Innholdsfortegnelse for 11-Nov-2017 i Amateur Photographer

One of the biggest preconceptions about photography is that we all welcome blue-sky weather. In fact, hard sunlight can be a pain, and moodier, more unpredictable weather is often more suited to dramatic shots (one upside of the great British climate). So for this issue we asked noted documentary photographer and teacher, Tony Worobiec, to share his secrets for getting shots in less-than-perfect weather – it’s anything but a washout, as you’ll see on page 14. Other big highlights include a first look at the Sony Alpha 7R III and a round-up of the best mirrorless cameras for a wide range of needs and budgets. I’m also transfixed by Tim Flach’s new portraits of endangered species, and sure you will love them too – turn to page 24 now. JOIN…

A present from the past My18-year-old nephew invited me to check out his ‘digital' camera. Sifting through some of his first-rate A4 colour street shots I was amazed to see he was using a humble Kodak Retinette1A, given to him as a gift. He'd had his HP5 negatives professionally scanned. It's since been augmented by a more ‘up to date' Miranda Sensomat with waist-level finder that also turns out beautifully sharp negatives. Scanning film shot on classic cameras is a wonderful way to combine the past and the present. Kevin Wilson, Tyne and Wear Security matters I read with interest Michael Topham's story about the ill-fated wedding photographer whose gear was stolen during the big day (Viewpoint 14 October). I also occasionally photograph weddings and it reminded me – once…

TO TRULY understand the nuances of the weather, try photographing the same location from precisely the same spot. Two photographs taken at a single location will never be the same, due to the vagaries of the weather. No landscape photograph, no matter how hard you try, can ever be repeated. Select a location that is convenient; the essence of this exercise is spontaneity. The sky tends to be the mirror of the prevailing weather, so compose your picture to include plenty of it. Keep the foreground relatively simple, otherwise it could deflect attention from that element you particularly want to highlight – namely, the weather. Set the images side by side and identify the subtle differences the changing weather brings. When editing, also consider the time of day when the…

THE SMALL and picturesque village of Avebury lies at the heart of the rolling Marlborough Downs, 11 miles south of Swindon and the M4. The village is situated within one of the largest Neolithic stone circles in Europe and Avebury Henge has quite rightly been made a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There are three stone circles, a stone avenue and a bank and ditch earthwork and entrance is free. The whole site of the stone circles, ditches and earthworks, as well as the recently discovered square formation of stones, were not constructed as one entity, it was developed over a period of several hundreds of years from approximately 3000BC to 2400BC. Some of the stones weigh more than 40 tons and measure up to four metres high. The construction of…

Hybrid AF systems It used to be the case that while traditional DSLRs came with speedy phase-detection autofocus, mirrorless cameras were stuck with slower contrast-detect AF. Over time though, contrast-detect technology has vastly improved. And now an increasing number of mirrorless cameras are using innovative hybrid AF systems that combine on-sensor phase-detection with traditional contrast-detect AF. And with new super-fast processors dedicated to autofocus duties, some mirrorless cameras are now able to outperform DSLRs in terms of AF speed. Rear LCD display The quality and functionality of the rear LCD display is an important consideration of any mirrorless model, especially if it doesn't have an electronic viewfinder (EVF). Naturally, the higher the resolution of the screen the sharper your images will look on it. In addition, an increasing number of…

‘The off-white background serves as a useful foil to the brilliant white of the petals’ In Lords and Ladies, by the late Sir Terry Pratchett, Granny Weatherwax says of a fake crown in a theatrical performance somewhat resembling the Scottish play, ‘Things that try to look like things often do look more like things than things. Well-known fact.’ A representation of a dahlia can, stripped of all context and presented like this, look more like a dahlia than a dahlia. According to Kehrer Verlag, the publishers of The Most Beautiful Flowers (ISBN 978-3-86828-789-9), Kenji Toma’s pictures are an ‘homage to the botanical illustrations in Choix des plus belles fleurs by Pierre-Joseph Redouté, one of the most well-regarded flower encyclopedias of the 19th century.’ Well, all right, well done Pierre-Joseph;…

RICOH has announced the development of two new lenses for its Pentax Star series, specifically designed to work with high-megapixel cameras. The HD Pentax-DA* 11-18mm f/2.8 is for APS-C cameras, while the HD Pentax-D FA* 50mm f/1.4 SDM AW is for full-frame models. The lenses represent the new generation of Star lenses, which have been around since Pentax's film days. Older Star lenses were designed to produce optimum image quality, with large apertures for maximum light transmission. The new generation lenses come with dust-proofing and a weather-resistant construction. A newly developed ring-shaped Supersonic Direct-Drive Motor (SDM) for fast and quiet AF operation will be a feature of the 50mm lens, but full specifications, along with pricing details, are yet to be announced. The 50mm f/1.4 lens is likely to be…

SONY has announced the FE 24-105mm F4 G OSS, a weather-sealed standard zoom that it claims is the lightest in its class. Weighing 663g, the new lens promises high image quality due to the inclusion of four aspherical lens elements, two of which are high precision advanced aspherical (AA) lenses. Three Extra-low Dispersion (ED) glass elements are also used to help minimise chromatic aberration. Its Nano AR coating minimises flare, while a circular aperture gives attractive bokeh. Autofocus is driven by Sony's Direct Drive SSM system, and in common with other G-series lenses, Sony has included a focus-hold button on the side of the barrel. Optical image stabilisation is also built in, promising sharper handheld shots. As a member of Sony's G line, the 24-105mm lens is designed to deliver…

YOU DON'T need me to remind you that most photographs are better shot in raw, as this allows for greater flexibility in post-processing. When shooting in challenging weather conditions, keeping control of contrast or ensuring all the information remains within the 0-255 spectrum can be difficult, so using the camera's dedicated raw convertor or Adobe Lightroom is one way of overcoming this. You will need to pay for Lightroom, but you can download the raw convertor for free at www.adobe.com. 1 This is a typical image captured in the rain. There's a reasonable level of contrast, but it's in the wrong places. The sky is too light, while the foreground lacks some sparkle. This can be remedied using just a handful of tools in Lightroom or the Raw Convertor. 2…

The saiga, a nomadic antelope whose range extends from Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan, is a curious-looking creature (far left). A survivor from the ice ages, its drooping nose can warm up cold air (essential for bitter winters) while filtering out dust (for dry summers). ‘The saiga looks like something out of the canteen scene in Star Wars,’ laughs photographer Tim Flach as he recalls his brief encounter with the animal. Tim may be laughing now but this goat-like creature proved extremely tricky to photograph. ‘These animals have been decimated through hunting for their horns,’ he reveals. Only the males grow horns, which are sold in East Asia for their supposed medicinal properties. In 2015 a deadly virus hit the population and this, combined with poaching, has caused numbers to plummet. As…

Avebury is at its best during the autumn and winter. With low-lying autumn mists, fog and a touch of frost the whole site can take on a wonderful ethereal mood and atmosphere. There will also be significantly fewer people. The whole site has views and angles from every direction but there is very little elevation so most shots will be from within the circles and relatively close-up. Sunrise and shooting into the light would be my favoured time of day. As the main road passes right through the site, watch out for road and fences in your shots and unsightly concrete markers showing where stones once stood. Food and lodging The National Trust has a tearoom at Avebury offering a limited menu, while The Red Lion pub is situated next…

Sony's Alpha 9 is without doubt one of the most exciting cameras of the year. It's a high-speed, full-frame, mirrorless model that challenges, and in many ways surpasses, pro-DSLRs in the last bastion of their superiority, namely sports and action shooting. On a recent trip toJapan and Thailand with Sony Europe, I was lucky enough to receive a rare insight into the thinking behind its design, and the state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities that make it possible. It's easy to forget, but Sony is a relatively recent player in the interchangeable-lens camera market. It began by acquiring Konica Minolta in 2006, with its first genuinely homegrown DSLR being the Alpha 700 in 2007. But the most significant milestones in its progress have been the introduction of the mirrorless E-mount in 2010, followed…

At a glance • 150 x 111 x 97mm, 440g (without film) • Fixed 106mm lens • Takes Polaroid Originals i-Type and 600 Type film Two-position exposure slider The exposure compensation slider (+/-) is about as basic as it gets. Self-timer A self-timer and a tripod bush make this rather basic camera a little more versatile. Lens The fixed lens has a useful 106mm focal length and focuses from about 60cm (2ft) to infinity. Printer It can take 15 minutes for the print to fully expose, so ‘instant’ is a relative term here. THE OneStep 2 is the first instant camera to be launched by the revived Polaroid Originals brand, now owned by the Impossible Project. It's a purely analogue camera that takes both 600 and the new i-Type film.…

A NEW Sigma prime lens for Sony APS-C and Micro Four Thirds mirrorless cameras has been announced. The Sigma 16mm f/1.4 DC DN | Contemporary lens features 16 elements in 13 groups, designed to minimise optical aberrations and to offer superb resolution, even at the widest aperture. The optical design and stepping motor promise smooth and quiet autofocusing, while the lens mount is dust- and splash-proof thanks to a special sealing. When used with the Sony E Mount, the lens offers an equivalent focal length of 24mm, and with Olympus or Panasonic, the focal length is 32mm. Pricing and availability are yet to be revealed.…

At a glance £3,200body only ■ 42.4MP full-frame BSI CMOS sensor ■ 10fps continuous shooting ■ Hybrid AF with 399 phase-detection points ■ ISO 100-32,000, ISO 50-102,400 expanded ■ 5.5-stop 5-axis in-body image stabilisation ■ 4K video recording Power The uprated NP-FZ100 battery is borrowed from the Alpha 9. It’s specified for 650 shots using the LCD, or 530 with the EVF, according to CIPA standard testing. Accessories The Alpha 7R III is compatible with the same VG-C3EM vertical grip as that used on the Alpha 9. Stabilisation Improved 5-axis in-body image stabilisation promises 5.5 stops of shake correction, which Sony claims is the most effective yet in a full-frame camera. Twin card slots The Alpha 7R III now has two SD card slots, one of which is of the…

‘I can look at a photo and decide whether I like it, but I can also try to understand the idea’ I was recently reading Alain Stephen's thought-provoking Why We Think the Things We Think: Philosophy in a Nutshell (2017) which posed the endlessly provocative question ‘What is art?' Well, because it's beautiful and pleasing is a common starting point, although the question then becomes – what is beautiful? However Eugène Véron went further and said that art is the expression of human ideas and emotions. As a photographer that really struck a chord with me, although it left a slight taste in the mouth because there are clearly some highly regarded photographs that I don't like (and to get a sense of the breadth of the photographic canon, just…

‘Remember that you cannot change the weather, but you can change your location’ Tony Worobiec Tony Worobiec FRPS has had 16 books published, the most recent of which is Photographing Landscape Whatever The Weather (RHE Media Ltd, ISBN 978-19102-2642-1). He has won awards for photography in the UK and internationally, and has had his work exhibited in numerous prestigious venues. Weather is the defining quality of any landscape, and the wilder it is the more interesting your photographs will appear. It governs the two most important features of landscape – notably, lighting and mood. As we slip into winter, the weather certainly can prove more challenging, and the temptation can be for some to pack their cameras away. The purpose of this feature is to urge you not to give…

1 Choose your location carefully Urban areas make great subjects in the rain. Surfaces such as wet tarmac reflect beautifully, especially at night. 2 Judge the direction of the rain If it's blowing towards you, your lens's front element will soon be covered in droplets. 3 Use a UV filter It's far better to get moisture on the filter, rather than on your expensive lens. 4 Clean your lens Keep checking the front of your lens, and have a clean microfibre cloth available to clean off any droplets. 5 Try handheld Don't assume you should always use a tripod. Consider shooting handheld, too. 6 Increase the ISO if necessary The sensors on modern DSLRs are quite capable of delivering excellent results, even with the ISO set to 4000. 7 Use…

Round Six Creative Eye Henrik Spranz wins a Sigma 24-35mm f/2 DG HSM Art lens. This large diameter zoom lens covers the full-frame image sensor. Its optical performance is equivalent to a fixed-focal-length lens throughout the entire zoom range and offers quality equivalent to that of three high-performance fixed-focal-length lenses at f/2 brightness. The Sigma filter that accompanies it as part of the prize offers over 10x the strength of a conventional protective filter and over 3x the strength of a high-strength protective filter. The products have a combined prize value of £1,054.98. Congratulations, Henrik! 1 Henrik Spranz Austria 50pts Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 70-200mm, 0.3sec, f/20, ISO 250 Panning your camera horizontally or vertically to create an abstract image is a popular technique with landscape photographers. It works…

Accessories Mirrorless cameras are supported by a range of accessories. You can even personalise some with a screw-in soft shutter release. Price If you have a strict budget, don’t worry. There are some excellent examples of mirrorless cameras out there from as little as £379 with a kit lens. Lenses In their infancy, mirrorless cameras weren’t supported by many lenses. However, all of the cameras here are well supported by a good range of lenses. Design Some mirrorless cameras have thin, wide bodies whereas others are shaped similarly to DSLRs to provide more to wrap your hand around. Sensor The size of the sensor varies between models. Some may feature Four Thirds sensors whereas others will be APS-C or full frame. Best entry-level Panasonic Lumix GX800 • Price £379 (with…

THE HOLIDAY season is almost upon us, which means it's time for Stir-up Sunday, sentimental TV adverts, and the Amateur Photographer Christmas cover competition. This year we have teamed up with Photocrowd, Billingham and PermaJet to offer you global exposure, and some great prizes to boot. The prizes The expert's winner (as judged by the AP team) will see their picture grace the cover of the AP Christmas Special (23-30 December). They will also receive a Billingham Hadley Pro bag worth £200, courtesy of Billingham (www.billingham.co.uk) and an A3 print of the finished design courtesy of PermaJet (www.permajet.com). There will be a second winner (chosen by a public vote on Photocrowd (www.photocrowd.com), who will receive £100 and an A3 print of their image. If the standard of entries is high…

When you hear the name Minox, you probably think of the shady world of Cold War spying, or the glamorous escapades of James Bond. Indeed, these superbly made miniature cameras were extensively used by agents on both sides of the Iron Curtain. The first Minox cameras were made in Riga, Latvia in the1930s, but after the Second World War the factory reopened in West Germany. Late arrival at the ball I've got a Minox B, dating from the 1960s. It's a little marvel of mechanical engineering. It has a full range of shutter speeds, apertures and a built-in exposure meter. The Minox EC is a different kettle of fish altogether. Launched in 1981 it was very much a late arrival at the Cold War ball. Gone are all the manual…