Innholdsfortegnelse for 20/11/2021 i Amateur Photographer

It isn’t every day, or even every year, that we buy a new camera, and many of us are still happily using cameras that are years old. The same goes for lenses. But one good way to put the jump-leads on our photography without breaking the bank is to treat ourselves to an accessory or two. There are literally thousands to choose from – all of which are designed to enhance our photography in some small and very specific way, whatever genre we enjoy. This week we present a wide selection of gadgets at prices starting from under £10. The next time a family member asks you what you want for Christmas you may well find the answer within these pages. Also this week we present a fascinating retrospective of…

NIKON’S new Z 9 mirrorless camera is shaping up to be one of the biggest releases of the year and there is already speculation that the sheer volume of global pre-release orders will result in lengthy waiting lists for the fast, high-resolution flagship. While Nikon has not confirmed this, it does seem to be the case that UK dealers are witnessing a blizzard of orders for the camera, the exact release date of which has still to be confirmed. ‘About a minute after the Z 9’s announcement on 28 October, it just went insane,’ said Gray Levett, owner of long-established London dealership, Grays of Westminster. ‘We were in the office until just before midnight on the day, still handling orders. We saw the highest number of pre-orders in a single…

SAMYANG has announced the AF 50mm F1.4 FE II, which it says is the smallest and lightest large aperture 50mm lens available for Sony FE mount. It is an updated and improved version of the Samyang AF 50mm F1.4 FE lens from 2016, which was the Korean maker’s first autofocus lens. The new lens is made up of 11 elements in eight groups, with 2 aspherical elements, three HR elements, and one ED element, with 9 diaphragm blades. There is an UMC coating, as well as a 72mm filter thread. The lens weighs 420g without lens cap or hood, and measures 88.9mm in length, and 80.1mm in diameter. Other features include a short minimum focal distance of 40cm, a weather-sealed design, reduced focus breathing to help with video recording, and…

Inner Harmony by Jon Kolkin £35, TeNeues, hardback, 256 pages, ISBN: 9783961713578 For 12 years, the photographer and physician Jon Kolkin travelled to Buddhist centres across Asia, photographing the monks and nuns going about their everyday lives. The resulting book features 220 images, mostly in black & white, providing a powerful insight into what might otherwise be a fairly hidden world of meditation and mindfulness. Here we get a rare and intimate glimpse into Buddhist practices that convey a sense of peace and harmony when you look at them. The book would be a wise investment for anyone interested in travel photography, long-term projects or global religions. Face Time by Philip Prodger £30, Thames & Hudson, hardback, 256 pages, ISBN: 9780500544914 Exploring the many modes of portraiture, ranging from fine…

Little did I appreciate, when my Uncle Alan encouraged my photography back in the 1950s, that this would lead me to a career photographing nearly all of my heroes. It has been a fantastic ride through an incredible period of music history, which combined my two great loves: music and photography.’ Those are the words of my good friend Michael Putland, who sadly passed away two years ago this week. In the course of a long and hugely successful career, he photographed the likes of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Roger Daltry, Jeff Beck, Billy Joel, Madonna and Michael Jackson, and toured the world with acts such as The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Wham and The Cure. As I’m a former dancer and choreographer, the fusion of music, performance and…

Serendipity Your article on the Ilford Simplicity development kit was serendipity itself. I had found a development tank with a film in it. How I knew it had a film in it, I do not know. I had found two other old film cassettes which I had sent to a lab for development successfully, but did not feel able to send a tank and did not want to buy too great a quantity of chemicals. The Ilford process was as it says on the plastic sachet ‘Simplicity’ to use and easy to set up. I had forgotten how much excitement there was in anticipating the outcome of the development. All went well and I also discovered a bonus when the film was removed. There were two films both correctly developed,…

Round Nine Street We live in a time where cameras are often viewed with suspicion, and sadly this can be off-putting for the street photographer. Worrying about whether you’re going to be questioned about your intentions is enough to make anyone put their camera away. Fortunately, however, none of the entries to this year’s street photography round of APOY has been deterred in the quest to capture a great shot, and as always, we have a superb range of styles in our top ten. From the almost surreal to the classic black & white candid, there is a whole range of sub-genres to explore – so if you didn’t enter this category this year, why not get out there with your camera now, and start building up a set of…

Christine Johnson UK 10pts Nikon D850, 70-200mm at 86mm, 1/320sec at f/2.8, ISO 400 It’s been fascinating to watch our camera club category play out in this year’s APOY, and as we head towards the final round, it’s hard to see any group other than Launceston Camera Club winning. But you never know, these things can sometimes change at the last moment. As with several others, Warrington Photographic Society, of which Christine Johnson is a member, has been there or thereabouts throughout the competition. Christine’s entry to this round (left), which shows wit and excellent timing – as well as the value of being out and about with her camera in bad weather – has earned both her and her camera club ten points to add to their overall tallies.…

1 Adobe Camera Raw I opened the raw files for all nine images simultaneously in Adobe Camera Raw, ensuring all nine images were selected so my changes would be the same in each image. I converted them to black & white and tweaked the tones and contrast to add a bit of punch. 2 Individual layers In Adobe Bridge I selected all images and went to Tools>Photoshop>Load Files into Photoshop Layers…. This does what it says on the tin and all nine images are loaded into individual layers in one Photoshop file. 3 Merge all the images To merge the images into one, so all the sharp bits are blended into one super-sharp image I go to Edit>Auto Blend Layers and select Stack Images from the pop-up menu. Photoshop will…

Jumping Jacques by Keystone English actress Hattie Jacques (1924-1980) practising ‘jumpology’, an American craze originated by the Latvian photographer Philippe Halsman. He is quoted as saying, ‘Starting in the early 1950s, I asked every famous person or important person I photographed to jump for me. I was motivated by a genuine curiosity. After all, life has taught us to control and disguise our facial expressions, but it has not taught us to control our jumps. I wanted to see famous people reveal in a jump their ambition or their lack of it, their self-importance or their insecurity, and many other traits.’ His book, Philippe Halsman’s Jump Book, was published in 1959, the same year that this photo was taken, and featured 178 photographs of celebrity ‘jumpers’. The Getty Images Hulton…

WE’RE glad to report that Neil Kenlock, a pioneering, widely exhibited black British photographer, has been found and reunited with his family after going missing in early November. Kenlock, 70 and hard of hearing, was last seen at Waterloo Station on 6 November, before reappearing on 8 November. The photographer, who also goes by the name of Emile, was born in Jamaica in 1950 and has lived in London since the 1960s. He has been described as being ‘at the forefront of documenting the black experience in the UK’. As well as ordinary people, Kenlock’s subjects have included a stellar line-up of black celebrities including Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, James Baldwin and Bob Marley.…

Sophie Putland, Michael’s wife ‘During our 40-year friendship prior to becoming life partners I knew only a fraction of Michael’s extraordinary career, mainly from amusingly told, self-effacing stories of his experiences and travels. This is perhaps a testament to Michael’s humility and overriding interest in listening to others rather than himself. These same qualities enabled him to place those he photographed at ease, not only allowing the soul of his subject to be seen, but in doing so telling us so much about the gentle man behind the lens. Michael always had the utmost respect for everyone he photographed and keenly felt the privilege not only of the opportunities he was given, but the trust he was offered which, needless to say, was completely mutual.’ Julie Grahame, Director of Retna…

Stephen Robbie About Stephen Stephen is a musician and guitar tutor from Falkirk. Favourite subjects I love the Scottish coast, where there are so many photographic opportunities. There is also an area of the Perthshire Highlands which means a lot to me. How did you get into photography? My wife got me a bridge camera in around 2012, and then a DSLR for my 30th birthday in 2017. What do you love about photography? The escapism it offers. I’ve explored places I would never have visited had I not had a camera. Nothing compares to sitting on a beach or a quiet lochside with a composition set up and waiting for the light to greet you. First camera Probably a very inexpensive 35mm from Boots. Current kit Canon EOS 1300D,…

Taking fourth place with his atmospheric night shot, David Boam has made the most of the capabilities of his Fuji XF18-55mm f/2.8-4R LM OIS lens. This versatile zoom has a range equivalent to 27-84mm in full-frame terms, and a wide f/2.8 aperture throughout. This, plus its four stops of image stabilisation, makes it the ideal tool for shooting in low light and other challenging situations. You can pick up this lens at MPB for between £264 and £309, depending on condition. A pro-standard zoom, the Canon EF24-70mm f/2.8L II USM is what Andrew Robertson used to shoot his seventh-placed photograph. With its constant f/2.8 aperture and superb edge-to-edge sharpness, it’s a lens that can deliver the goods in a wide range of shooting situations. It features a nine-bladed diaphragm, which…

As we head towards the final round of this year’s APOY, things couldn’t be tighter. With only 90 points separating the top ten photographers on the leaderboard, everything could change once the final round is decided. Who will be crowned winner? You’ll have to wait until the results of our Close-up round are published next month to find out! In Young APOY, things are looking a little more done and dusted, although there’s still a little room for manoeuvre at the top of the leaderboard. As for the camera club category, Launceston Camera Club would appear to be nailed on for success. But there’s still one round to go and we can’t wait to see the overall outcome.…

1 Creative fuel Don’t just look to photography and photographers for inspiration. The other arts, from music and poetry to painting and sculpture can provide creative fuel. This image was inspired by the delicate work of graphite pencil drawings. 2 Keep it simple Keep your vision simple and make sure you get rid of everything that is unnecessary in the frame. 3 Pre-visualise Try to get into the habit of pre-visualising how your final photographs will look. After some initial experiments, I established the process outlined here. This image will be part of a bigger series and the others will all look stylistically similar, and I can predict this before starting. 4 View as you go I make small 4x6 prints as I evolve a body…

Under £50 VSGO Imp ● £13.50 ● www.vsgophoto.com Bulb air blowers are invaluable for keeping your camera’s sensor clean of dust, which will otherwise leave unsightly blobs on your images. This 10cm tall version is a particularly fine example. It filters the air that it draws into the bulb and employs a soft silicone tip that won’t damage your sensor. A weighted base means that it always stands upright, which also helps keep the tip clean. NiSi Clever Cleaner for square filters ● £7 ● www.nisioptics.co.uk If you’re a regular user of square filters, you’ll know how it easy it is to get them covered in fingerprints. This handy device has a rectangular felt cleaning pad, to help keep their surfaces clean and in perfect condition. Packed up it will…

AF Nikon AF lenses driven from camera AF-S Nikon lenses with Silent Wave Motor AF-P Nikon lenses with stepper motors AL Pentax lenses with aspheric elements APD Fujifilm lenses with apodisation elements APO Sigma Apochromatic lenses ASPH Aspherical elements AW Pentax all-weather lenses CS Samyang lenses for APS-C cropped sensors D Nikon lenses that communicate distance info DA Pentax lenses optimised for APS-C-sized sensors DC Nikon defocus-control portrait lenses DC Sigma’s lenses for APS-C digital DG Sigma’s designation for full-frame lenses Di Tamron lenses for full-frame sensors Di-II Tamron lenses designed for APS-C DSLRs Di-III Tamron lenses for mirrorless cameras DN Sigma’s lenses for mirrorless cameras DO Canon diffractive optical element lenses DT Sony lenses for APS-C-sized sensors DX Nikon’s lenses for DX-format digital DS Canon’s Defocus Smoothing technology E…

AP picture of the week And They Call it Poppy Love! By Ian Toft Fujifilm X-T30, Fujinon XF 55-200mm, 1/125 sec at f/5, ISO 200 Ian says, ‘I’ve always had a love of photography and my father was a photographer and an AP reader. I am a recently retired as a primary school teacher and with my newfound freedom wanted to see if that love was still there. I had read rave reviews about Fujifilm cameras so I took the plunge and bought the X-T30. It was different and love at first sight! This photograph was taken in a field of poppies planted by the local council parks department. I was attracted by the late evening sun which highlighted the hairs on the poppy stems and accentuated the “tissue paper”…

SIMON Marsden’s Haunted Life in Pictures, a critically acclaimed 2018 documentary about the idiosyncratic infrared specialist and darkroom master, will be available on DVD on 14 December. The movie is directed by Jason Figgis (a scion of a celebrated movie family) and recounts his, often spooky, experiences working with Marsden in rural Ireland and beyond, along with insights from friends and family. Marsden, who’s full title was Sir Simon Neville Llewelyn Marsden, 4th Baronet died in 2012, and was best known for his books on haunted houses, historic ruins and Venice. The movie will also be available on digital release on 23 November.…

TO CELEBRATE the re-emergence of London’s theatreland, an exhibition of Rankin’s portraits of actors, directors and other theatre staff is being shown at the Fujifilm House of Photography in Covent Garden until 31 January, 2022. The free exhibition, called Performance, includes nearly 150 portraits of individuals from a host of top London shows and venues. Visitors can donate to the Theatre Artists Fund, which provides emergency aid to struggling theatre freelancers, as well as four London youth homelessness charities selected by the Mayor of London. Rankin shot all the images for Performance on the Fujifilm GFX100 and they were printed on location at the company’s House of Photography. The portraits will also be exhibited across multiple central London venues and on train platforms across south east England. More details are…

Don’t crop in too tightly Leave space for the magazine ‘furniture’ – masthead, coverlines and any graphic devices that we use to describe what’s in the issue. Busy images that have lots of detail are generally unsuitable as they make superimposed text tricky to read. Shoot portrait-format pictures While it’s not unheard of for us to use a section of a landscape-format image, your chances are improved by shooting in the upright format. Make eye contact If you’re submitting a portrait, ensure good eye contact, with the subject looking directly into the lens. Make sure the eyes are pin-sharp. Provide plenty of options Try various angles and subject placements, with the main focal point to the left, the right and centre, to give the art editor lots of options for…

been cropped to 50% of the full frame. I think that it illustrates my point. I know that this is one camera that I would always insist on having in my stable. Peter Miller Funerals A personal take on funerals. On a rainy Monday in May, the funeral took place of my 92-year-old mother. As we were gathering to process into church, I took my silenced iPhone out and snapped, as my nephew took his place as one of the pall bearers. Later, as we travelled in the limousine to the crematorium, I snapped a photo of my son’s hands, holding the order of service. I do not feel uncomfortable about taking these two photographs, in fact quite the opposite, as I feel they are a perfect record of mother’s…

Luminar is a fully featured photo editor for Mac and PC designed for photographers of all skill levels, blending pro-level tools with remarkable ease of use and an enjoyable experience. A new Library feature lets you organise, find and rate images easily, while over 100 editing features, plus a suite of fast AI-powered technologies under the hood, will make any image stand out. Submit your images Please see the ‘PICTURES’ section on page 3 for details on how to submit. You could see your images here in a future issue! NOTE: PRIZE APPLIES TO UK AND EU RESIDENTS ONLY…

People sometimes laugh when I say that I don’t really think of myself as a camera collector – after all, I’ve got more than 600 of the buggers! But the truth is I’m more of a magpie. I don’t have a strategy for acquiring cameras, most of which I stumble across rather than seek out. There is though one niche area I’ve found myself gravitating towards, and that’s the little 127 cameras from the 1930s. This format was introduced in 1912, and is a narrower version of the familiar 120 format, at 46mm wide rather than 60mm. This allows for what often feel like disproportionally smaller bodies. The Parvola dates from around 1932, and comes from Ihagee of Dresden, probably best known for the long-lived Exakta brand which was introduced…

There’s nothing quite like finding something in common with another person. When we discover that a new acquaintance comes from the same town we do, or their aunt walks her dog just a street away from the cinema at which we used to go to Saturday Morning Pictures, it gives us an instant connection and helps us view them favourably from the off. And it gives us a nice feeling. On a larger scale we might get a deep sense of comfort from singing in a choir, playing in an orchestra or yelling in unison with the other maniacs on the terraces. The act of taking part, of doing the same and being the same as others, makes us feel we aren’t alone. And that is a nice feeling too.…