Innholdsfortegnelse for 23-Jun-2018 i Amateur Photographer

Photographers often think of winter, with its colourless skies and barren landscapes, as the ideal season to shoot black & white. Indeed it is, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get great mono images in summer. The strong, harsh light makes it a great time to play with shadows, and shooting into the sun can result in powerful silhouettes. So we present a guide to having a successful b&w summer, whether shooting digitally or film. If the latter interests you, check out our darkroom feature by Mike Crawford. For camera lovers we test a budget Canon DSLR, get our hands on Sony’s new travel compact, and look at folding large-format film cameras. How’s that for variety? If you like AP’s breadth of subject matter why not take out a subscription?…

If you’d like to see your work published in Amateur Photographer, here’s how to send us your images: Email Email a selection of low-res images (up to 5MB of attachments in total) to appicturedesk@ti-media.com.CD/DVD Send us a disc of high-resolution JPEG, TIFF or PSD images (at least 2480 pixels along its longest length), with a contact sheet, to the address on page 51. Via our online communities Post your pictures into our Flickr group, Facebook page, Twitter feed, or the gallery on our website. See details above. Transparencies/prints Well-packaged prints or slides (without glass mounts) should be sent by Special Delivery, with a return SAE, to the address on page 51.…

ON A DAY'S shooting in Venice the RX100 VI showed why it could be a perfect travel compact. The longer reach of the zoom came into its own for capturing candids, architectural details and views down the canals. While selfie lovers and vloggers will love the 180° vertical tilt of the touchscreen, in the bright sunshine of Venice in June the hero feature was the pop-up EVF which, though very small, is perfectly usable and has been improved over its predecessor. And there was barely a single out-of-focus image all day, which included some fast-moving subjects. From this hands-on, the only negative that stands out is the price tag. At about 50% pricier than the TZ200, with a shorter zoom, Sony has to hope that it will outperform its established…

Instead of the blue skies and warm tones we normally associate with shooting in summer, why not shake things up a bit this year and try something different. Your challenge is to shoot the summer in black & white. Shooting something we normally think about in colour in a different way is a great exercise in thinking more carefully about the form, shape and content in your images rather than relying on those summer colours. When I was first approached with the idea to write an article about shooting in black & white in summer, my immediate impression was that the whole article could be done in one word. The more I have thought about it and the more I have written, I am convinced that my first idea was…

This monochrome picture of glasses on a table contains all the elements essential for a good, strong picture: the diagonals, the black shadows, the lovely reflections through the glasses, the dappled highlights and the sense of a holiday. For me, the whole image simply screams ‘summer'. We'd all like to be sitting at that table with someone we love, waiting for some ice-cold rosé to be poured into those glasses, wouldn't we? But why does this picture work so well in black & white? Well, for me the monochrome takes away any distractions. For example, the chair in the picture was bright yellow, which took my eye away from the glasses. The image effortlessly conveys a sense of heat, holiday and summer. I have a simple rule as to whether…

In the realm of portrait photography Mark Seliger is a superstar, yet he’s refreshingly down-to-earth and relaxed when speaking to AP via Skype from his New York City studio. He’s discussing his new book, Photographs, which features celebrity portraits from the first 30 years of his career – but he reveals his first love was developing pictures rather than taking them. ‘As a kid I was really fascinated with the darkroom. I took a course at junior high school and my focus was on making prints. I wasn’t really that interested in taking pictures at first, but that was probably a good thing. I settled into photography once I got to college.’ A native of Texas, Seliger attended Texas State University and names his then professor, James Newberry, as a…

Panasonic LUMIX DC-G9 Fast and compact with a splash-, dust- and freeze-proof body, this mirrorless camera is perfect for outdoor shooting, whatever the weather. Panasonic LUMIX G X Vario 12-35mm f/2.8 lens Splash, dust and freeze proof, this lens is great for shooting outdoors, and the 24-70mm (35mm equiv) zoom range is ideal for landscapes. Panasonic LUMIX G 8mm Fisheye Ultra wide and a lot of fun, this fisheye lens is a great choice for a different view of statues. Panasonic LUMIX DMCFZ2000 With a fast, 24-480mm (35mm equiv) lens, 5-axis optical image stabiliser and a burst speed of 14fps, this top-of-the-range bridge camera is perfect for photographing silhouettes of deer.…

Card declined I will never buy another Lumix camera or compact Leica camera made by Panasonic. I bought a Lumix compact camera a few years ago and as soon as the guarantee expired, it developed a fault. The message ‘Please reinsert card' came up on the screen, and when I did so, the message ‘Please reinsert card' was displayed again. I reinserted the card numerous times, and then a new message came up: ‘Try a new card'. I tried a new card, but once again the message ‘Please reinsert card' came on the screen. I lost patience and threw my Lumix into the nearest litter bin. I also owned a Leica V-Lux 40 and a Leica C, made by Panasonic, and had the same problem with them. I took the…

EISA Maestro competition winners The theme of the 2018 EISA Maestro competition was nature photography. The winning entries from each of the 15 participating EISA countries were judged together at the Association's General Meeting in June 2018 and the final results will be revealed at the EISA Gala in August. The overall winner will take home a cash prize of € 1,500 and the EISA Photo Maestro 2018 Trophy. The overall winner from the UK, as selected by the AP team, is Tom Lowe and we see his work here. The two runners-up portfolios will be featured in the 7 July issue of AP. Tom Lowe, Whitley Bay ‘I love the challenge of trying to make unique and interesting images from details within the landscape which are often overlooked or…

1 Assessing the negative This photograph's composition is made from layers of contrasting tones interrupted by the tail of an airplane, thus breaking its symmetry. The shadow detail of the negative was quite thin so it was necessary to print on grade 4 with some additional burning in on the highlights at a softer grade. 2 First print To add more tone, I subsequently flashed the paper, which requires a very short burst of white light. This can be done by removing the negative from the carrier, stopping the enlarging lens down, and giving a brief exposure, probably for less than a second. 3 Flashing the print A simpler method is to hold an opaque Perspex sheet under the lens, (pre- or post-exposure), leaving the negative and f-stop untouched. This…

• MPP 5x4in Mark VI with standard lens: £250-300 • 5x4in cut film holders: £10 each • Rollfilm back: £45 • Ilford HP5 and FP4 mono negative (25 sheets): £38 • Ilford Delta mono negative (50 sheets): £40 • Foma Fomapan mono negative (50 sheets): £40 • Kodak Ektar colour negative (10 sheets): £59 • Kodak Portra colour negative (10 sheets): £65 • Fujifilm Provia colour reversal (20 sheets): £82 • Fujifilm Velvia colour reversal (20 sheets): £98 Equipment based on recent eBay sales; film based on current Amazon prices.…

Some pictures rely on impact. Others rely on colour. Yet others rely on composition. Some are purely emotional. Then there are those where the longer you look, the more you see. Very, very few pictures manage to combine all five, and more. Although I’ve only seen this on a computer screen, I automatically ‘remember’ it as a huge, super-glossy print at one of the swankier galleries at Arles during the Rencontres. When I say huge, I mean 2x3m or more. This brings to mind a sixth attribute, sheer technical quality. For me, this picture is simultaneously reminiscent of both Gursky and Cartier-Bresson, with the scale of the former and the human interest of the latter. Obviously, blue and yellow are complementary colours, and a lot of the impact comes from…

Leica debuts flash unit and remote control Designed primarily for Leica S, SL and M systems, Leica’s new flash unit and remote control can also be used with Q and CL cameras. The flash unit, the SF 60, provides an extensive range of flash options in a compact form, and is priced £450. Meanwhile the SF C1 remote control enables off-camera flash and is £250. Apple iOS 12 sees imaging improvements Among the improvements in the new operating system for iPhones and iPads are upgrades to photo search and photo sharing. The camera roll will also include a ‘For You’ tab, showing your photo library’s best moments, while Camera Effects allows the creation of images directly in Messages and FaceTime with various effects. Nokia 8 gets Pro Camera mode A…

ALONGSIDE the RX100 VI launch, Sony has also announced the VCT-SGR1, a compact shooting grip designed for the RX100 series, as well as the RX0. It is both compact and lightweight, with options to adjust angles upwards to 70° or downwards 100° to enable shooting from high above, low down or selfies. A number of buttons on the grip will give you easy access to shooting controls. These include a shutter release, REC stop/start and zoom functionality, which are easily accessed whether you use your right or left hand. The bottom of the grip can be spread out and used as a tripod, making it handy for group photos and low-light shooting conditions, or to avoid camera shake when shooting at slow shutter speeds. Available from July, the VCT-SGR1 grip…

Lens cover Lenses are designed to be used with a shade – the number of people I see without one always amazes me. It eliminates flare in strong sunlight and helps protect our expensive glass from sea spray and dust. Cloth and puffer brush It’s always a good idea to carry a soft lint-free cloth During summer, there may be sand, salt water or suntan lotion around. If possible, take a little puffer brush along with you as well. Smartphone Easy, simple and always with you. There is one proviso when using a smartphone: give it the respect you’d give a camera. Pick one processing app and learn how to use it properly. A clean sensor You will be shooting a lot with your lens stopped down in the bright…

1 One of the most important bits of advice for any photographer, but especially so in summer, is to wake up and get out early. This article's opening picture of light coming through the pine trees (pages 12-13) was taken at 5.45 on a July morning. 2 Don't be afraid of white tones and blacks. Let the shadows fill in and let the highlights blow out. Be bold and you'll capture some superbly graphic images. 3 Think of the shapes of things that remind you of summer: palm trees, beach umbrellas, wine glasses and stripy t-shirts. 4 And once you've thought about those shapes, think about the silhouettes. And once you've done that, let them go black. 5 Don't look at your histograms. Let your eye be the judge of…

In Inbox in AP 12 May, there was a letter titled ‘Carry that load?' from Darwyn Sumner. Here is another solution. I use an e-bike (electric bike) with panniers which carry my equipment for the day's shooting. Nothing goes on my back – see the photograph on the right. On that day, I was photographing bluebells miles from anywhere. The tyres are special ones: four-inches wide and with all-terrain qualities. You can control the pressure down to 5lbs per square inch to go over sand or snow. This bike has a powerful motor that kicks in when needed the moment you come to a hill or incline. I live in the Chiltern Hills and am 71 years old. This bike takes the hills in its stride. You still have to…

When working in the darkroom, controlling tonal balance is a very important consideration in making a fine print. It should not be confused with compositional balance, that is, how the contents of the frame are aligned in the photograph – but there is a close and symbiotic relationship between the two. Indeed, controlling the tonality by changes to the contrast and depth of tone should emphasise and strengthen the composition so the viewer will correctly ‘read’ the image, not from left to right as with text but to be guided by the weight of the tones and how they lead the eye in to the focal point. With tonal balance we can control areas of the photograph by making changes on how light or dark to print different areas. This…

THERE'S NO doubting that the 2000D is a solid enough entry-level camera, yet there's little about it that really stirs the senses. While it is an affordable entry point into the Canon DSLR system, it provides only an incremental upgrade over the 1300D. In terms of the competition, the Nikon D3400 betters it in many departments. The main issue, however, isn't so much competition from rival DSLR manufacturers or indeed from the mirrorless segment but rather from one of Canon's other entry-level models. While the 2000D is a solid enough camera in its own right, the 200D easily provides much better value for money if you can extend your budget by an extra £90. While the 200D might be a 2017 model, resolution and image quality between it and the…

• Check all shutter speeds fire as appropriate • Check bellows for light leaks • Make sure the lens panel moves smoothly along its rails • Check that the focusing screen is present and not cracked • Be prepared for darkroom or changing bag work • Shoot using a sturdy tripod whenever possible • Use a lockable cable release • If you are not confident about processing yourself, there are professional laboratories who will handle it for you. Try Digitalab in Newcastle (www.digitalab.co.uk/film-processing)…

• £125 • www.vanguardworld.co.uk WHEN you need to carry around a full-frame DSLR and a set of large lenses, a backpack is a much better option than a shoulder bag. With the Alta Rise 48, Vanguard has produced a well-made backpack that offers pretty much everything you might need. This bag is designed in the front-opening fashion, with a full-height front lid that folds down to give unrestricted access to your kit. The idea is that you can put the bag down on its base, which is covered in waterproof vinyl, and then use the adjustable straps on each side to hold the lid part-open, so neither the backpack harness nor the front get mucky. There's also a large flap on the side that gives access to your camera while…

My father, who died a couple of years ago, was an enthusiastic camera collector. He was mainly interested in the Zeiss Ikon Contaflex series, which was produced between1953 and1972. In all, around15 models were made, and Dad managed to get one of each. In order to achieve this, he had to go to some proper camera shops, but his main source was car-boot sales, which were in their heyday in the1990s, before online trading took off. His boot-sale habit led him to pick up all manner of cheap and cheerful cameras, and his completist streak, as seen with the Contaflexes, evidently extended to Agfa's range of110 models – he had a chest of drawers full of them! On the market between1973 and1980, for the most part they were pretty basic.…

Each week we choose our favourite picture on Facebook, Instagram, Flickr, Twitter or the reader gallery using #appicoftheweek. PermaJet proudly supports the online picture of the week winner, who will receive a top-quality print of their image on the finest PermaJet paper*. It is important to bring images to life outside the digital sphere, so we encourage everyone to get printing today! Visit www.permajet.com to learn more. *PLEASE ALLOW UP TO 28 DAYS FOR DELIVERY…

High Efficiency Image Format (HEIF) or JPEG for photography? It's a question that's been intriguing me since the launch of Apple's iOS11 last autumn, when most recent iPhones started recording stills in HEIF by default. It's not Apple's format but an invention of the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG), an international body that develops audio and video compression standards. It says it offers higher quality, smaller file sizes and a number of other advantages over the near-universal JPEG format that was created in 1992, at the dawn of digital photography, by another outfit, the Joint Photographic Experts Group. Computing power back then was a fraction of today's, and compression tools couldn't be so effective, hence the pressure for an update. It's not the first attempt to replace JPEG, but with…

Don’t forget interiors Just because it's summer and we spend a lot of time outdoors, don't forget to observe what's happening indoors. The sunlight streaming through the windows in this picture plants us fairly and squarely in the summer. The textures on the tiled floor and the tonal range offer a strong black & white image. More forgiving than colour Black & white can be a lot more forgiving than colour, so don't be afraid to shoot in conditions that you wouldn't normally or to dismiss an image that hasn't worked in colour. This picture of my friend and his son surfing looked far too harsh in colour, but works well once converted to monochrome. Shapes and silhouettes The typical shapes that remind us of our summer holidays can look…

Silhouettes Silhouettes are a simple but effective way of adding drama to your images, and are easy to capture. The idea is to shoot something in front of a bright light source – low sunlight is ideal – rendering the subject as a black shape. As this technique removes all the detail from the subject, it's important to choose something with a distinctive outline, such as deer or trees. Position your subject so it is clearly visible, avoiding overlapping objects in the background. Get down low to shoot deer or trees against the sky to help separate them from the background. Shoot in manual for complete control, and spot meter from a bright area of sky to ensure the subject is rendered black. Your camera's autofocus might struggle with the…

• By car: Enter TN13 1HU in satnav and follow directions below. From north and west: Leave M25 at exit 5 (A21), follow signs for Sevenoaks. Turn right at mini-roundabout. Park entrance is in Sevenoaks town centre, left off A225 High Street. From south: Leave A21 at junction signposted Sevenoaks, follow A225 for Sevenoaks. Park entrance is on the right after about 2 miles. From east: Follow A25 through Seal. Turn left at traffic lights. Continue ahead and through the High Street. Park entrance is on the left 300 yards beyond the top of High Street.…

WITH this image of the staircase I aimed to create a print in a higher tonal key with more highlights and midtones than shadow. As can be seen from the left-hand straight print on grade 3, the area of shadow at the bottom of the frame is visually dominating. I found that by printing a lot softer, on grade 1.5, and carefully holding back the lower section during part of the exposure, it was possible to even out the tones. Maybe I was thinking too literally of the content of the photograph, but I wanted the viewer to keep following the direction of the steps in a spiral manner, which previously was difficult to achieve with such a difference in tones. I also wanted to reference the work of artist…

Backup If you have a large volume of images that you need to back up, a full computer backup solution is the most cost-effective option. Mobile options Dropbox, Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive can be integrated with mobile devices allowing you to access files on a phone or tablet. Sharing For sharing files across multiple computers, Dropbox and Google Drive offer simple solutions with free subscriptions. Reality Despite the term ‘cloud’, all services use data centres and physical drives to store data, and will have multiple backups for security. Convenience Whichever cloud-storage option you choose, the ultimate aim is convenience combined with the security of your important files. Google Drive • Free-£239.99 per month • www.google.com NO INTRODUCTIONS necessary here because Google is one of the biggest players in web-based…

Neutral-density filters for video? QI recently upgraded to an Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II from my trusty old E-M5 and would like to start exploring video. I know next to nothing about video and have only done a few recordings to play with the settings. During the recent hot and sunny weather, I noticed that if I wanted to maintain a nicely blurred background – as I do with stills portraits, for example – with a bright aperture, anything moving moderately fast started to look rather jittery. Could this be something to do with the bright conditions, and would a neutral-density filter be beneficial? I have to confess I haven't yet found a need to use filters like these for my stills photography so far. Ben Fakenham A You’re absolutely…