Innholdsfortegnelse for 25-Jun-2016 i Amateur Photographer

When we decided to do a special issue on lesser-known photographers, locations and techniques, we wondered whether we’d be able to gather enough content. Perhaps these things were ‘undiscovered’ for a reason. But as we researched the subject we realised we could fill an issue several times the size of this one. And while it’s fair to say that none of our discoveries would impress Christopher Columbus, the emphasis remains firmly on the lesser known. We start with 10 pages of secret locations we know you’ll love to visit, and continue with amateur photographer Michal Huniewicz taking us on a journey to the secretive state of North Korea. We’ve all probably wrestled with image-editing software in the past, but life will get a little easier with our selection of 27…

US PHOTOGRAPHER Trevor Paglen has won the Deutsche Börse Prize 2016, scooping the £30,000 top prize for a project tackling issues including mass surveillance, data collection and drones. Paglen won the accolade for his exhibition ‘The Octopus' in Frankfurt, Germany, last year. The Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2016 rewards a photographer of any nationality who has made a significant contribution, in exhibition or publication format, to photography in Europe between 1 October 2014 and 30 September 2015. An exhibition of the best images is being held at The Photographers' Gallery in London until 3 July. Brett Rogers, director of the Photographers' Gallery, praised Paglen for how he dealt with the ‘disquieting impact of the unseen aspects of technology on our daily lives'. Subscribe to Ammateur photographer SAVE 35%* Visit…

I completed a short presentation at my camera club on getting the best out of a newly introduced effects package. I was pleased to receive questions. However, my heart fell when one member stood up and asked: ‘But is it photography?' I had prepared answers to a range of technical questions, but failed to prepare for any philosophical ones. I quickly deferred to the committee, but in this complex digital age, what is photography? At the grammar school we had a strong-minded art teacher, who exploded when anyone so much as suggested that photography might be an art form. To him, photography was merely a craft – a soulless technology that was incapable of conveying the emotion of great art. Clearly, he was wrong. Photography can be holiday snaps, which…

Amateur Photographer Our cameras and lenses are tested using the industry-standard Image Engineering IQ-Analyser software. Visit www.image-engineering.de for more details Nikon has used a new 20.9-million-pixel DX-format sensor in the D500, and it delivers impressive image quality. It's lower in resolution than Nikon's cheaper DX DSLRs, which sport 24-million-pixel sensors, but the difference is less than 10% in terms of linear resolution, and I suspect it will be easy to accept this compromise in return for the D500's other considerable skills. More to the point, high ISO performance is very good indeed, with the top standard sensitivity of ISO 51,200 giving remarkably respectable results. Unfortunately, though, the extended settings do seem to be hugely over-optimistic; anyone expecting usable ISO1,638,400 from a DX sensor will need to wait a little longer.…

It's always risky for an academic to stray too far from a core expertise. Expertise comes from the time taken to pursue a subject in depth, and, in my experience, scientists and engineers are among the worst, assuming they can use the tools of their trade to make light work other disciplines. Despite this, my intention in this article is to travel far from my own comfort zone, to a branch of communication studies called ‘genre theory.' One mistake a dilettante expert can make is to assume that a jargon phrase means the same across all disciplines. This is rarely the case. Researching this article, I find that ‘genre theory' is a common field of research in film studies. The version I'm writing about is rather more formal and defined.…

Fox cub by Chris Howes Nikon D7100, 150-600mm, 1/250sec at f/9, ISO 1800 Chris Howes' image of a fox cub was uploaded to AP's website gallery. ‘This shot was taken at Dodder Park in Co Dublin, Ireland,' says Chris. ‘A friend of mine had recently told me they had seen a fox cub somewhere around the park, so I went up to take a look, not knowing if I would get to see it or not. When I arrived, some kindly locals told me where the fox had last been seen. After two and a half hours I noticed the female vixen lurking around some nettles. Suddenly, I noticed the cub at the edge of the bank. I didn't know it was drinking at the time until I got home…

June saw the death of American heavyweight boxer and social activist Muhammad Ali, an individual who has gone down in history as one of sport's greatest-ever figures. After retiring from a successful career that saw him defeat some of boxing's most worthy opponents, Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, although his gradual decline barely served to slow him down. Ali remained in the public's consciousness with several public appearances and the 2001 biopic Ali , starring Will Smith in the titular role. Following his death, Ali has been mourned globally, with many stating that his influence spreads far beyond the boxing ring because of his inspiration to Black Americans. Words & numbers “Photography is our most democratic and widespread art form” Martin Parr British documentary photographer and photojournalist 150 million…

‘The Pixie requires gentle coaxing rather than brute force to open’ I recently wrote about a camera made by Durst, an Italian company known for making photographic enlargers. So I was happy to stumble across a British counterpart – this time from Gnome, a firm associated with darkroom equipment rather than cameras. At one time, 80% of enlargers sold in the UK were made by Gnome, but like Durst, the firm made a few cameras, such as the Pixie. I spotted this little metal cube (right) on a table at my local car-boot sale, and was immediately struck by its pristine condition. In my experience box cameras tend to be in working order because, after all, there is very little to go wrong. However, they also tend to be cosmetically…

You answered… A Yes 62% B Yes, but I was already up for other reasons 9% C No 29% What you said ‘Yes, absolutely. It’s actually the loveliest time of the day whether you’re a photographer or not.’ ‘I don’t think you are serious if you don’t get to your location at least an hour before sunrise. The best show is usually the 30 minutes before and after.’ ‘Yes, if you call leaving a climbing hut at 11pm and climbing Great Gable by moonlight “setting out before dawn”.’ ‘I have, but not often enough to get what I wanted.’ ‘Most of the landscape shots I have worth keeping are taken before dawn or shortly thereafter. Sunrise beats sunset hands down because of the clarity of the air and the magical…

Nicole Tung, USA www.nicoletung.com Documentary and reportage photography are fast becoming our most vital assets in terms of getting to grips with a world that can seem like a spiralling vortex of conflicting and dizzying contradictions. However, thanks to a core group of photographers and journalists, we can at least get a glimpse into significant events that are key to developing an understanding of our current global and political climate. One of these photographers is the multiple-award-winning US photographer Nicole Tung, an individual whose work has become crucial in helping us form a view of areas such as Syria and Libya – both a staple in today’s news coverage. Born in 1986, Nicole is a Hong Kong-born American citizen and is currently based in Istanbul, Turkey. She studied history and…

IN RECENT years, photographers looking for a truly high-end APS-C DSLR for sports and action shooting have been more or less limited to Canon's EOS 7D Mark II. But with the D500, Nikon has returned to this sector in fine style, and its combination of superb autofocus, fast continuous shooting and excellent image quality places it very much at the top of the list. Indeed, it's difficult not to conclude that the D500 is the most accomplished crop-sensor camera yet made. Build and handling are exemplary, aided by some well-judged tweaks to the control layout; I particularly appreciated the repositioned ISO button and the joystick AF point selector. Meanwhile, the viewfinder is excellent, and it's nice to see a tilting rear screen on a camera of this type, although it's…

In a way, shadows are nature’s own photography: writing with light. Many photographers find them enduringly fascinating. And, as with so many subjects that we find fascinating, they are far harder to photograph than they look. This is a wonderful example of shadow-writing – a brilliant interplay of the shadows and the subjects on which they fall. Compositionally, this image is brilliant, and to a large extent this is down to being in the right place at the right time, ready to take pictures. Imagine seeing this scene and then having to find your camera, load plates into the holders and set up the tripod, only to find that the sun has gone in, or worse still, moved just far enough that you have lost the pattern of shadows. With…

Olympus hit by quakes Olympus has conceded that its camera production will suffer in the aftermath of the earthquakes that struck the Kumamoto region of Japan in April. Olympus says several suppliers of parts for its interchangeable-lens cameras, lenses and compacts have been hit. However, there was no direct damage to Olympus factories. Leica extends SL lens potential Leica’s SL mirrorless camera is now compatible with 16 lenses built for the professional S-series, medium-format camera system, thanks to a new adapter. The Leica S-Adapter L is due out now and costs £950. Leica has also announced that the AA-SCL4 Audio Adapter will be out at the end of June, priced £120. DxO speeds up raw Image-enhancement specialist DxO claims its latest OpticsPro 11 software can process raw files up to…

NIKON has announced that Helen Sloan and Richard Peters have joined its Ambassador line-up. Helen Sloan is principal stills photographer for the hit TV series Game of Thrones. She first became interested in photography at the age of11, when she borrowed her father's camera to take on a school trip to New York. ‘He developed the film and thought my shots were pretty good,' Sloan previously told Nikon Europe. The Ireland-born photographer added: ‘I practised a lot and eventually he bought me my own camera, a Nikon F3, and asked his friend from the local newspaper to let me come and get some work experience in the darkroom. ‘Once I got started, I never wanted to do anything except photography.' Award-winning wildlife photographer Richard Peters recently wrote an e-book documenting…

KEEPING equipment to a minimum is ideal for this kind of work. ‘I use a Nikon D300S and a 24-70mm lens most of the time,' says Michal. ‘Although I used to have an 18-200mm and 11-16mm lens, both were damaged beyond repair on a trip to a desert. I had a 50mm lens with me in North Korea, which, being significantly smaller, looks less threatening than the zoom.' Still, that didn't mean Michal escaped questioning at customs. ‘An officer saw my camera and the big lens attached to it,' he says. ;She would not let go, as if a big DSLR implied espionage; she was going through the camera and found GPS. “Ah ha!” she triumphed. In reality, all this means is I can attach a GPS unit to the…

Side pockets On the side of the bag is a small pocket which is ideal for carrying a bottle of water. Included rain cover Although the bag is water resistant, Think Tank has included a waterproof polyurethane cover in the front that goes over the bag. Grab handle At the top of the bag is a handle that runs the length of the bag. This is a very useful feature, and it can be put under the flap if not needed. Think Tank Retrospective 6 • £129 • www.thinktankphoto.com AP tests Think Tank’s latest bag offering in a new sandstone colour At a glance •  Designed for DSLR kit with lenses and flash or smaller kits• Brand-new sandstone colour• Made from 100% cotton canvas with a durable water-repellent coating THINK Tank's Retrospective…

Battery The EN-EL15 battery promises over 1000 shots per charge, but using SnapBridge seems to decrease this figure quite markedly to the hundreds. Customisable controls The behaviour of the command dials and many of the external buttons can be changed to suit the user’s preferred shooting habits. F-mount This accepts a huge range of lenses dating back decades. The D500 can autofocus with lenses lacking built-in motors and can work with on-lens aperture rings. Dual card slots Rather than twin SDs, the D500 has one SD and one XQD card slot. The latter gives remarkable continuous shooting capability. Connectors On the side and front of the body are HDMI, USB 3.0, microphone, headphone, PC flash sync and 10-pin remote-release sockets. Nikon supplies plastic clips to hold HDMI and USB cables…

1 Manfrotto 055CXPRO3 tripod and Red Snapper RSH-12 head As part of my quest to make my camera bag as light as possible, I purchased the Manfrotto tripod because it is made from carbon fibre. Light, yet strong, it has shaved almost a kilo off my kit. I pair with a Red Snapper RSH-12 head so I can use quick-release plates. 2 Nikkor 16-35mm f/4G ED VR lens My main ’ lens is the 16-35mm, as it s a good workhorse and a does-it-all lens. I prefer to carry one lens rather than several primes to cover these focal lengths. Image quality is excellent, especially in the mid-range of the zoom. 3 Nikkor 70-200mm f/4G ED VR lens This is a recent purchase to replace the f/2.8 version, and is…