Innholdsfortegnelse for 28-Sep-2019 i Amateur Photographer

If you have all the gear and no idea where to go, this issue is definitely for you. Turn to page 16 for lots of details on inspiring and very photogenic events, which provide a great opportunity to try out new cameras and lenses, or just sharpen your skills in a photographer-friendly environment. And you can take your shooting technique to another level by trying out day to night photography. We reveal how to do this on a small budget. Other highlights of this issue include a detailed review of the Canon G7 X Mark III advanced compact, and a look at one of the best used DSLR deals on the market – the EOS 7D, which you can pick up today for £300. We also get up and close…

Waterproof cover Photo events and workshops tend to go ahead unless the weather takes a seriously bad turn. Make sure you’re well prepared by packing a rain cover in your backpack for your gear, and you have waterproof clothing for yourself. Rucksack You might be expected to cover a fair amount of ground, so load your gear into a backpack and only bring what you need. You should be sent a list of required kit prior to the event, so stick to it as much as you can. Memory cards Carry plenty of empty memory cards. If your camera has a dual-card slot, consider saving raw files to one card and JPEGs to the other. Once a card is full, you can secure its contents by carefully sliding the little…

Caron Steele retains the lead she has held from the start of this year’s APOY. Can she be caught? Marco Tagliarino is hot on her heels, only 16 points behind. Jay, Henrik, Tony and Steve have more than one image in the top 30, so only their highest-scoring image counts. 1 CaronSteele 90pts 2 MarcoTagliarino 74pts 3 DarrenRose 53pts 3= SteveJames 53pts 5 NeilBurnell 51pts 6 FlavioTosti 50pts 7 HenrikSpranz 48pts 8 Tom Franklin de Waart 42pts 9 StuartAshley 40pts 10 JayBirmingham 39pts…

When to go Autumn would absolutely be my choice for the best time of year to visit, where the foliage is turning to more vibrant colours, and the sunrise/ sunset times are more amenable. In late autumn the light in the evening floods the valley and lights up the distant fells, and there's even the possibility of some snow on the high peaks if you time it well. Additionally, locations like Stanley Ghyll and the surrounding woodland areas are likely to be full of colour. Food and lodging The valley offers several pubs and B&Bs along its road out towards Eskdale Green – probably the best one is the Woolpack Inn which serves delicious food year round and also has accommodation. Also the Bower House Inn at Eskdale Green is…

With the FE 35mm F1.8, Sony has made a fine little lens that's a great match for its Alpha 7-series camera bodies. It's small, light and weather-sealed, yet provides impressive image quality and near-instantaneous autofocus. It's sharp across the frame and gives lovely blurred backgrounds, which is all you can really ask for from a fast prime. Some might question why you'd pay £630 for a lens that's ‘only' f/1.8, but the reality is that you're getting seriously high-end performance here. Indeed while this lens may not quite achieve the optical near-perfection we've become used to from Sony's G Master series, it still delivers a level of image quality that we'd have marvelled at ten years ago. Personally I'd choose it ahead of Sony's other 35mm primes, as it's by…

As I write this, the inspirational young climate-change protestor Greta Thunberg is in the middle of a long sea voyage to the USA rather than jumping on a plane. Whatever your thoughts on the politics of climate change and the tactics of campaigners, even the most ardent global warming denier has to admit that something is going on with all these floods and heatwaves. Since many AP readers will be keen travel or landscape photographers who regularly hop on planes, should we be doing more to reduce the environmental impact of our passion? While I don't feel guilty about already making several trips to Asia this year, it does make me think. But what are my options? Slow boat to China I am even more time-poor than I am cash-poor,…

David dabbled in a number of different genres before realising his true passion was landscape photography. He's happy any time he's near water – particularly the sea – and whenever possible makes the effort to be in place for the early light. ‘I'm forever checking the weather and tides,' he says, ‘as photography is never far from my mind.' As is the case with so many, a love of the outdoors is what drives him. ‘Being on a beach at 3am, watching and shooting the sunrise, can't be beaten.' Visit www.davidballphotography.co.uk.…

Express individuality If you find yourself in a line of photographers all hankering after the same photograph, use it as an opportunity to try something new. Experiment with different angles, lenses and techniques until you find something that is completely unique to you. Speak up If a prop isn't in the right place for the image you had in your mind's eye, ask to move it. Similarly, if a model isn't in a pose that works for you, ask if they can adjust their position. Be aware of the needs of others, but don't be afraid to speak up! Don’t get frustrated There may be times when you are working in areas with certain restrictions, or when members of the group prevent you from taking a picture in some way.…

Feedback is essential to developing our skills, and social media for all of its faults can often be the best place for that feedback to be found. It's faceless and at times can be incredibly cruel but also, occasionally spot on. When I posted a street photograph and received the comment ‘Boring' from a photographer whose judgement I trusted, I took a second look at the work I had proudly displayed less than an hour earlier, just as soon as I had calmed down. There was nothing technically wrong with the image: it was sharp enough; exposed correctly (maybe a little high key); and there was nothing wrong with the subject – the guy against the wall – whatsoever (see image on far right, middle row). The fault, if that's…

The G7 X Mark III is a lovely pocket camera that we really enjoyed using. There's plenty of scope to set the camera up via its various JPEG processing options to get exactly the look you want, while the ability to shoot raw also provides scope to process images yourself after the point of capture. Either way, it delivers on its promise of producing images of a notably higher quality than you could expect of a smartphone camera – even a high-end one. While the addition of a built-in external microphone input alongside flip-up LCD display, built-in YouTube live streaming and 4K movie-recording abilities mark the G7 X Mark III out as an excellent choice for those with an interest in online video blogging, the camera excels as a still…

Resolution Looking at our Image Engineering MTF50 tests, shot on the 42.4MP A7R III, reveals that the lens is already impressively sharp in the centre of the frame at f/1.8. It improves further on stopping down, reaching peak central performance at f/4. As usual the corners aren’t quite as sharp, but they’re really not too far off. Overall the lens’s sweet spot covers f/5.6-f/11, with diffraction softening becoming evident at smaller apertures. Shading Vignetting is clearly visible at maximum aperture, with about 1.7 stops loss of brightness in the corners of the frame. This diminishes gradually as the aperture is stopped down, but not unusually for full-frame E-mount primes, it doesn’t go away entirely. Instead we see a sudden drop in brightness towards the corners, which persists even at f/8.…

● £304 ● www.fotospeed.com Grips Each leg has a foam grip to carry the tripod more comfortably, but they are rather small, and unusually hard. Head The tripod doesn’t come with a head, but the Titall BH-07 is a good match. However it adds another £100 to the cost. Weight hook Hanging your camera bag from here can give the tripod some welcome extra stability. Carry bag A well-padded nylon bag is included, complete with an internal zip pocket for tools and a good-length shoulder strap. ONE OF the big advantages of cameras getting smaller and lighter is that you don't need such a large tripod to hold them. If you own a small DSLR or mirrorless camera, or a high-end compact, then a small travel tripod will provide you…

If you’d like to see your words or pictures published in Amateur Photographer, here’s how: Something to say? Write to us at ap@ti-media.com with your letters, opinion columns (max 500 words) or article suggestions. Pictures Send us a link to your website or gallery, or attach a set of low-res sample images (up to a total of 5MB) to appicturedesk@ti-media.com. Join our online communities Post your pictures into our Flickr, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram communities or the gallery on our website.…

US DOCUMENTARY photographer Robert Frank, who is forever assured a place in the photographic pantheon for his 1958 book, The Americans, died on 9 September at the age of 94. Frank's book was hugely influential, prompting Joel Meyerowitz, for example, to give up his job and become a photographer. ‘[The pictures] all seemed to have drama to them. It was just thrilling to me to see that you could stop life with a camera.' The Swiss-born Frank emigrated to the USA in 1947, initially working as a fashion photographer. His big break as a documentary shooter came in the mid-'50s, when Guggenheim Fellowships enabled him to fund a two-year photographic road trip. About 28,000 images were taken for The Americans, and he captured many aspects of a society which, while…

This new edition of Helmut Newton's seminal work SUMO marks 20 years since the original, monster, 35.4kg package was launched. Although this is a ‘smaller' version it's still a big package, which comes with a hefty outer sleeve and contains a multilingual 32-page booklet that outlines ‘The Making of Helmut Newton's SUMO. Back in1999, the original SUMO was a trailblazing publication – a magnificent behemoth of a book that did justice to Newton's provocative and daring talents. Although he is arguably one of the best known photographers ever, on the off chance you aren't familiar with his work, Newton, who died in 2004, was a true innovator in fashion, portrait and commercial photography who never shied away from creating controversy through his erotic and highly sexual imagery. This latest version…

AS THE cover suggests, this is another glamour model-tastic from the AP archive, with an engrossing feature comparing the lifestyles of two models: former Page 3 stalwart Samantha Fox and a relative newcomer called Julia Humphries. Samantha is still knocking them dead at 53, while we did a Google search for Julia and soon wish we hadn't, as all that popped up was a back issue of a certain ‘gentleman's magazine' for sale on Amazon. Moving swiftly on, this issue also featured a more highbrow piece on portraits from the Sunday Telegraph colour supplement. Some of the images are great, particularly that of a mesmerising portrait of Richard Avedon or that of Merle Park. Others are less so: the torso of spiky-haired '80s icon Leslie Ash merging into what looks…

A wedding is under way – the bride and groom are standing under a colourful arch of flowers, lightly touching heads; the aisle is lined with candles; and rings are about to be exchanged. Somewhere from the back of the church a photographer shouts out, ‘Stop, can we do that again please, I missed the shot.’ Despite appearances this is not a real wedding – it’s a carefully staged event designed to help photographers hone their skills. ‘It’s like shooting a real wedding, but without the pressure,’ laughs Tiffany Tangen, events manager at Wex Photo Video. ‘We have a bride and a groom, but we can say “Stop, bring it back; this is where you need to take your shot.”’ Wex Photo Video is one of a number of companies…

Round Five Small Worlds The winner of Round Five – Small Worlds can choose products of up to £1,000 in value (based on Sigma's RRP) as their prize. If the winner's choice of lens is above this amount, they can choose to pay the difference. The SIGMA 70mm F2.8 DG Macro | Art (RRP £499.99) delivers outstanding resolution with pin-sharp clarity, while the SIGMA APO Macro 150mm F2.8 EX DG OS HSM (RRP £999.99), a wide-aperture telephoto macro lens, features Sigma's Optical Stabilizer for easier handholding. 1 Jay Birmingham UK 30pts Canon EOS 6D Mark II, 24-70mm at 70mm, 25sec at f/14, ISO 100 This is a worthy winning image. The dark and dominant background leads the eye into the delicate and warm tone of the isolated fungus that the…

Tripod A sturdy tripod is essential for keeping your camera still in one place. Make sure everything is locked securely into position. Avoid strong winds, and if there is a slight breeze weigh the tripod down with a bag. Interval shooting You either need a camera that has an interval- or timelapse-shooting feature or a plug-in remote shutter release that has that feature. The third option if you have neither of these things is to fire each shot manually. We’d recommend using some sort of remote release though to take the shot so you don’t move the camera. Editing software You need an image-editing program that can use layers to process all your final images together. We opted to use Photoshop CC; however there are other editing programs out there…

THE Lake District is full of spectacular locations, though for sheer ruggedness and remoteness the Eskdale Valley takes some beating. Alfred Wainwright described Eskdale as ‘One of the loveliest of Lakeland's valleys, descends from the highest and wildest mountains in the district to the sands of Ravenglass in a swift transition from bleak and craggy ridges, to verdant woodlands and pastures watered by a charming river.' The valley is notable for being one of few major valleys in the Lake District not to have its own lake, although several tarns are perched above the valley sides including Devoke Water, which is the largest tarn in the Lake District. Located on the edge of the National Park, the valley is linked to its perhaps more illustrious neighbour, the Langdale Valley, by…

Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III Price £699 Sensor 20.1MP CMOS, 13.2 x 8.8mm Output size 5472 x 3648 pixels Lens 24-100mm equiv, f/1.8-2.8 Shutter speeds 1-1/2000sec (mechanical) 30-1/25,600sec (electronic) Sensitivity ISO 125-12,800 standard (ISO 25,600 expanded) Exposure modes PASM, Auto, 11x Creative Filters, 13x Scene, Custom Metering Evaluative, Centre-weighted average, Spot Exposure comp ±3EV in 1/3EV steps Continuous 20fps in AF-S shooting 8fps with continuous AF Screen 3in, 1.04-million-dot tiltable touchscreen LCD AF points 31 Video 4K (3840x2160), 30fps External mic 3.5mm stereo Memory card SD, SDHC, SDXC Power Rechargeable NB-13L Li-ion Battery life Approx 265 shots per charge Dimensions 105.5x60.9x41.4mm Weight 304g (with battery and card)…

A web rumour published recently stated that Panasonic is planning on employing a time of flight depth sensor to aid with autofocus on a forthcoming Micro Four Thirds camera. The rumour came from the ‘4/3 Rumors' site under the headline ‘Panasonic is developing a new TOF Micro Four Thirds sensor for a new PERFECT autofocus system!. As I've been working on time of flight (hereafter TOF) systems recently, and the headline above (and article under it) has some serious inaccuracies, I thought I'd provide some better information for AP readers. The headline suggests that this is a ‘Micro Four Thirds Sensor', implying it is a photographic imaging sensor with rangefinding capability. The possibility of this being the case is highly remote. Time of flight is an active ranging system; it…

‘Ican’t photograph anything without a city… For me, cities are enormous bodies of people’s desires and as I search for my own desires with them, I slice into time, seeing the moment.’ Daido Moriyama appears to be an eloquent but gritty monochrome street specialist, following in the footsteps of some of the greatest pioneers of postwar documentary photography, but with a particular Japanese angle. In fact, he’s a trailblazer and a disruptor, somebody whose work elicits markedly different responses. French critic Hervé Chandès cites his dark, sullen vision of urban Japan and praises his ‘aggressiveness’, while Simon Baker, photography curator at the Tate, describes his work as ‘wilfully abstract’. As with any artist, to start to understand Moriyama’s work involves some consideration of the culture and society that produced him.…