Innholdsfortegnelse for 05-Dec-2020 i Amateur Photographer

If your photography consists primarily of wandering around with a camera in the hope that a good photo opportunity will present itself, perhaps you should consider the possibility of creating your own opportunities by setting yourself a project. Maybe even multiple projects. This week, Tommy Reynolds tells us how important he feels it is to set projects for ourselves that challenge us and force us to learn new skills. Once you’ve read our interview, I urge you to check out his YouTube channel – it’s very inspiring. Also this week, in the first of a new series on leading film shooters we talk to Ian Howorth about his work and thought processes. We tell the fascinating story behind the iconic Abbey Road album cover, look back at the great Contax…

Think like an amateur Don’t be afraid of making a mistake or looking silly. ‘In a weird way, people want to know about the things that go wrong, because it shows vulnerability,’ says Tommy. If you’re a professional, think back to the early days when you only had yourself to please. Start from home ‘If you’re afraid to reach out to someone, the best advice is to start from home,’ suggests Tommy. Ask a family member (or a friend, in this case) to take part in your personal project – you might find out something about them that you never knew before! Establish a rapport If someone Tommy has never met before comes to the studio for a portrait, he allocates 20 minutes or so for a coffee and a…

1 Remove dust spots I noticed a couple of small dust spots in the sky area of the image. To get rid of these I used the Spot Removal tool in Lightroom. It is a simple tool to use but doesn’t always work first time so I had to move the sample area until I achieved the desired result. 2 Crop for negative space I cropped just a small amount from the left-hand side to increase the negative space in front of the hare. Negative space is an effective compositional tool which can create a feeling of context and isolation, perfect for an image such as this. 3 Resize Normally at this stage I would add a small amount of vibrance to give the colours a little bit more punch.…

1 Adjust the crop Select the Crop Tool, select Original Ratio from the dropdown menu and drag the crop box in from the top-right corner until the middle figure sits in the centre of the frame. Use the Rule of Thirds overlay option to help you. Fine-tune the crop using the double-ended arrows that appear when you hover the cursor over the corners of the cropping box. 2 Tone down colour To tone down colours, click on the Create new fill or adjustment layer icon in the Layers palette and select Hue/Saturation from the dropdown menu. Slowly drag the Saturation slider to the left until the overall colour palette appears more realistic. For Zay’s image, Saturation was set to just -10 because I didn’t want to lose too much of…

I’VE TESTED some phenomenally impressive primes in the past few years, but the Sigma 85mm F1.4 DG DN Art really stands out as one of, if not the best, I’ve used. Though the optical quality of its predecessor remains excellent, its bulk and colossal weight isn’t complementary to many full-frame mirrorless cameras, which is where other manufacturers’ examples have provided an advantage until now. By designing the lens from scratch and tailoring it for mirrorless users who desire smaller, lighter lenses, Sigma has created a gem of a lens that delivers astonishing image quality, fantastic lens-based aperture control and excellent handling all-in-one. Better still, it provides all the desirable features you’ll find on its Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM rival for £500 less. Take all that it offers for the…

Needless to say, I’m seriously impressed by the Kase Wolverine K9 100mm filter system. It’s extremely well designed and works without any fuss, giving excellent results with no nasty surprises along the way. Optically, the filters are as good as you’ll find, and they’re tough, too. While the system is full of neat little touches, the magnetic polariser is probably the best of these. With other systems that use rear-mounted polarisers, they tend to be awkward to fit or remove, but Kase has solved that problem at a stroke. It’s also really easy to adjust from behind the camera. While high-end filter systems are inevitably expensive, Kase’s is competitively priced compared to its peers. All of the various kits make sense, giving increasing creative possibilities as the price goes up.…

● £185 ● www.manfrotto.com Cabin luggage The bag meets most airline carry-on luggage dimensions (always check with your airline prior to departure). Laptop compartment The dimensions of the spacious laptop compartment measure 32x2x42cm. Rain cover The included fold-out protector creates a barrier between the wet outside and dry inside of your bag. Carry handle There’s a convenient carry handle at the side for pulling the bag quickly out of luggage racks. ROLLER bags that are designed with photography in mind come in a wide variety of forms. The Manfrotto Manhattan Runner-50 is made for photographers who like to travel and fancy the best of both worlds when it comes to versatility. Open it up and inside you’ll find a camera pouch that not only provides superb protection for your kit,…

Today’s fashion photography landscape is a varied and experimental platform for technique and style, with figures such as Annie Leibovitz and Rankin pushing the boundaries of what we consider within the margins of sartorial representation. Today we could consider fashion photography an art form in and of itself. But back in the early 20th century, fashion images were stuck in a fusty rut – until US-born photographer and Cecil Beaton protégé Toni Frissell came along. Prior to Frissell’s fashion photography (which featured countless times in Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue) the genre treated its models as mere clotheshorses. The models occupied studio settings, striking poses that today would be seen as quaint and awkward, their faces plastered with rictus grins and their busts pushed up to planetary proportions. Frissell’s great break…

Cushioned by Fox Photos A skater not too sure of his abilities has padded himself with a cushion at a strategic point in case of a fall. The photograph was taken in Hollow Ponds in Leytonstone, London, which had frozen in the severe winter of 1927/1928. In December of 1927, southern England was particularly badly affected, with snow up to 20 feet deep reported in places – it was so bad some small buildings were buried, while central London saw abandoned cars. After the snow and ice thawed, the River Thames burst its banks. 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 1854, today it houses over 80 million images spanning the birth…

THERE has been talk of Tom Hardy playing Don McCullin in a movie for a while, but it has now been confirmed that Angelina Jolie is on board to direct the new film. It is being adapted by Gregory Burke, who wrote the screenplay for the acclaimed movie ’71, which is about the Northern Ireland Troubles, and is based on McCullin’s biography, Unreasonable Behaviour. ‘I am humbled to have a chance to bring Don McCullin’s life to film,’ Jolie said. ‘I was drawn to his unique combination of fearlessness and humanity – his absolute commitment to witnessing the truth of war, and his empathy and respect for those who suffer its consequences. We hope to make a film that is as uncompromising as Don’s photography, about the extraordinary people and…

Musicians: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Billy Preston, George Martin Released: 26 September 1969 (Apple Records) Best chart performance: No.1 UK Albums Chart (the album entered the chart at No.1) and No.1 US Billboard Top LPs chart. The LP also reached No.1 in Australia, Canada, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Spain and West Germany. Sales: Over 31 million worldwide Fascinating fact: The final track of the album, The End, was the last time all four of The Beatles recorded a track together – this was on 18 August 1969. John Lennon privately left the group six days before the release of the album, while Paul McCartney publicly confirmed he was no longer in The Beatles on 9 April 1970.…

1 Don’t be too scared of picking up a film camera. Film is forgiving and even in the automatic modes you will get a decent result. 2 Don’t be afraid to add that vibe to your workflow. It will add a certain something to your pictures. If you don’t like the look, then you can always just sell the camera. 3 If you like the idea of shooting on film, speak to other photographers who are doing it already and look at the work of film photographers. You don’t need to speak to digital photographers for advice – that would be like asking Roger Federer for advice on making a vegetarian lasagne instead of asking him about tennis. Listen to the people whose work you admire and who shoot the…

1 Calibration Calibrating the monitor is essential if you are to produce consistent prints that are accurate in tone and colour. There are several devices that are specifically designed for monitor calibration so investing in one of these should be your first consideration. 2 Paper choice Your final print can look very different depending on the type of paper it is printed on. Think about the picture itself and try to visualise how you would like the final result to appear. Does the image contain important detail that needs to be preserved? If so, a traditional, non-textured paper may be your best bet. Textured, art papers or canvases can look effective too, particularly with more abstract images. 3 Choosing a frame If you are framing your image, think carefully about…

Easiest way to see studio shots as you take them? Q I’ve been working in collaboration with a couple of models lately to produce a series of dramatic studio portraits. While I’m always keen to show the models the shots we are taking as we go, in order for them to fine-tune their expressions or posture, it can be quite difficult to get a good feel for an image on my camera’s small rear display. Is there a better way to preview shots in this scenario as we take them? Taylor Williams A While a camera’s monitor is a great tool for reviewing images on the fly, you’re right Taylor that its small size can sometimes make it difficult to properly assess the shots that you are capturing. In a…

AP picture of the week Beatle Shot Dead by Obie Oberholzer Pentax 67 We don’t normally choose old photos as Picture of the Week but, as we mark the 40th anniversary of John Lennon’s death, we were touched by this submission from a reader in South Africa. ‘News of the assassination reached South Africa on the morning of 9 December, a day that will be with me forever,’ recalls Obie. ‘At the time I was a young photography lecturer in Durban. I’d just acquired a new Asahi Pentax 6x7 and drove around looking for images that would colour my day. Down on Durban’s foreshore I found this young newspaper seller standing against a wall holding the poster, his newspapers long sold out. I bought the poster from him. After 35…

THE NIK Collection has been around for 25 years, and to mark its silver jubilee, current owner DxO has released its latest 3.3 version. It includes a pack of 25 new Presets for Color Efex Pro and Silver Efex Pro. They are divided into five series, each with five Presets: Classic Portrait Color, Classic Portrait Black & White, Light & Bright, Wildlife, and Street. Nik Software launched the Nik Collection in 1995, then it was acquired by Google and offered as a free download. While free, it was never a good fit for the search engine giant and it languished until DxO brought it under its wing, issuing a steady stream of updates. Version 3.3 of the Nik Collection is a free update for existing Nik Collection 3 users who…

Canon EOS 5D Mark III Tommy experiments with different cameras, but typically uses a Canon 5D Mk III. With a 22.3MP full-frame sensor, 61-point AF, and full-HD video (with manual control) it’s ideal for portraiture. Pixapro softbox A 90cm Pixapro softbox comes in useful for both travel and studio work. It has a strong, sturdy frame and opens into an octagonal shape leading to pleasing catchlights in the subject’s eyes. Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art When Tommy checks his EXIF data after shooting a wedding (another side of his business) he usually notices that the majority of his pictures have been taken with the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art lens. Polaroid SX-70 This is a firm favourite with many artists, including Tommy, who owns a number of vintage…

Judge dread I totally agree with Mike Rignall regarding the value of judging. Three years ago I was new to the club competition scene and bombed accordingly. I had no great expectations so the lack of points was fine. The comments, however, were incredibly valuable, moving my photography on exponentially. Moving on a few years and my scores were higher, but the comments were for the most part unhelpful, subjective and sometimes borderline ridiculous! The lack of constructive criticism took away the point and pleasure of entering. Many of us enter photography competitions as a yardstick and for feedback. As for the APOY competitions, I will stick to taking inspiration from the images created by fabulously talented photographers and hope that, one day, the winner will be a Pentaxian! One…

Jill Furmanovsky I was just 16 when Abbey Road came out and the music and cover still mean a lot to me. As an image, the cover photo is near on perfect. Just a few frames shot by Iain Macmillan on a summer’s day, it radiates warmth. The graphics were uncluttered by much text, so you could dive into the image and be there. This is a spiritual home for music. Peter Neill This cover always stood out, as if it belonged in a book about great technique.›The lead-in lines provided by the crossing, the trees and the road draw you into the photograph. These, combined with the symmetry of the walk, are a brilliant example of opportunistic photography making something loved by millions. Mat Snow Conceptual mastermind John Kosh…

Zay Yar Lin, Myanmar Intha fishermen use nets and spears as they hunt for food on a misty lake at sunrise. The three fishermen take to the lake at 6am in their canoe boats, with a conical net and spear to fish for carp. The fish would later be sold at markets not far from this lake in Nyaungshwe Township, Myanmar. I took this shot against the rising sun on a misty morning and adjusted the exposure to silhouette the fishermen. Ben says Part landscape, part travel, Zay’s sun-kissed depiction of the Intha people rowing on Inle Lake is a classic ‘light and shadow’ image. While the trio of strong focal points rendered as silhouettes initially grab the eye and describe the narrative, it’s the misty sense of depth and…

Kase’s basic K9 filter holder kit includes the polariser, 82mm and 77mm lens adapter rings, and step-up rings for 72mm and 67mm threads, for £130. The Entry-Level Kit adds a 3-stop soft grad, a 6-stop ND and a soft carry case for £365. The next step up is the High-End Kit, which gains a 3-stop reverse grad for £495, while the top-end Master Kit additionally includes a 4-stop soft grad and 10-stop ND for £745. A wide range of graduated and neutral-density filters is available, at prices from £137 to £143 each. See kasefilters.com for full details.…

AT THE end of the Second World War, Dresden fell into the Russian zone of East Germany. According to the terms of the peace agreement, Germany was required to pay war reparation to the victors and, among the German products that the Russians wanted were the Contax II and III. Following the destruction of most of Zeiss Ikon’s records during the firebombing of Dresden in 1945, the Russians demanded complete sets of drawings for the cameras to be recreated. They also acquired the machinery to make the cameras, information on training and installation, sample cameras and accessories. With this, the Russians set up their own production lines, renaming the cameras Kiev, after the city where they were built. They began by making copies of the Contax II and then moved…

Loupedeck + Photo Video Editing Console With a plethora of controls designed for ergonomic and precise adjustment, the Loupedeck + promises to refine your editing and speed up your workflow. It’s designed to work seamlessly with Lightroom, Photoshop and Final Cut Pro software, and is connected to a PC or Mac via USB. There are dedicated buttons for a whole range of commonly tweaked settings, and you can further customise its operation to suit your personal needs. £219 ● 40 buttons, 13 knobs, eight dials and one wheel ● Mac and PC compatible ● Compatible with Lightroom, Photoshop, Premiere etc. Wacom Intuos Small Take far finer control of localised edits with this affordable graphics tablet from market leader Wacom. With 4,096 pressure levels, the Intuos Small is supremely responsive to…