Innholdsfortegnelse for 25/01/2022 i Amateur Photographer

How often have you picked up your camera but your mind has stubbornly refused to offer any suggestions for what to point it at? Sometimes our imagination takes a holiday, and it doesn’t always buy a return ticket. Sometimes we need to coax it back to work by setting it a stimulating challenge. Tracy Calder did just that when she bought a bunch of flowers and set herself the formidable task of making 30 different photos from it. In contrast, Casey Orr found her inspiration from the teenagers wandering her city centre and decided to tour the country with a mobile studio in search of more, while Paul Hart is moved by the desolate landscapes of the Fens. I hope one of these stories inspires you to begin a new…

OWC IS due to launch three Atlas Pro memory card ranges and what it describes as ‘the smallest Thunderbolt CFexpress card reader’ in the UK in April. The OWC Atlas Pro media cards – the Atlas S Pro, Pro and Pro Ultra ranges – are said to offer ‘advanced performance and data management technologies to maximise the capabilities of your DSLR, mirrorless and video camera’ and can transfer raw image files and 8K video at up to 1500MB/s (Pro and Pro Ultra). The OWC Atlas FXR reader is said to be nearly seven times smaller than other Thunderbolt CFX card reader and allows you to transfer video footage and photographs at speeds of more than 1500MB/s. UK pricing of the products is as yet unconfirmed.…

THE THREE portraits of HRH The Duchess of Cambridge shot by Italian photographer Paolo Roversi to mark her 40th birthday on 9 January are set to go on show in three key locations, as part of the National Portrait Gallery’s (NPG) ‘Coming Home’ project. The ‘Coming Home’ project is a nationwide initiative, which sees portraits of well-known individuals from the NPG Collection being sent and shown at locations across the UK which they are closely associated with. During 2022 the images of the Duchess will be displayed in Berkshire (where she grew up), St Andrews (where she went to university and met Prince William) and Anglesey (where she lived following her 2011 marriage to Prince William). Exact details of when and where they will be exhibited will be announced by…

30 January 1982 THIS week’s cover pic by sports legend Tony Duffy was probably intended to draw attention to AP’s test of 3M’s new ‘superfast’ 640-T tungsten balanced slide film, though it wasn’t shot on that film. But we’ll skate over that for now. The big group test compared three magnificent 35mm SLRs – the Nikon FE, Contax 139 Quartz and Olympus OM-2N – all of which are still much loved and highly sought after today. The first two could be bought, with a 50mm lens, for a penny under £200 (£785 in today’s money) while the OM-2N, the geriatric of the trio, was a slightly cheaper £170. Keith Nelson found little to criticise with any of them but the Contax edged it thanks to its LED display and quartz…

Remain flexible Ordering a bouquet of flowers can be a bit like ordering a veg box: you don’t know exactly what you’re going to get, but based on the season you have a pretty good idea. If the picture showed alliums and you got roses, don’t despair – use it as a springboard for new ideas. Play the long game Once you’ve cut a stem or pulled a petal off a flower you can’t put it back on, so take all of the long-stem, full-flower shots first. It’s a good idea to keep everything you remove – odd berries and bits of stem can be ideal for filling in gaps in flat lay arrangements. Raid the stationery I often use tape or Blu Tack to hold flowers and leaves in…

1st Nguyen Tan Tuan Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam What camera kit do you use? I use Canon cameras, and have a big selection of Canon lenses. I also have a DJI Mavic 3 drone. When did you start taking photographs? I started taking photos in 2015, after my brother lent me a camera when I was going travelling. I have loved the subject ever since. What are your favourite subjects? I love photographing landscapes and the traditional craft villages in my country. I would like my pictures to help to preserve and spread the message about the beauty of my country. Which photographers inspire you? There are too many of them to list, but in my country I love the work of Andre Luu and Nguyen Bao Son. Why…

IN THE UK, you need to register your drone with the CAA and obtain an Operator ID and Flyer ID via https://register-drones.caa.co.uk/. Also, although it’s new, the Mavic 3 is classified as a ‘legacy drone’ under the drone regulations and, as it weighs more than 500g, you must have an A2 Certification of Competence if you want to fly it closer than 150m from residential, recreational, commercial and industrial areas. After January 2023, you will need an Operational Authorisation from the CAA (which requires a General Visual Line of Sight Certificate) to fly within those distances.…

Party Balloon by Bert Hardy A young boy blowing up a balloon in the Gorbals area of Glasgow. Built quickly and cheaply in the 1940s, the Gorbals tenements provided housing for Glasgow’s burgeoning population of industrial workers. Conditions however were appalling with overcrowding, and unsanitary sewage and water facilities. Around 40,000 people were housed in the tenements, with up to eight family members expected to share a single room, 30 residents sharing a toilet, and 40 sharing a tap. At the time of this picture, about 850 of the tenements had been demolished. Redevelopment of the area started in the late 1950s with a modern tower block complex erected in the 60s. The Getty Images Hulton Archive is one of the world’s great cultural resources. Tracing its origins to the…

ONEPLUS has announced its latest flagship smartphone, the OnePlus 10 Pro, which incorporates three Hasselblad cameras and the fastest charging thus far in a OnePlus device. The OnePlus 10 Pro’s cameras are a 48MP f/1.8 wide, with PDAF, Laser AF and OIS; a 50MP f/2.2 ultra-wide, with AF, and 110/150° FOV, plus Fisheye mode; an 8MP f/2.4 telephoto, with PDAF, OIS, 3.3x telephoto; and a 32MP f/2.2, wide ‘selfie’ camera. When the OnePlus 10 Pro launches in India, Europe and North America later in 2022 it will come pre-installed with OxygenOS 12 based on Android 12. The smartphone will come in a choice of two colours – Volcanic Black or Emerald Forest.…

BENRO has revealed its Aureole product – a detachable, multifunction filter holder and lens mount adapter system that allows photographers to both adapt lenses and change filters via a built-in, quick-loading system. The Aureole will be available in two versions – the RC1, which configures Canon EF lenses to RF-mount cameras, and the RE1, which configures Canon EF lenses to Sony E-mount camera bodies in a ‘cross-brand’ set-up. Benro says the Aureole will also give photographers the ability to use filters without needing to attach anything to the front of the lens. The adapter will also allow one filter to be inserted from the top and another from the side, and Benro has said this will make it more versatile for shooting in either portrait or landscape camera orientations. The…

WITH its tiny size and sharp optics, the Laowa MFT 10mm F2.0 is a classic example of what Micro Four Thirds does best. It offers very acceptable image quality when used wide open, and delivers truly excellent results when stopped down. Yet it’s so small and light that you can throw it in a bag or pocket and carry it around all day without noticing. It may not autofocus, but it makes manual focus so easy that it doesn’t really matter for most kinds of subjects. And thanks to its electronics, in other respects it works much the same as conventional AF lenses. It also fits nicely into the system as a whole. It’s a fine complement to a standard zoom starting at 12mm or 14mm, offering a usefully wider…

ALTHOUGH it’s listed in DJI’s consumer range, the Mavic 3 has a sensor size that has previously only been seen in professional-level drones and there is plenty to satisfy pro aerial landscape photographers and videographers. It’s also conveniently portable and, after the initial set-up, the drone can be ready to fly in a couple of minutes. As usual with DJI’s modern drones, the Mavic 3 is very easy to fly while the object avoidance helps to keep it safe. Its price may give pause for thought, but this is the best imaging drone available right now. For and against + Very easy to fly + Superb-quality stills and video + Long flight times – Telephoto camera only shoots JPEGs, not raw – Lens flare can be a problem…

I’m sometimes rather taken aback by the prices of the higher-end cameras reviewed in AP, but ours has always been a potentially expensive hobby. I recently saw an advert from 1953, in which this very camera was on sale for £210. According to an inflation calculator this equates to over £6,000 now: not exactly cheap! Although it carries the Contax name, that’s about the only thing that this camera has in common with the prestigious Zeiss rangefinders, themselves worthy rivals to the Leicas. The Second World War had a significant impact on the Zeiss Ikon brand, like so many firms in Europe. With factories on both sides of what was to become the Iron Curtain, there was an inevitable parting of ways post 1945. In the West, manufacture was based…

‘It is Timelessness that draws me to this charming picture. Looking at it, we have no way of determining when it was recorded’ Timelessness is an attribute many societies value a great deal. While the word can be cheapened in advertising that aims to convince us the expensive purchase we are considering will prove excellent value in the long term, Timelessness is about more than physical durability. It concerns lasting Desirability, implying we will still value that object or idea in years to come – not just that it will still be in our life. Timelessness is always a positive characteristic, unlike Old-Fashioned which can suggest Irrelevant and Redundant just as much as Traditional and Proven. The difference between Timeless and Old-Fashioned can be a matter of personal perspective, as…

AP picture of the week The Spiral Staircase by Jane Wiltshire CPAGB, BPE2 Canon EOS R6, 16-35mm at 16mm using a converter, 8 secs at f/18, ISO 100 ‘The spiral staircase is at Beckford’s Tower on the outskirts of Bath. It is an architectural folly built in the Neo-classical style. The staircase leads to the Belvedere which gives a spectacular panoramic view of Bath. The tower is shut to the general public at present, but I was very lucky to be given access to take the shots sent to you to choose from,’ Jane tells us. ‘It was a beautiful sunny day, so the light coming through the windows enhanced the colours. I used a tripod to take the image as it was a long exposure, with my camera placed…

Vintage cutlery, with all its quirks and patina, can make great props. I have a big collection of coffee spoons, butter knives and cake forks, but this set is a favourite of mine as I love the art deco fluting at the ends and the way that each spoon differs slightly in colour. Last year I made a flat lay with the set surrounded by red berries, and it was surprisingly effective. As a result, I decided to try the same thing again, only this time with the spoons surrounded by flowers. For me, the picture fails on four levels. Firstly, the arrangement of the spoons feels forced and contrived. Secondly, you can see the room reflected in most of them. Thirdly, a number of the petals are damaged or…

I recently managed a few days away in Aldeburgh on the Suffolk coast. I usually photograph wildlife but this time I wanted to try a bit of landscape and seascape photography. I didn’t really know where to start, location-wise, so did an online search and came across the website of a photographer who lives in the area: Gill Moon (www.gillmoon.com). I read through her website with interest. I already knew a few places, but many others I would never have found without her help. Her blog was interesting, her gallery full of ‘real’ images and her projects to keep her photography fresh were inspiring yet surprisingly straightforward. I noticed that she also sold prints, provided training and had published some photography guides to the area, so I took the plunge…

It all started with a simple idea. American photographer Casey Orr had been living and working in the UK for a long time when she noticed young women with very prominent styling in the city of Leeds, particularly on Saturday afternoons. The thought occurred that she could explore many facets of identity through photographs of these women. She could ask questions such as what it meant to belong to a certain ‘tribe’, what are the shared experiences that teenagers and young women experience, how are people using their appearance to create connections and even what it means to be a girl. She explains, ‘I was wondering if you could read something about culture and locality through the way that – predominantly – young women were appearing and behaving on the…