K…

The Weegee Guide to New York by Philomena Mariani and Christopher George, Prestel, £24.99, paperback, 432 pages, ISBN 978-3-79135-355-5 WEEGEE has been served well by photography publications. While he hasn’t had quite the same exposure as other so-called masters, his images have graced the pages of many a glossy retrospective. With that in mind, it can be difficult to know how to present a fresh angle. Prestel, to its credit, has come up with a novel approach. The Weegee Guide to New York is just that. The book is designed as a Big Apple travel guide, complete with handy pull-out maps. The charm is in the little map keys; the little dead bodies and fires are particularly amusing in their morbidity. Perhaps the only minor point is the uncomfortable 14…

Mummy Will Get It Laura Anderson 1 This beautiful image of a mother attempting to retrieve an apple that has fallen into a river benefits from its muted colour tones, soft light and overall composition. The whole scene has a painterly quality. It reminds us of walks through the park or country during the warmer months. The Hunter and the Hunted Drina Cabra 2 This stunning image of a squid and its prey is certainly not for the squeamish. It’s a perfectly presented and lit image, and one that utilises a great theme within its title. The squid has indeed captured its prey, but here we see that the squid too has been captured and displayed in this oddly beautiful tableau. Up Close and Personal Bry Garcia-Wilkinson 3 This image…

There are impressive jobs, and then there’s Stefan Rousseau’s job. Working for the Press Association, the Newcastle-born, Westminsterbased photographer’s day job is capturing Prime Minister David Cameron on camera, whether in the UK or accompanying him across the world on the PM’s private plane. ‘I started with Tony Blair, followed by Gordon Brown and then David Cameron, so whoever is the Prime Minister of the day, I travel with them,’ the 49-year-old says with unassuming confidence. ‘I’ve been to many exciting places at pivotal times. Going into Iraq for the first time with Tony Blair was pretty exciting, as was my trip to Libya with David Cameron and the then President of France Nicolas Sarkozy. ‘I went to Burma a couple of years ago with David Cameron and met Burmese…

Cullmann ConceptOne OH4.5V hybrid ball head Andy Westlake examines Cullmann’s new hybrid ball head that aims to serve both stills and video shooters ● £150 ● www.cullmann.de IF YOU’RE a photographer who also likes to shoot video and habitually carries a tripod, then you’ve probably found yourself facing a dilemma over what head to choose. Stills photographers prefer ball-and-socket heads for their flexibility, compact size and relatively light weight, while videographers demand smoothly operating pan-and-tilt heads with a long control handle. On the face of it, these two requirements are mutually incompatible. Cullmann is trying to square this circle with its new Concept One hybrid ball heads. In photo mode, these behave as perfectly normal ball heads, with a friction control and independently locking panning base. However, by lining up…

Email your questions to: apanswers@timeinc.com, Twitter @AP_Magazine and #AskAP, or Facebook. Orwrite to Technical Support, Amateur Photographer Magazine, Time Inc. (UK), Blue Fin Building, 110 Southwark Street, London SE1 0SU Website choice Q I am planning to build my own portfolio website, but with so many website packages available I’m finding it very difficult to choose one that is suitable. I have a very limited budget, so am looking to spend around £40 a year, including a domain name (the one I’m looking at costs £4.99 a year). Ideally, I’d like a site that can be heavily customised, but one that needs no knowledge of programming languages. I want to include a search box to find images that I can keyword, which can be viewed on different devices such as…

Colour balance (sometimes called white balance) is a topic that can be mystifying. Generally, our eyes (or, more strictly, our visual cortex) will see colours as true almost whatever the lighting, although there are some light sources, such as yellow sodium vapour light, that will cause some colours (reds, in the case of sodium lighting) to be misrendered. Cameras, however, seem to be much more sensitive to ambient lighting, and part of the craft of a photographer is ensuring that colours are rendered properly. Failure to do this can result in some strange photographs – skin tones in particular. In this article, I’ll discuss why the problem of white balance arises and how it is dealt with inside the camera. Humans detect the colour of what they see according to…

If you want to dip your toe in the world of wildlife photography, a visit to a wildlife centre offers a great opportunity to get close to a host of our native species. So, whether you want to see foxes, red squirrels, little owls or otters, you’re likely to find them at venues like the British Wildlife Centre in Surrey. These centres can offer fabulous photo opportunities that would take great patience and fieldcraft to achieve if you were in the wild. And for those really wanting to get the perfect wildlife shot, you’ll find that some centres will offer specific days for photographers in small groups that are oft en closed off to the public. This means you’ll have the luxury of better vantage points and, in some cases,…

Harry Cory Wright: Anglia Harry Cory Wright explores the lowlands of the British Isles in this exhibition, charting the areas that have remained unchanged and those that have been shaped by human hand. With a mixture of landscape, architecture and more, it’s an absorbing juxtaposition of the old and the new. 14 May-18 July www.elevenfineart.com ILPOTY This is the final week for entries to the International Landscape Photographer of the Year competition. It is open to everyone, so submit your best landscapes for a chance to win. Deadline 15 May www.internationallandscapephotographer.com Wildlife photography Summer’s arriving, the days are longer and warmer, and the time is ripe to get back into wildlife photography. Don’t miss next week’s issue, with our Ten Commandments of wildlife photography and advice from the professionals. On…

There are many ways to improve your photography, and each has its own merits. The downside is that many of them cost money, and along with cameras, lenses and all the other photography paraphernalia that you will no doubt need, it can prove a very expensive hobby. However, there are some essential techniques that will greatly improve your photography, which don’t involve any additional expense. Follow my tops tips here in this guide and I guarantee you will start to take better photographs. Craig Roberts Craig Roberts has been a professional photographer for more than 20 years, specialising in travel and landscapes. He has written technique articles for every major photo magazine and now offers online photography courses and tuition via his website at www.craigrobertsphotography.co.uk 1 Think light Photography is…

There was a time when fashion or cars was the genre that most aspiring photographers wanted to work in, but now food photography is the fastest-growing genre, largely due to the popularity of celebrity chefs, food blogging and TV shows such as The Great British Bake Off. Serious food photography tends to be a team effort, though, with the photographer the last but most intrinsic link in the chain. Before the food reaches the plate, a props stylist will have scoured the planet for backgrounds, plates and cutlery to create the right feel, while the food stylist has shopped for ingredients, tested the recipe and decided on the best presentation for the camera. However, a photographer with a feel for food can easily create exquisite images on their own, using…

David Hopley, Derbyshire ‘The basic method for creating these images is to pop the balloon remotely with, for example, an airgun,’ says David. When the shutter is opened on the camera, the scene needs to be in darkness as the flash is used to expose the action. The flash is effectively the shutter for this type of photography. I set the camera to have a10sec timer delay. Within this period I could get into the shooting position and turn off the lights in the garage. The shutter speed was set to 10secs to enable me to aim and fire the gun at the balloon. While the garage was in darkness, the camera was unable to record an image until the flash is fired.’ To see more of David’s images, visit…

Is the new Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM | C lens superior to the manufacturer’s popular 150-500mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM model? Michael Topham tests the pair side-by-side At a glance 150-500mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM ● 21 elements in 15 groups ● 220cm minimum focus distance ● 9 diaphragm blades ● 86mm filter thread ● 94.7 x 252mm ● 1,780g ● £700 At a glance 150-600mm f/5-6.3 ●20 elements in 14 groups ●280cm minimum focus distance ●9 diaphragm blades ●95mm filter thread ●105 x 260.1mm ●1,930g ●£900 When Tamron unveiled the SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD lens in November 2013, it quickly became one of the most attractive third-party telephoto zooms for sports and wildlife photographers. Favourable reviews and its ability to zoom closer to the action…

Jeremy Walker is an award-winning corporate location and landscape photographer. See his work at www.jeremywalker.co.uk Nikon D810 1 The D810 is Nikon’s latest high-megapixel, high-resolution camera. It’s not too big, but it packs one hell of a punch. I always fit the D810 with a Kirk ‘L’ bracket for convenience when I use it on a tripod. It is pictured below with the Nikon AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED lens and Lee Filters SW150 filter holder. Nikon PC-E Micro Nikkor 45mmf/2.8D ED 2 This is one of Nikon’s perspectivecontrol lenses. Not only does it have a tilt-and-shift function, making it ideal for both landscape and architecture, but it is also a macro lens, making it a truly valuable and versatile piece of kit. It is one of the first items…

The termvide-grenier literallymeans an ‘attic-emptying’, with grenier an attic and vider to empty. Many French villages have themonce a year. The village centre is usually closed, streets are lined with tables, and people sell off things that they no longer want but are too good to throw away. Photographs turn up surprisingly rarely, but a while back I saw a yellowmanila photo wallet. It was the sort of thing inwhich a developing and printing house would return your negatives and prints 50 andmore years ago. I picked it up, thinking to buy it as a prop for a still life. Inside were a dozen prints on Agfa paper, back-printed as postcards, and this portrait of aman (right) was one of them. The rest of the pictures in the wallet weremore…