Innholdsfortegnelse for 30/10/2021 i Amateur Photographer

The term ‘bokeh’ pops up a lot, even appearing on phone ads. Rather vague, Nigella Lawsonesque adjectives are also rolled out when discussing it, such as ‘creamy’ and ‘buttery.’ But what exactly is it, and what is the difference between bokeh and background blur? This issue’s cover feature discusses bokeh in plain English, along with sharing plenty of practical tips from top photographers to help you get the most from it. Never let it be said that AP lacks variety: this issue also takes an exclusive first look at the exciting Sony Alpha 7 IV, showcases the winners of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year, celebrates the sleeve photography of dad-rock classic Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd, and reveals why the Leica R7 film SLR is a something…

At a glance £2,400 body only £2,600 with 28-70mm zoom ■ 33MP full-frame sensor ■ ISO 50-204,800 (extended) ■ 10 frames per second shooting ■ 4K 30p video recording ■ 5-axis in-body stabilisation ■ 3.68m-dot viewfinder ■ 3in fully articulated touchscreen Grip A taller, deeper grip gives a significantly more secure hold compared to the A7 III. Storage Sony has again fitted dual UHS-II SD card slots, but one now also accepts CFexpress Type A media for vastly extended burst shooting. Revised controls Tweaks to the control layout include a separate switch to select between stills and video shooting, and a top-plate record button. Vari-angle LCD The fully articulated screen supports high- and low-angle shooting in both portrait and landscape formats,along with expanded touch functionality. WHEN Sony unveiled the Alpha…

KOREAN lens maker Samyang has unveiled its first ever zoom lens. Designed primarily for use on Sony full-frame mirrorless cameras, the AF 24-70mm F2.8 FE is a large-aperture standard zoom that’s said to be optimised for both stills and video shooting. It can also be used on APS-C bodies, with a 36-105mm equivalent range. Key features include a linear stepper motor for fast and quiet AF, weather-sealed build, and a minimum focus distance of just 35cm. A switch on the barrel allows the manual focus ring to be re-purposed to control the aperture instead. For video, the lens has a parfocal design that maintains focus on a subject when zooming, and a linear manual focus response. A Cine Kit comprising focus gearing, follow focus and tripod mount will be available…

NIKON has announced a general-purpose all-in-one zoom for its DX-format (APS-C) mirrorless cameras, the Nikkor Z DX 18-140mm f/3.5-6.3 VR. Designed for use on bodies such as the Z 50 and Z fc, it offers a 27-210mm equivalent focal-length range. It should also be handy for close-ups, thanks to a minimum focus distance that ranges from 20cm at wideangle to 40cm at telephoto. Nikon says it’s equally well suited to stills and video shooting, with fast and silent autofocus. Billed as ‘the ideal travel companion’, its dust- and splash-proofed barrel is 90mm long and weighs just 315g. A control dial behind the zoom ring can be used to operate ISO, aperture, or exposure compensation, as well as manual focus. In addition, built-in optical stabilisation promises up to five stops of…

Invisible Britain: This Separated Isle Edited by Paul Sng, foreword by Kit De Waal, £20, Policy Press, softback, 94 pages, ISBN: 9781447354055 Existing divisions in British society have been exacerbated by major recent events – Brexit, the Windrush scandal and Covid-19 being just a few. This book brings together some of the country’s best-known portrait and documentary photographers (such as Jim Mortram, Jenny Lewis and Margaret Mitchell) for a compelling look at how ordinary people are navigating the tensions. Including a range of opinions and understandings surrounding the concept of ‘Britishness’ and character, each portrait is accompanied by a narrative story. All in all, the pictures and stories not only reveal what divides us but more importantly, that which ties us together. Both poignant and uplifting, it’ll appeal if you’re…

Neil van Niekerk Based in New Jersey, Neil works across a range of fields. He maintains Tangents www.neilvn. com/tangents, has produced books on flash photography and received an Emmy for his time-lapse photography. Visit www.neilvn.com, Instagram: neilvn, YouTube: NeilvanNiekerk. BOKEH is a term used to describe the rendering of out-of-focus areas (usually in the background) of an image. Depending on the optical design of a lens, the out-of-focus elements can be smooth or the highlights can have a kind of double edge due to over-correction of spherical aberrations. Many people think bokeh is the same as shallow depth of field (and use the terms interchangeably), but this isn’t the case. You can turn the background into a smooth mush using shallow depth of field, but bokeh is different. Generally, a…

Kim Benson, Banbury About Kim Kim is senior editorial project specialist with a health communications company, and she lives in Oxfordshire. Favourite subjects Macro, for the fascinating detail, which not many people get the opportunity to see for themselves, and long exposures – again, because the effect is different from our usual view of the world. How did you get into photography? My father encouraged me early on and lent me his SLR. I particularly enjoyed studying flowers. What do you love about photography? Making art, which, for me means producing images of things people usually don’t see with the naked eye. First camera I can’t actually remember, but it was probably an Instamatic of some sort in the mid-1970s. Current kit I have a Canon EOS 70D, which I…

Musicians: Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Richard Wright, Dick Parry (saxophones, Shine On You Crazy Diamond), Roy Harper (lead vocals, Have a Cigar), Venetta Fields and Carlena Williams (backing vocals). Released: 12 September 1975, UK (Harvest Records), 13 September 1975, US (Columbia Records) Charts: No. 1 in the US, UK, Australia, The Netherlands, New Zealand and Spain Sales: Over 20,000,000 Fascinating fact: At 4am on the evening of the cover shoot Powell left a party with assistant Peter Christopherson and noticed mist at the front of the Cadillac. Powell reveals, ‘Peter said, “your car’s on fire”. I stopped the car and we jumped out. The car exploded and burnt to the ground. We’d just done this dangerous fire stunt and here we were coming from a party and the…

1 Basic tone adjustments The original raw file appeared a little dark and was also lacking in contrast. The first step was to go to the Basic panel, where I clicked on the Auto button to apply the tone brightness and contrast adjustment seen here. 2 Add Clarity and Texture I also wanted to add more punch to the midtones. To do this I dragged the Clarity slider to the right to add more midtone contrast. I also zoomed in to a 100% view and set the Texture slider to +30, to emphasise the edges in the fine detail areas. 3 Apply a lens profile correction To ensure optimum optical quality, I next went to the Optics panel in Camera Raw. I checked the Remove chromatic aberration box and checked…

● £269.99 ● www.vanguardworld.co.uk Feet The standard rubber shoes can be pulled off and replaced by a supplied set of screw-in spikes. Carry bag A decent-quality padded nylon carry case is included, with a pocket for the spikes, but nowhere specific to put the MA1 adapter. Accessory A ¾ in thread on the central spider allows the attachment of a light or a microphone via a magic arm. Multi mount Using the supplied VEO+ MA1 adapter, you can mount a second camera or an accessory such as a monitor. WITH the Veo 3T+ 234CB, Vanguard has taken its versatile Veo3+ design, and shrunk it down to a more compact, travel-friendly size. This tripod’s main selling point is a centre column that can be tilted away from the vertical position down…

I WAS lucky enough to get my hands on the Alpha 7 IV for a few days before its official launch, and overall, I’m pretty impressed. It’s a solid step up over the A7 III, fixing most of my personal gripes about the older model with considerably improved handling and usability. There’s plenty to tempt existing Sony users to upgrade, while the all-round package makes it a really strong alternative to its Canon and Nikon competitors for current DSLR users looking to switch to full-frame mirrorless. Keep an eye out for our upcoming full review.…

Harry Borden An unforgettable moment of my career was photographing David Gilmour in rehearsal doing a stripped-down version of Wish You Were Here. The disturbingly surreal image perfectly illustrates the eponymous song about founding member Syd Barrett (who suffered a drug-induced breakdown). Andy Cowles This sleeve remains as famous as the music. The serenity of the pose belies the burning tension between artist and management. It reflects outward appearances and private pain and, probably, Gilmour’s and Waters combustible relationship. It’s amazing it didn’t blow up in your hand! Dr Andy Earl Wish You Were Here is a perfect example of how music throws up ideas, questions, feelings and personal interpretations. Hipgnosis’s vision captured that moment in this photograph where surrealism and madness gel together and produce a shocking, but humorous,…

AP picture of the week Dahlia Vibes by Jill Johnson Nikon D780 with Lensbaby Velvet 56, 1/160sec at f/2.8, ISO 320 ‘I have been photographing flowers as a hobby since purchasing my first DSLR in 2016. Since lockdown I have enjoyed experimenting with different lenses and techniques,’ says Jill, from Harrogate, North Yorkshire. ‘The photo was taken inside my house using natural light from a window and was shot handheld. I enjoy using different seasonal flowers and using a shallow depth of field and soft light to create an ethereal atmosphere to my photos. The Lensbaby 56 is a challenging lens but the results are worth the effort.’ Jill is on Instagram at @jill.johnsonnature. #appicoftheweek Each week we choose our favourite picture on Facebook, Instagram, Flickr or Twitter using #appicoftheweek.…

AFTER refreshing its original family of premium ‘Limited’ primes at the start of this year, Ricoh has launched the HD Pentax-D FA 21mm F2.4ED Limited DC WR. It has 11 elements in 8 groups, including four ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass and one Super ED glass element to minimise chromatic aberration, with Pentax HD coating applied to minimise flare and ghosting. An electromagnetic diaphragm mechanism is employed for precise exposure adjustments, meaning the lens conforms to the KAF4 mount standard and won’t work on older Pentax DSLRs introduced before 2013. Available in silver or black, it can be pre-ordered for £1,499.…

To illustrate the point I want to make, here is a picture of my local church taken one late afternoon. I have to tell you, because you probably won’t be able to tell even from my submitted high-res JPEG file, that it was not the original sky, which was featureless. I replaced the original sky with one of the sky images freely available on the internet, using one of the several software products that enable you to do this sort of thing with ease. No idea who took the picture of this particular sky. If I submitted my edited picture to a competition, it would be disqualified but only if I voluntarily owned up to the replacement of the sky with one not taken by myself. Of course, being a…

1 Think about how the distance between subject and background affects the level of bokeh. 2 Don’t allow the highlights to become intrusive, resulting in a background that’s too busy. 3 Look for background elements that might add to the design of your image. 4 If you don’t own a fast prime, try mimicking bokeh with editing software. 5 Look for colours and structures in the background of your scene that will help you to create good bokeh. 6 Be aware of elements that might be a visual distraction before you release the shutter button. 7 Play around with vintage lenses – you’ll find plenty of options via various online auction sites. 8 Don’t let bokeh be an afterthought – make it an important part of the composition. 9 Work…

Film first Whilst serving with the Royal Engineers in Singapore in 1968, I bought a Yashica-Mat twin lens reflex camera. I used it for transparencies mainly, and some monochrome. When I returned home, I used it rarely, as film and processing costs don’t go well with a wife, kids and mortgage! This was the case until the middle of last year. A young friend was in his final year of a digital media degree course at Dublin University, and mentioned he wanted to do a project on film. I dusted off the Yashica. He completed his project, used the pictures from that 53-year-old camera for his dissertation and gained a first-class degree. I don’t know if my present digital camera will last that long. Though I am now 79, so…

Elephant Island I have seen a lot of amazing photographs taken in Antarctica, but this photo really stands out. It features all the main elements: the sea, icebergs, mountains, and clouds. It is also a poignant image, because as Peter explains, ‘This was taken from an expedition ship as we sailed past Elephant Island on our way to the Antarctic Peninsula. I wanted to show the menacing sky and the contrast in colour between the water around the icebergs and the wider ocean. We were of course filled with stories about Shackleton’s amazing journey, and it was a privilege to see the place first-hand and to wonder in awe at the men who survived there.’ The main task here was to add tone contrast (as shown below in Step 1).…

While I write this, photographer Ed Thompson is crowdfunding for a book. By the time you read this, the crowdfunding period has happily reached the required funds for success. For 20 years, Ed has photographed everyday life, predominantly in Kent. The county’s rolling hills, fertile farmland and cultivated country estates earned it the moniker, The Garden of England, rumoured to be first attributed to King Henry VIII after he noshed down a particularly satisfying dish of Kentish cherries. By the 19th century, around 35,000 acres were reported to be given over to hop growing, also making Kent The Beer Garden of England. The oast houses designed for drying hops as part of the brewing process, often converted into fancy commuter and holiday homes, can be seen speckling the landscape. Certain…