Innholdsfortegnelse for 28/08/2021 i Amateur Photographer

Travel broadens the mind, feeds the soul, and provides endless opportunities for the curious photographer. After an enforced hiatus for the travel industry things are gradually starting to return to normal and travel enthusiasts have started to think about, and to plan, their next adventures, whether for 2022 or beyond. This issue is packed with tips and inspiration for great travel photography to bucket-list places like Cuba and Japan, as well as places closer to home. This week we also launch our very own range of photo tours. Working in partnership with one of Europe’s most experienced and prestigious photo tour operators we’re kicking off with a selection of wonderful trips to some great locations in the UK and around the world, led by some of the world’s most respected…

WE ARE pleased to announce the latest member of the AP team, Joshua Waller (pictured), who is joining us as online editor. Joshua is a highly experienced online photography journalist and reviewer, who worked as technical editor on ePhotozine for a decade. ‘I’m excited to be joining AP, with its long history,’ said Josh. ‘I’ve been reading the magazine before I ever started writing about cameras. I am looking forward to developing the AP website to make it a great place to learn more about photography and get the latest news and in-depth details about photography gear.’ Joshua will be working alongside another new recruit, Jessica Miller, who joins AP as online editorial assistant. We’ve got some exciting plans for our website, so keep checking it out at www.amateurphotographer.co.uk.…

There have been a few instances during my short lifetime that have had a dramatic impact on my photography. The principal one, of course, was getting my first camera but another key moment came while lying on the green carpet of my parents’ lounge when I was a teenager. It was here, propped up with a cushion under my elbows, that I consumed the Sunday papers, and here that I first saw pictures by Sebastião Salgado. The Sunday Times colour supplement had a significant section devoted to an astonishing project that depicted what looked like scenes from Dante’s Inferno, as muddied bodies carrying great sacks of dirt climbed rickety long ladders made of branches as they made their way up the wet muddy walls of a mine. The hole they…

Angela Lambourn, who received 80 points for her imaginative third-placed image in this round, has leapfrogged Pete Baker into first place on the APOY leaderboard. A number of other photographers, including Pete, are snapping at her heels, so a lot could change over the course of the remaining rounds. Lucy Monckton, who has been extremely consistent with the standard of her entries, retains her lead in Young APOY. Launceston Camera Club and Royston Photographic Society are managing to maintain their first- and second-placed spots in the camera club rankings, while Bristol Photographic Society move from fourth to third.…

Steve Winter has been a National Geographic photographer for 25 years and won multiple awards for his wildlife work, including Wildlife Photographer of the Year and World Press Photo. He has filmed numerous documentaries for the National Geographic channel, inc on tigers, leopards and jaguars. stevewinterphoto.com Mattias A. Klum is a world-renowned nature photographer, cinematographer, film director and environmentalist. He has shot many features and cover stories for National Geographic, who referred to him as ‘one of the most important natural history photographers of our time.’ www.mattiasklum.com Philip Lee Harvey has worked in over 120 countries from the Antarctic to the Sahara for clients such as HSBC, British Airways and Lonely Planet. He has won the prestigious Travel Photographer of the Year and is listed as one of the top…

The winner of each round of APOY receives a £500 voucher to spend at MPB. From top-of-the-range digital medium-format camera bodies, to entry-level DSLRs, telephoto zooms and wideangle lenses, MPB is a one-stop shop for used kit. You can also use your voucher towards your dream piece of kit, if it happens to cost more than £500. For £769, you can pick up a Sony Cyber-shot RX10 Mark III in excellent condition. A versatile bridge camera, it features a 24-600mm-equivalent lens with an f/2.4 to f/4 aperture and 20.1MP sensor. A good zoom lens is a must when shooting travel. The Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art offers an f/4 aperture throughout its range, and is impressively sharp, with Hyper Sonic Motor technology ensuring fast and quiet autofocus. It…

1 Check sharpness Check sharpness at 100% as I shot this with a 300mm lens in a stiff breeze. Long lens landscapes can easily lack ultimate crispness due to camera buffering. A large print has to be bitingly sharp; no amount of sharpening in Lightroom can make up for a soft raw file. 2 Black and white points Adjust black and white points to ensure the image shows a full range of tones. This is always my first adjustment, no question. Of course, exposing the raw correctly out in the field is crucial to ensure as much tonal and colour information as possible is captured. 3 Add contrast Distant scenes shot with long lenses often appear quite flat due to haze. To combat this, I added contrast by tweaking the…

David Queenan, Bo’ness About David David is a graphic designer. Favourite subjects Coastal and long-exposure landscapes. How did you get into photography? I was studying graphic design at Dundee College of Art and took photography as my secondary subject. What do you love about photography? Having worked at a desk for 30 years, I enjoy getting outdoors, and being out at sunrise when no one else is around. First camera My first proper SLR was an Olympus OM10. Current kit Fujifilm X-T3 with XF10-24mm, XF16-55mm, XF50-140mm, XF35mm and XF18-135mm lenses; 3 Legged Thing ‘Billy’ carbon-fibre tripod; polarising, +3 stop, +6 stop and +10 stop ND filters. Favourite lens The XF16-55mm is a good all-rounder. Favourite accessory Long-exposure filters – I’ve recently bought Kase circular magnetic filters. Dream purchase I’d love…

USB camera battery charger ● £10-£20 ● www.amazon.co.uk These little USB-powered chargers are incredibly useful for keeping spare batteries topped up during a day’s shooting. They’re available for almost every imaginable type of camera, and come in versions that accept one, two or even three batteries. They usually employ a micro USB connector for power input, which means they can be fuelled from a wide variety of sources. For example, you can top up your batteries in the car while driving between locations, or hook one up to a powerbank in your bag while you’re walking around shooting. They’re available under a plethora of labels; we’ve had success with Nitecore and JJC. SanDisk Extreme PRO SDXC UHS-I ● £42 (128GB) ● shop.westerndigital.com One thing you really don’t want when you’re…

Leaving London by Fox Photos Comedy duo Stan Laurel (1890-1965) and Oliver Hardy (1892-1957) wave goodbye as their train pulls out of Paddington Station, London, en route to America. The famous duo have appeared together in no less than 107 films – including 32 short silent films, 40 short sound films and 23 full-length feature films. After wrapping up their film commitments in 1944, the pair concentrated instead on stage shows with a music hall tour of England, Ireland and Scotland. A French-Italian co-production called Atoll K, made in 1950, was their last film together. 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…

Don’t ignore the potential of mirrors. Not for the first time Mrs Bentley taught me a valuable lesson the other weekend. We were in London visiting the magnificent eighteenth-century Painted Hall in Greenwich. With its ceiling by Sir James Thornhill it is, with some justification, referred to as the British Sistine Chapel. While I was pottering about admiring Sir James’s brushwork, Mrs Bentley had spotted the photographic potential of the mirrors installed so people can get a good view of the masterpiece without craning their necks. By carefully aligning the ceiling with its reflection and the couches, also available for visitors to lie on to help viewing, she created a delightfully surreal view of the space using her venerable iPhone SE. Mirrors are, of course, an amazing photographic tool. Most…

Out of my depth Now that I am retired, the weekly arrival of AP is a highlight. I started with a Box Brownie at 10, and graduated through a folding 120 to an Exakta Varex VX, a Contax RX and now a Canon EOS 6D. My wife has promised me an upgrade for my 70th birthday. Your portrait issue was very interesting, especially the Natural Light and Neighbourhood Watch articles, though I would certainly be out of my depth considering using models, who are, after all, definitely not ‘amateurs’. In any case, what would I do with the results? I don’t think my wife would like the prints on our walls, however modest the treatment! My ‘portraits’ are family and friends and my main problems are controlling the background and…

Round Six Movement The most exciting thing about a theme such as movement is the scope it gives for creativity and shooting styles. A split-second capture of a fast-moving animal and a long exposure of a seascape both represent movement, but in completely different ways. Then there are the worlds of sports photography and candids, too. Panning, fill-in flash and intentional camera movement are all techniques that can be deployed to effectively capture a sense of motion and action. What links our top 10 images from this round is the simplicity of their compositions. It’s definitely a theme where less is more, as too much detail can result in confusion. 1 Nguyen Tan Tuan Vietnam 100pts Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, 16-35mm at 16mm, 1/6sec at f/16 ,ISO 200 Guest…

‘I researched a few systems for Across Japan and settled on Fujifilm – I was after a system which was small and light, but also weather-resistant,’ Eren explains. ‘My camera bodies were the Fujifilm X-Pro 2 and the X-T3. For lenses I used the following: 14mm f/2.8, 23mm f/2, 10-24mm f/4, 35mm f/2, 50mm f/2 and the 55-200mm f/3.5-f/4.8.’ For storage, he mainly used portable hard drives, which he religiously backed up and stored carefully. ‘I didn’t always have access to fast Wi-Fi or lots of data for uploading to the cloud,’ he explains. ‘Next time I go to Japan, I will stay in more business hotels and take advantage of their faster connections.’ Eren shot in raw for maximum flexibility and used Lightroom for editing. ‘The publishers gave me…

1 Consider a castle or a building as a human being and practise architecture photography as if it were portrait photography. Look for the best profile. 2 Your partner is natural light. You’re depending on it. Be patient and try not to miss the right moment. Each time of the day, from dawn till sunset, brings a different atmosphere. Choose the specific one you’re looking for. For example, dusk will offer you the opportunity for dramatic, romantic, backlit compositions. 3 I look for neutral photography and avoid distortions. I try to face the building horizontally in order to respect its volume. It’s tough, but if you cannot, just be extreme. Your creative bias must be clearly asserted. 4 Slow motion shutter speeds, on a tripod, and a high diaphragm will…

Round Eight Travel Visiting somewhere new, whether it’s another city, country or continent, can really get the creative juices flowing. Every location has its own unique feel and photographing the buildings, landmarks and people you encounter will help to convey the real spirit of a place. Get up early and visit a local market or stay out late and shoot lights reflected in water. Talk to people – a smile can go a long way towards securing willing subjects. Try not to ‘steal’ a shot; be patient and courteous. Your guest judge Jordan Banks is a travel, lifestyle and adventure photographer from London. Shooting for the likes of National Geographic, Lonely Planet and a host of other travel brands, Jordan’s work has taken him all over the world to document…

At the time of writing England was riding high in Euro 2020, so it seemed appropriate to revisit a football themed camera that I last used in 2012 during that year’s competition. I’m not a football fan, but am happy to show willing and enter into the spirit of things when the national team are doing well. Novelty cameras have been around almost since the dawn of photography. There were cameras disguised as books or cigarette packets, and in the art deco period came stylish vanity sets with built-in cameras. I’ve written about an aeroplane-shaped camera, one that adds a cartoon character to every shot, and an Action Man figure which incorporates a 110 format camera. Such cameras vary in the sophistication of their design. Some are merely cosmetic, with…

1 Have vision The key steps to producing a beautiful print are taken before the camera even comes out of the bag. A perceptive photographic vision is the chief requirement that no amount of technical sophistication or expertise in post-production can ever substitute for. 2 Be disciplined Choosing the best image from a shoot is not easy. Editing a tight selection of quality images is a satisfying culmination to the creative photographic process, especially when a Big Beautiful Print ensues at the end. I strive to be disciplined when shooting and editing. I only process the winners; also-rans get binned. 3 High/low contrast We tend to be obsessed with the challenges high-contrast scenes present, but low contrast presents just as many problems. Understanding how to expose to…

AP picture of the week Noctilucent Clouds by Stephen Smith Sony A7 III, Rokinon 12mm lens, 1/30sec at f/4 ‘I’m a long-haul business jet pilot operating across the world with a huge passion for photography,’ says Stephen. ‘I enjoy capturing and sharing my experiences from new destinations, cultures and often images from the cockpit. At around 249,000 to 279,000ft, Noctilucent clouds light up a beautiful twilight sky over Canada, high up in the Arctic circle during our 11-hour flight back to Europe. It requires a particular set of variables to come together for these amazing clouds to become visible and we were lucky enough to enjoy them from our cockpit at 41,000ft. Yet another Atlantic crossing to remember.’ His Instagram is www.instagram.com/thegeordiepilot. Carefree Friends by Ansardeen Canon EOS 77D, 50mm…

28 August 1999 THIS week in 1999 AP was offering readers the chance to spend the night with Manchester United. Steady on, it wasn’t what it sounds like – although with Ryan Giggs in the team, who knows? The prize was part of a £5,000 package of prizes generously donated by Canon, which included the chance for 12 readers to photograph a Champions League match at Old Trafford in the delightful company of AP’s Damien Demolder, a night in Manchester in a 4-star hotel, and one of 12 camera kits ranging from the first prize of an EOS 300 kit worth £429 (equivalent to £775 today) to a Canon SureShot 85 compact worth £100 (£178). For just 70% of the cost of Canon’s lowly point-and-shoot you could buy the ‘cheap,…

Your Analogue Special (17 July) struck a chord with me concerning the longevity of modern prints. When my wife’s sister visited earlier this month our granddaughter asked if we had any photographs of her grandparents. As we have my wife’s father’s albums we were able to show her the black & white prints of them. All the photographs were as fresh as the day they were printed 80 years ago. My framed colour enlargements in our living room, taken and printed in 1982, have now faded. I recently dug out the original negatives and sent them for printing to Karl Howard (advertised in AP) who explained that the negs had faded too. Karl is a perfectionist and produced beautiful prints from them on Fujicolor Crystal Archive paper (I would thoroughly…

Angela Lambourn’s subtle third-placed image was shot using a Nikon D750. This DSLR, launched in 2014, includes technology from the flagship D810, but in a smaller body. It features a 24MP sensor, 6.5fps shooting and is weather sealed. This superb full-frame camera can be picked up at MPB for £874 for a model in excellent condition, and £784 for one in good condition. In fifth place, Mike Martin used an Olympus M.40-150mm f/2.8 Pro for his compelling capture. Compact and lightweight, its equivalent full-frame focal range is 80-300mm, making it a highly versatile lens. It’s also dust, splash and freeze proof, and has a minimum focus range of 50cm throughout its range. This desirable lens is available at MPB for £879 in excellent condition, and £789 in good condition. Alexa…

Amateur Photographer Photo Tours, in association with Zoom Photo Tours, offers unique photo adventures to amazing destinations around the globe, perfectly tailored specifically for photographers. ● Personal guidance and tuition of world-leading and award-winning photographers including daily photo activities, image-editing workshops and lectures to help you improve your photography. ● Always small groups. ● High-quality food, accommodation and transportation throughout. ● We always work with experienced local agents to ensure the smooth running of each tour. ● A dedicated Tour Coordinator from Zoom Photo Tours takes care of the logistics and leaves the tutor free to concentrate on the photography. ● Free cancellation up to 120 days before departure. ● Full refund if tours have to be cancelled or rescheduled for any reason.…

The camera club award Do you belong to a camera club? You can accumulate points for your society when you enter APOY, and after all the ten rounds are complete, the one with the most points will win a voucher for £500 to spend at MPB. The club might want to spend it on gear for use by members, or even run its own in-house competition with the prize going to the most successful photographer. It’s entirely up to the winning group to decide. The Young POTY award This year, we are adding a Young Photographer of the Year category to APOY, in order to encourage our up-and-coming snappers. Entrants should be 21 years old or younger by the competition’s final closing date of 29 October 2021. All the categories…

I’ve just hung this acrylic print on the wall at home, and I must admit I’m very happy with it. Forget Instagram, in my book making big beautiful prints like this is what photography is all about. Not only is it so satisfying to see the image presented at its best, but it’s a reminder of the adventures we had in Canada’s wild and wonderfully remote Yukon Territory. This picture of Tombstone Pass early on a September morning sums up the appeal of that immense landscape, with the scale emphasised by the long lens perspective and the early morning sidelighting painting the interlocking diagonals of the mountains receding into the distance. Like all my best images it’s an uncluttered composition which relies on the drama of the landscape and the…

‘For this impressive landscape photo I recommend our floater frame Basel in brown alder. Thanks to the small gap between the frame and the edges of the image, the picture appears to float inside the frame. This gives the picture a unique look. Our ultraHD Photo Prints on high-end Fuji Crystal Pearl photo paper bring even the minutest details to life, crystal-clear and razor-sharp. Also, the metallic sheen of the paper creates a special lighting atmosphere and our Acrylic Glass supports the depth effect of the ultraHD Photo Print.’ Jan-Ole Schmidt, Product Manager, WhiteWall.com…

One day Nick Lockett would be accompanying the late John Thaw to the Oxford location of the latest episode of Inspector Morse and the next to the set of Spitting Image, having just arrived home from photographing a documentary in Australia. This was the enviable photographic career of Nick Lockett. Then, following a flurry of corporate mergers, Nick was made redundant. The shock was enormous and potentially financially catastrophic. But ever resourceful, he decided that this enormous volte-face could be the chance he wanted to be his own man instead of following the limiting demands of being for decades the photographic face of companies like Central, and later Carlton Television, where he was the chief photographer. He ‘returned to school’, got a distinction on a Master’s course, and most importantly…