Innholdsfortegnelse for 26-Sep-2020 i Amateur Photographer

There’s an urban flavour to this week’s issue and we’re honoured to have one of the world’s most famous street photographers sharing the secrets of his success. Not that some of you need much guidance on getting great shots in the city, judging by the results of the City Life round of our Amateur Photographer of the Year contest, which you can see this week. If the trees and pastures of the British countryside are more your cup of tea, why not consider getting a camera converted for infrared photography? You may already have a spare body somewhere and in the right light the results can be amazing. Geoff Harris explains all you need to know. Also this week, Andy Westlake falls for the petite charms of the latest Olympus…

Used camera and lens specialist MPB has been recognised in The Sunday Times Sage Tech Track 100 for the third time. The league table, which ranks Britain’s private technology, media and telecoms companies by sales growth, put MPB as the highest-placed company in the photography industry and 95th on the list overall. Over the past three years MPB has achieved annual sales growth of 50%, bringing its sales to £44.2million – and making it one of the most profitable companies featured in the Sunday Times list. ‘The photography industry offers one of the greatest opportunities for a sustainable circular economy,’ said founder and CEO Matt Barker (above).…

SAMYANG has announced the AF 35mm F1.8 FE, a lightweight autofocus prime lens for Sony full-frame mirrorless cameras. It’s designed for a variety of uses, including street, cityscapes and landscapes. It can also be used on APS-C models, offering a 53mm equivalent focal length. Optically the lens employs 10 elements in 8 groups, with two aspheric elements and two made from high refractive-index (HR) glass to minimise distortion and chromatic aberration. The aperture diaphragm employs 9 curved blades for attractively blurred backgrounds. A linear stepper motor promises fast, quiet autofocus for stills and video. The barrel measures 65 x 63.5mm and the lens weighs 235g including lens caps and the supplied petal-type hood. This makes it even smaller and lighter than its Sony equivalent. Despite this, Samyang says it’s sealed…

To complement the A7C’s small body, Sony has introduced a new kit lens, in the shape of the FE 28-60mm f/4-5.6. With a mechanical, rather than motorised zoom mechanism, it measures 67mm in diameter and just 45mm long when retracted, while weighing in at a mere 167g. The lens accepts 40.5mm filters, and is dust and moisture-resistant to match the camera. It has a minimum focusing distance of 30cm at wideangle, increasing to 45cm at the long end. Three aspherical elements are used to combat aberrations, while the aperture employs seven blades. Initially it will only be available in a kit with the body, but is due to go on sale separately in January for £450. While this lens should do a great job of keeping the overall package small,…

In the trailer for his Masters of Photography series of online workshops, Joel Meyerowitz claims that ‘photography looks like pictures but it’s really ideas’. The 82-year-old New Yorker may be responsible for some of the most defining images in the history of street photography, yet he remains one of the medium’s most thoughtful practitioners. Pre-empting recent trends for mindfulness, Meyerowitz has spent almost 60 years using his camera as a means to connect with the world while remaining present and alive to possibility. In doing so, he has been able to define his own identity and establish a remarkable career to date. Meyerowitz shot his first Kodachrome roll in 1962. He’d been working as a junior art director for an advertising agency when a visit to Robert Frank’s studio inspired…

1 Shoot regularly. It is important to tune your instrument – which is your eye and camera – so that you know how to be in the right place at the right time. 2 I usually prefer tungsten film rather than daylight film because you can make long exposures with it and re-balance it in the darkroom. 3 Avoid burst mode. I always make single images, and I try to be in the moment with whatever it is that is unfolding in front of me. 4 Generally with a digital camera, I try not to up the ASA. I would rather use time and light and a lower ASA so that I have a more refined image to work with. 5 A well-made photo requires a willingness to work things…

‘Better for taking selfies and vlogging’ is a phrase I’ve seen a lot recently in extolling the virtues of the multi-angle screen on the Fujifilm X-T4. I’m curious: is this really a feature that is better for the bulk of the magazine’s readership? I bought an Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II in 2015 which only has the traditional flip-up screen. I enjoy it still. However, needing weather-sealing I bought a Panasonic Lumix G8. It has a vari-angle screen but I find it much much›harder to compose with that – though fortunately the eyepiece has a great screen and does tilt, making this one of my favourite cameras. I think›the Lumix G8 is currently a great used bargain. I take the point that without a vari-angle screen ‘taking selfies and vlogging’…

There’s something to be said for autodidactic creatives. So many times, in the ‘Legends’ column, we’ve looked at the careers of significant photographers and seen that it was their lack of formal education in photography that meant they were free of the restrictive shackles of institutional tutoring. This isn’t meant as a dig at photography courses. It’s simply to say that when photographers are free to find their own paths, when they evade indoctrination, true creative magic can flourish. One who fits into this model is Bert Stern (1929-2013), a photographer of true significance in the world of fashion photography. Stern’s beginnings in photography were simple. His father was a photographer, specialising in portraits of children. At the age of 16 he dropped out of school, found himself working in…

Festival Dome Construction by William Vanderson Workers laying sheets of aluminium on the roof of the Dome of Discovery in preparation for the Festival of Britain on the South Bank, London, 29 September 1950. The Houses of Parliament are in the background. The Festival of Britain took place in summer 1951, 100 years after the Great Exhibition of 1851. The South Bank held the Festival’s centrepiece and events were held elsewhere in London and in Glasgow, while festival celebrations were held across the UK. After the Festival closed, the Dome was demolished with its materials sold as scrap – a controversial decision at the time. The Getty Images Hulton Archive is one of the world’s great cultural resources. Tracing its origins to the founding of the London Stereoscopic Company in…

Another new accessory designed for the A7C is the compact Sony HVL-F28RM flash. With a guide number of 28m at ISO 100, it’s compatible with the firm’s wireless radio control system, as found on the larger HVL-F45RM and HVL-F60RM units, and can operate as either a commander or receiver. The flash itself has minimal external controls, with its settings mostly being changed from the camera body. It features dust and moisture-resistant construction, and the head can be angled up to 180° for bounce flash work. It works with Sony’s latest flash metering technology, which takes face detection into account when balancing the flash output with ambient light. Power is provided by a pair of AA batteries. The Sony HVLF28RM is expected in the shops in mid-November, costing £250.…

Deardorff 8x10in View Camera My film cameras are pretty much retired now, although periodically when I have a commission, I bring out the 8x10in. I usually prefer tungsten film rather than daylight film because you can make long exposures with it and re-balance it in the darkroom. Leica M and S cameras Although I have three Leica cameras, my two favourites are the M-series, which I use with a 35mm lens primarily, and the S (Typ 007), which is medium format. I use that for still-life work and portraiture, and it has an extraordinary 4K video camera. Photoshop I have been using Photoshop longer than anybody else. That’s a fact. I started in summer 1991. I heard about Adobe, I called them up in California and they sent me 16…

Paris, France, 1967 was taken during a year-long European road trip that Joel had begun in London in 1966. It is the quintessential Meyerowitz image for a number of reasons. Firstly, there is an underlying artistry to the composition: there are strong perspective lines and an adherence to the rule of thirds, while the slight camera tilt adds further dynamism. Secondly, it is a busy scene and yet all the elements interact. Follow the sight lines of the various different characters and they create an interplay between one another. While many street photographers crop in on the action, Meyerowitz has a more generous, inclusive way of seeing. He allows the action to unfold and remains alert to every element in the wider frame. Most importantly, however, this image endures because…

Round Five City Life NEIL JOHANSSON from Wales is the winner of Round Five of APOY 2020, and receives products of up to £1,000 in value as his prize (based on Sigma’s RRP). If his choice of lens is above this, he can elect to pay the difference. Standard primes such as the SIGMA 35mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art (£799.99) or the SIGMA 50mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art (£749.99) are great choices for the street photographer. 1 Neil Johansson UK 20pts Panasonic DC-TZ90, 20.6mm, 1/80sec at f/5.1, ISO 125 If ever an image summed up the claustrophobia and scale that can be experienced in cities the world over, it’s this one. The composition is extremely bold: filling three-quarters of the screen with the imposing building, and placing the…

The Himalayas conjure many images of natural and human endeavour. It is the source of rivers Ganges, Yangtze and Mekong among others. Billions of people in thousands of communities rely on Himalayan water. Also a region of monsoons, it has one of the world’s greatest freshwater resources. There are enough ice and snow deposits to impress the Arctics. Yet, alarming reports suggest the glaciers are shrinking and potable spring water is running dry. The pressures of tourism, population growth, intensive logging, quarrying, the flouting of environmental laws and changing weather patterns has plunged the region into a water crisis. British photographer Toby Smith is committed to effecting positive environmental change. He has reported on illegal logging and mining in Madagascar and renewable energy across Asia. Smith spent three years diligently…

The crops shown below are taken from the area outlined above in red Olympus has used this 20MP Four Thirds sensor in its various forms for several years now, so it’s pretty much a known quantity. The E-M10 Mark IV doesn’t throw up any surprises, either good or bad. Low ISO images show good detail, with noise only starting to impact the image quality at ISO 800 and above. I’d still happily shoot at up to ISO 6400 if necessary, but would avoid the extended higher settings if possible. Olympus’s default JPEG processing strongly prioritises noise reduction over detail retention, but this can be tamed by turning down the Noise Filter setting. Naturally, you’ll get the best results by processing raw.…

Eye by Robbie Jones Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 24mm, 1/80sec at f/5.6, ISO 100 Robbie Jones is a cinematographer and photographer based in Glasgow. He shoots commercial videos, short films and has just released his debut feature film Riptide by Scottish production company Lyre Films (www.instagram.com/lyrefilms). He tells us, ‘This is a large vintage lamp surrounded by a glass-tiled pattern on the ceiling. I took it in an old town hall in one of my favourite cities in the world, Chicago. I was struck by the craftsmanship of the light, there was something beautiful yet hypnotic about it. I noticed a couple of people taking pictures of it, I didn’t want to get the same image so I lay on the floor directly underneath to get a different perspective!’…

Canon has tweaked its EOS R5 and R6 firmware. Both cameras gain improved image stabilisation when using the RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1L IS USM lens, with up to six stops benefit from the in-lens and in-body systems working together better. Further updates for the R6 relate to movie shooting, including enhanced stabilisation when using certain RF lenses, along with improved temperature detection and shooting time control. In addition, the total shooting time is increased when short recordings and power-on/off cycles are performed repeatedly. The Slow Synchro setting screen is also more accurately displayed. Full details at bit.ly/eosupdates.…

I HAVE to admit I’m ambivalent about the Alpha 7C. I like the idea of a compact full-frame body, and with Sony managing to fit a viewfinder, fully articulated screen and IBIS into a camera this small, it should have been a home run. Unfortunately, after a week trialling a pre-production unit, I found the camera’s control setup and handling to be nowhere near as good as it should be, particularly given the high bar set by the A7 III and the likes of the Nikon Z 5. Instead, the compromises Sony has made in packaging the A7C mean that its larger sibling still looks the better all-round choice, especially as the two models will initially cost almost exactly the same. However the A7C may well find its niche among…

On 26 May, Shutterstock sent out an email announcing a new earnings structure ‘to reflect changes in the market for creative content, help to create fair opportunities, and reward performance with greater earnings potential’. It didn’t take long for furious contributors to launch the hashtag #boycottshutterstock in response, and for many of them to start removing their portfolios from Shutterstock’s website. The new minimum royalty of $0.10 per download was introduced on 1 June. The fact that a billion-dollar-company was rolling this out amid a pandemic only added to the fury. Arbitrarily cutting royalties is nothing new – both Getty and Alamy have reduced contributor earnings in recent years in order to grow revenue in an increasingly competitive market place, but the timing of this announcement couldn’t be worse. But…

Learn to blend in Every photographer who seriously works the street gets the sense of how to become invisible. One’s body language is really important. You have to know yourself physically, just like an athlete, and move so that it doesn’t bruise the engagement. Read the street Anticipate the unfolding potential for meaning that is literally coming down the street toward you. You have to be able to see in the play of the street the potential for the unseen photo that you intuit might come into being because you put yourself in relation to it. Engage head and heart When photographing on the street, you have to be passionate and excited about what you are seeing. At the same time you have to be distant enough emotionally so that…

Neil Johansson, 1st When shooting in the city, you need to think about composition as well as subject matter. You should also be mindful of your surroundings and look everywhere including above and below – no corner should be left unobserved. Finally, I’d suggest not to rush but to move slowly, because often there’s so much going on around you, it’s easy to miss something interesting. Phil Tomlinson, 2nd and 7th Several elements make a great photo: composition, emotion, storytelling and unique moments are all factors to consider, but they are all bound and governed by one thing – light. Understanding light and how your camera reads light is critical to creating an image that truly stands out. Before releasing the shutter, take a moment to consider where the light…

MANY people convert older cameras as it’s less of a risk. Which cameras are the most suitable? ‘They all have their pros and cons,’ says Protech Photographic’s Kelvin Stonebrook. ‘Panasonic makes it easier to adjust white balance without digging through menus, and Fujifilm and Olympus work well. Obviously a full-frame sensor will give you higher-resolution files – the latest full-frame models from Sony and Nikon are particularly good. But as we see here, you can get great results with a camera that is nearly ten years old, so a lot of it comes down to your allegiance and range of lenses.’…

ON PAPER, the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV looks to be a pretty minor update. With other entry-level models boasting more sophisticated autofocus systems and vlogger-friendly features, it might be easy to dismiss as an also-ran, especially given the uncertainty over the future of Olympus’s camera division. But this would be a huge error, because in this case, the whole is rather more than the sum of its parts. Just like its predecessor, it’s a lovely little camera that’s a joy to use and delivers great pictures. Indeed the E-M10 IV has plenty to recommend it compared to its competitors. It may not have the Sony A6100’s exceptional autofocus, but it’s vastly more pleasant to use. Beginners should find it as easy to use as the Canon EOS M50, but…

Fastener This holds your camera by screwing into its tripod socket, held tight by a rubber washer. It’s made from stainless steel over-moulded with nylon. Coyote If you find the coyote brown colour of our review sample too daring, the strap is also available in all black. Tether This nylon webbing fixes onto one of your camera’s strap lugs, providing a back-up point of attachment. Extension If the strap is too short for you, the optional ‘Bert Breathe’ extender (£14) can clip in to add another 38cm. ● £75 ● www.blackrapid.com IN GENERAL, I like the idea of sling straps. They allow you to carry a camera across your body, nestling on your hip ready for shooting. This is more comfortable than either neck or shoulder straps, especially with heavy…

My last couple of articles have been about ISO, which isn’t an acronym. This one is about a photographic concept that is denoted by an acronym, ‘MTF’, which stands for Modulation Transfer Function. Most photographers will have encountered this when looking at lens tests, and this article aims to explain the concept behind it. When I was young and used to read the lens tests in AP they would generally characterise a lens’s performance in ‘line pairs per millimetre’. A ‘line pair’, rather confusingly, referred not to two lines, but to a single black line on a white background. A test target consisting of line pairs at different spacings would be photographed using a fine-grain film. The negative would be examined with a microscope, and the closest spacing at which…

Olympus Tough TG-6 ● £370 ● www.olympus.co.uk Olympus’s Tough compacts have habitually won our underwater camera group tests, and this latest model is still the best of its type. It’s waterproof to 15m, shockproof against a 2.4m drop, crushproof and freezeproof. The 25-100mm equivalent lens is paired with a 12MP sensor, and viewing is via a 3in LCD. This is also one of the few rugged cameras that can record raw files. Panasonic LX100 II ● £729 ● www.panasonic.com/uk A high-end compact for creative photography, the LX100 II is based around a 24-75mm equivalent f/1.7-2.8 lens and a 17MP Four Thirds sensor that features a true multi aspect-ratio design. It also boasts a full range of traditional analogue control dials, and the corner-mounted viewfinder is complemented by touchscreen LCD. Reviewed…