Innholdsfortegnelse for 29-Sep-2018 i Amateur Photographer

You can have all the technical knowledge in the world but ultimately the success of a pictorial image hangs largely on how well it is constructed. Some people have an instinctive eye for how to organise the various elements within a scene to make a visually pleasing rectangle of colours, tones, lines and shapes. Most of us have to work at it a bit more. This week we present a guide to creating compositions with powerful impact. Also in this issue, we explore the extremes of camera technology, from the cutting-edge Sony Alpha 7R III to the decidedly low-tech Lubitel TLR. And if you like pictures of people you’ll enjoy Peter Dench’s World Cup odyssey, the story behind Harry Borden’s portrait of Hillary Clinton and, of course, your best shots…

Three Manfrotto Befree tripods announced Manfrotto has expanded its Befree travel range with three new models. The £199.95 Befree 2N1, available now, is described as the most versatile, as it can be quickly converted into a monopod. The £174.95 Befree Nerissimo, made from high-quality aluminium with a matte black finish, will be available from 1 October, online only at www.manfrotto.co.uk. And the Befree Live QPL featuring a handy lever lock system will cost £224.95, but the release date is as yet unknown. International women’s photography event Reuters and the International Center of Photography are to host a ‘Women in Focus’ event in London on 13 November, featuring some of the world’s most prolific female photographers. Speakers include Lynsey Addario, Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist, and The Guardian’s Fiona Shields. Full details will…

THE SHIPWRECKED Mariners' Society has revealed the results of its annual photography competition showcasing the UK's coastline and its associated people and industry. The winners where whittled down from almost 1,000 entries, and the top prize went to Chris Herring's ‘Fighting until the End', showing an abandoned yacht on the Norfolk Coast (see above). The judges included AP Editor, Nigel Atherton, and Captain Justin Osmond, who is chief executive of the Shipwrecked Mariners' Society. ‘Many of the images portray those who we are here to support, with the competition enabling us to raise awareness of the maritime environment and those working in it,' said Captain Osmond. See shipwreckedmariners.org.uk/photographycompetition-2018.…

AFTER Leslie Crowther and a few other unusual covers, we are back in familiar glamour territory this week; it's the late '80s after all. This issue's ‘buff' model looks like she could tear us apart like warm bread, with a sinister-looking vertebrae/budgie necklace to match. Best not ask her to try just one more pose as the clock ticks down, methinks. One of the glamour photography pundits in this issue just did it as a sideline, apparently, with his main job being a bank manager. Nudity and ‘colourful' bank managers aside, there was plenty of more mainstream stuff to enjoy in this issue. David Dye was testing the Nikon TW2 autofocus dual lens compact, which sounds like an interesting device, and there's a good travelogue on Santorini. A round-up of…

‘Women need to be a little braver. They need to put themselves out there... and try to get their work seen’ With 2018 marking100 years of women's suffrage, it's fitting that the Royal Photographic Society should launch its Hundred Heroines project. It's aiming to find photography's 100 most inspirational women and has put out an appeal for nominations. You don't have to be an RPS member to nominate via www.rps.org/100-heroines/nominate-here, but time is running out as the deadline is 28 September. Within a few minutes of hearing about the project, I'd drawn up a mental roll call of women who must be a shoo-in for the historic list. Most, if not all of them seem to have been nominated, but what interests me more is the modern-day list. It contains…

This image demonstrates the concept of ‘dynamic balance'. Too much energy in a composition leads to chaos, while too much balance makes a composition static and boring: a mix of the two is best. The general background structure of the composition is roughly symmetrical from left to right (most notably, I centred the background mountain range, leaving equal room on both sides from the edge of the image frame), creating order and balance. But the dynamic, curving shapes of the wave and the cloud break the symmetry, adding energy to the visual design. The result is a composition that is both pleasingly balanced and dynamic at the same time – a compromise between two extremes that works to effectively engage the viewer's eye.…

There inevitably comes a time, many times in fact, when every photographer realises that the camera they have is lacking in some way, and the only way to achieve a specific end is to upgrade. We all get this feeling when a new camera model is released, but in reality you know when it's time to upgrade to the latest and greatest model, or even take the bold step of completely changing camera system. As mirrorless cameras offer increasingly impressive features and high resolutions in compact and lightweight bodies, more and more photographers are making the switch. The DSLR certainly isn't dead, and models such as the recent Nikon D850 prove that there's still a great deal of innovation when it comes to more traditional camera design. Will all cameras…

• £39.99 • uk.tomy.com Sticky strips These hold your phone in place on the masking frame to ensure you get the desired composition. Mirror A tiny mirror beside the lens lets you check everything looks OK before producing a print. Film compartment The film pack is inserted through a hinged door on the base. A counter beside it keeps track of how many prints are left. Shutter A large push-down plastic lever on the side of the device is used to make an exposure. Tomy isn't a name we'd normally expect to be featuring on these pages: the Japanese firm is best known as a maker of children's toys. But recently it introduced an ingeniously simple device for printing photos from your smartphone, called KiiPix, which costs just £40. Essentially,…

This week, two for the price of one. The Neurdein brothers Étienne (1832-1918) and Louis-Antonin (1846-1914) deserve to be better known: look for the credit ‘ND’ on otherwise anonymous pictures. These are the first and last of 18 images in an Album-Souvenir de Vézelay, almost certainly published before the First World War. Each is postcard sized, with a generous border and caption. They raise many questions. First, why do we photograph places we visit? For Art, or what? The French word ‘souvenir’ means ‘memory’ or ‘remembrance’. So what is a souvenir for? To jog our memories? To prove to others that we were there? Second, how many pictures do we need? In between these two, there are many views of the Basilique de la Madeleine (Google it); some ruins; a…

Canon EOS 80D, 70-200mm, 1/2000sec at f/6.3, ISO 100 This atmospheric photograph was uploaded to Instagram with the #appicoftheweek hashtag attached to it. The picture was taken by photographer Kieran Metcalfe. He tells us, ‘This image was taken on an early-morning hike along part of the South Kaibab Trail into the Grand Canyon. Wildfires are currently burning on the North Rim, and the smoke was flowing down into the canyon itself and settling into the ridges. The zigzag line of the alternating ridges caught my eye, and I liked how it led to the group of peaks in the background. The low sun made it an especially beautiful sight, but it was sobering to realise the amount of smoke that was being created - and the effect it must be…

It was, Peter Dench says, the monumental scale of the project that appealed to him: photographing fans at the world's greatest football tournament, combined with a journey through seven time zones in the world's largest country. So, inJune this year, he set off for Russia to document fans at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and to record his journey on the Trans-Siberian Railway. ‘My pitch for the project was that it was the most epic of away days' he says. Peter is a prolific documentary photographer and the project has aspects in common with his other work. Like ‘A1: Britain on the Verge', it uses a journey as a vehicle for presenting a snapshot of a nation at a particular time. And as with ‘Alcohol & England' and ‘The English…

Panasonic Lumix FT7 Audley Jarvis rides the waves with this tough compact Samyang AF 24mm f/2.8 FE Andy Westlake tests an affordable little wideangle prime for full-frame mirrorless Press photography: RIP? Keith Wilson takes an in-depth look into the dying breed of press photographers…

Leading lines Lines stretching from foreground to background propel the viewer's eye deeper into the photo. When the lines emanate from the bottom of the image frame and point to important elements in the background, they can be very effective at grabbing the viewer's attention and leading the eye into the composition. Framing Framing is an effective tool for creating depth, simplifying a composition, and focusing attention on what's important. Examples of commonly used frames include trees, natural arches and old barn windows. Framing compositions often works best if the frame and subject are in different light, such as silhouetted trees framing a sunlit mountain. Near-far Juxtaposing a close object with a far object creates depth in a composition and enhances visual interest. This is a favourite technique of landscape…

As Adobe Photoshop CC’s little brother, Elements often gets a bad rap – it doesn’t have the same set of features as Photoshop CC and is geared more towards beginners. But most casual CC users would admit that they barely scratch the surface of its labyrinthine feature set. So if you’re happy to forgo advanced controls like 3D or video editing, you might find that Elements offers everything you need, and all for a reasonable one-off cost rather than an ongoing monthly subscription. The Elements Camera Raw editor is a case in point. While it does lack the selective tools and black & white controls that are found in both Photoshop CC and Lightroom, it nevertheless offers an array of useful tonal sliders, plus tools for setting white balance and…

SINCE SWITCHING I've genuinely been blown away by the quality of the two lenses I purchased. I'd actually argue that the two lenses I currently own are the only two lenses you'd ever need for shooting landscapes: the 16-35mm f/2.8 and the 70-200mm f/4. The 16-35mm is, according to DXOMark, the sharpest lens of its type currently available. What also appeals is that it has an f/2.8 maximum aperture that makes it suitable for shooting astrophotography and weighs practically the same as my old Nikon 16-35mm f/4. A faster prime would be even better but don't forget that the core reason behind this system swap was to reduce weight, and a third lens, especially for one very specific subject, is a luxury that would negate all the weight savings made…

Depth of field Q If I'm using a 5x4 camera with a 2 ¼ square back on it, will I get the depth of field for a 5x4 or for a 2 ¼ x 2 ¼ format? Logic tells me that I should have the same DOF as if I was using 5x4 film instead of medium format. I keep coming back to the thought that if I take a picture on a sheet of 10x8 film and keep cutting the neg down, and down and down, then by the time I've cropped the negative down to half an inch across, the depth of field in that half inch should be almost infinite. Fishboy (AP forum) A Depth of field is directly dependent upon the film or sensor format, so…

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.…

PROFOTO has released an interesting-sounding portable lighting unit, the B10. The unit is about five times more powerful than a flashgun but isn't much bigger than a larger lens – at the same time it can run off batteries or the mains and has a built-in continuous light, making it handy for video as well as portraits or product shots. The flash unit on the B10 is self-contained and has a relatively impressive rating of 250W, along with 10 stops of control. Furthermore, the recycle time is just 0.05-2.2 seconds and you can get up to a 1/50,000sec flash duration in Freeze mode. Profoto claims the battery can cope with 400 full-power flashes or 75 minutes of run time with the video light, before running out of juice (you can…

Peter is an Olympus Visionary and he currently uses an OM-D E-M1 Mark II. ‘It's a professional but discreet camera and that definitely helped in this project,' he says. He usually shoots his documentary work with a 12-40mm f/2.8 lens (24-80mm in 35mm terms). For his trip to Russia he also took a M.Zuiko Digital ED 17mm f/1.2 Pro (roughly 35mm) so he could shoot handheld using natural light in the dimly lit carriages. He also used two flashguns, an Olympus FL-900R and a Godox TT350, for daylight fill-in.…

Keep it simple Think critically about what should be included within the image frame, and more importantly, what shouldn't. Exclude anything that doesn't make the composition stronger. Avoid visual merger Change your position as necessary to open up space between important objects so that they don't overlap. Get close with wideangle lenses By getting close to nearby objects with a wideangle lens, you can make even small objects look much larger and more prominent in the composition. Wait for the decisive moment Don't just show up and shoot. When you've found the perfect subject or composition, wait for the ‘decisive moment' that creates maximum visual energy. Mix energy and balance Too much balance in a composition is boring. Too much energy is chaotic. Try to find a mix between these…

Hand tool Use this tool (or simply hold Space) to scroll around an image when zoomed in. Double-click the icon to bring the image back to full screen. Zoom tool Use this (or press Cmd/Ctrl and + or - ) to zoom in close or to back out. Double-click the icon to zoom to 100% (actual pixels) view. White Balance eyedropper Use this tool to click on a neutral point in an image in order to set the white balance and correct colour casts. Crop tool This lets you make non-destructive crops. Right-click for different ratios and click X to change the orientation. Straighten tool Use this to straighten wonky horizons in landscapes. Simply drag along the horizon line to correct it.…

Winston Churchill once described Russia as ‘a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma'. This hasn't changed. As a photographer, I'm always looking for new and exciting places to explore, and Moscow with all its romance and mystique seemed the ideal destination for my first Russian mission. I've been shooting digital for over 15 years. It's convenient, automated, fast and predictable. However, I feel that this pixel perfection can sometimes lack the creative soul that I had grown to love with film. Digital photographers have tried various ways to emulate the look of film with the latest cameras, software, actions and presets. However in all honesty, if you want the classic film look, the only real way is to shoot traditional film. I wanted my images of Moscow to…

LAUNCHED 1939 PRICE AT LAUNCH £40 GUIDE PRICE NOW £250-300 When the German Zeiss Ikon company introduced the first Ikoflex twin lens reflex (TLR) in 1934, it was nicknamed the ‘Coffee Can' owing to its unusual shape. There followed a series of new models that took the more conventional Rolleiflex lookalike style adopted by most TLR manufacturers. But then came the super-stylish Ikoflex III. At its core, the Ikoflex follows the conventional TLR design: two lenses, one to take the picture the other to reflect its image up to a large focusing screen on top; Tessar shooting lens; shutter speeds of 1-1/200sec and apertures of f/2.8-f/22 set on levers around the shooting lens and displayed in windows above the viewing lens; 120 size rollfilm wound by a crank; 6x6cm images;…