Innholdsfortegnelse for 12/04/2022 i Amateur Photographer

It’s been a long time coming but finally many of us are in the position where global travel has become easier. So our Premium edition covers many aspects of this fascinating genre. We’ve got contributions from world-class photographers including Philip Lee Harvey, Ulla Lohmann, Hans Strand and many more. AP readers also share their favourite locations, so you’ll find lots of ideas and inspiration; plus there’s a guide to the best travel cameras and reviews of two intriguing travel lenses. Don’t forget to check out the story behind our striking cover image – it was taken by an AP reader during a recent AP and Zoom Photo Tours trip to Iceland. Full details are on page 54 and see bit.ly/ zoomaptours for details of upcoming workshops in the UK and…

To congratulate the AP Pic of the Week winner, Fujifilm is giving the winner a £25 voucher to spend on any photo prints or gifts at myFUJIFILM.co.uk, so that they can print their image any way they like! Simply go to myFUJIFILM.co.uk, select what you want, then enter your given voucher code at checkout. The voucher is valid for 6 months and can be used in multiple transactions. No monetary eligibility or exchange. Need help using your code? Contact myfujifilm_uk@fujifilm.com * PRIZE APPLIES TO UK RESIDENTS ONLY.…

THE LEITZ Photographica Auction house is to hold the world’s largest auction of historic cameras with a rare Leica O-Series No. 105 – previously owned by the inventor of 35mm, Oskar Barnack – set to become the most expensive camera ever sold at auction. Before the Leitz Camera (Leica) went into series production in the mid-1920s, about 20 examples of the O-Series prototypes were made. Around a dozen are estimated to be in existence today. Barnack’s name adorns the viewfinder of the O-Series No. 105. He used it to capture family life, gaining technical insights that he applied to the further development of the camera and its succeeding models. The O-Series No. 105 has an estimated price of €2million to €3million. The 40th Leitz Photographica Auction will be held at…

‘I’ve become known as a travel photographer but I think of myself more as a location photographer. I don’t mind being called a travel photographer but there’s a lot more to it than just advertising a place for people to go on holiday. That’s not what I do,’ explains Philip Lee Harvey on the phone from home where he’s preparing for a trip to Uganda. ‘I encourage people to explore, to start their imagination working. That’s why I try to make my images not completely descriptive. I like a surreal edge to them. I like it when the viewer makes up the last part of the picture. If you give too much information, a wide shot of a beach for example, it’s not the same as adding emotion through light,…

Long arm of the law Damien Demolder’s recent article about street photography gave clear and excellent advice, with some additional clarification of UK law. I would like to add an important point that was not mentioned regarding the law of harassment. I have been a National Union of Journalists (NUJ) professional press and publicity photographer for 50 years, and a press photographer on behalf of Haringey Council for over 40. If a photographer follows, stalks or otherwise behaves in an intrusive manner they are liable to be charged under the law of harassment. Intrusion can be invading a person’s personal space and restricting their movement. Harassment can also be repeatedly taking a number of photographs, as well as refusing to stop when requested. This is largely common sense but AP…

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 For the second time, 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 4 November 2022. All…

1 Lock off the camera on a tripod Handholding a camera when shooting video will lead to shaky footage. If you’re new to videography you’re unlikely to have access to a gimbal, but simply having the camera on a tripod will keep footage steady. If your lens has IS, turn it off when the camera is on a tripod as this can actually introduce blur. 2 Switch to Manual mode Some cameras have dedicated Movie modes, but if your camera doesn’t, then don’t worry – simply turn the mode dial to select Manual (M). The full Manual mode will allow you to take control of major shooting settings such as shutter speed, aperture and ISO to balance the exposure. 3 Select your frame rate and shutter speed Go to your…

Award-winning photographer and international pilot Rico X. has a unique access to the world. It’s an access that many of us could only dream of, especially over the past couple of years with the Covid crisis. ‘It worked out well for me,’ Rico X. admits via a Zoom chat from the balcony of his sun-drenched base in some far-flung corner of the world. ‘I got to travel and see the world as it really was, while many others were locked up at home. So yeah, I got unique access to the real world as events were unfolding, and I got to shoot the non-cliché elements of that,’ he explains. View from the cockpit Perhaps Rico X.’s most recognisable project to date is his award-winning Who Left The Bloody Lights On,…

When you visit a location as wild and pristine as the Ilulissat Icefjord on the west coast of Greenland, one of the first things you notice is the silence. ‘It’s almost claustrophobic, because there’s no sound at all,’ explains Hans Strand, an award-winning photographer who relishes the opportunity to shoot in extreme environments – from polar deserts to windblown sand dunes. ‘Of course, this goes for the Arctic and Antarctica as well,’ he adds. ‘Quite often you just hear yourself: the sound of your own breathing and your heart beating.’ This absolute silence is alien to most of us – even lying in bed at night we can often still hear the gurgle of a radiator or the hum of traffic. What’s more, most of us have seen the likes…

WITH full-frame cameras such as the Z series being suitable for travel and everyday usage in a way that we might once have only dreamed of, having a flexible, versatile and easy-to-transport lens will be extremely important to some photographers. Offering a 24-120mm focal length gives the average photographer good scope to capture a wide range of different subjects that they might come across on the average trip, from landscapes to portraits and even arguably just about for some types of wildlife (especially if used in DX-crop mode). Previously, ‘all-rounder’ options for the Z mount included either the 24-70mm f/4 lens, which doesn’t give you much in the way of telephoto shooting, or the 24-200mm zoom, which not being an S-series lens delivers lower quality results. Alternatively, you might have…

PERHAPS the biggest takeaway from my time with the Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8 lens is its consistency. The optical performance varies very little across the zoom range. Contrast and sharpness are good when shooting wide open and just get crisper as you get closer to the middle of the aperture range. The obvious question, though, is ‘who is this lens for?’. It covers a perfect range for portrait and lifestyle photographers, but some subjects might well find it intimidating. It’s also a lovely focal range for travel photography, but the size and weight become prohibitive. It could prove extremely useful for weddings and events, especially when paired with a second camera with a 16-35mm f/2.8 lens for those wider shots. But this offers little if any advantage over the classic 24-70mm…

One of the more interesting features of the new OM System ‘Olympus’ OM-1 camera is its ‘quad-Bayer’ sensor design. This article explains what this means, and what benefits and demerits it brings. Essentially, the crux is the use of a Bayer colour filter array in which each ‘red’, ‘green’ or ‘blue’ filter patch covers four pixels, rather than one. This is illustrated in the figure below, which shows a normal Bayer array compared with the quad-Bayer alternative. At this stage we need to clarify some terminology. Although many manufacturers label the pixel as a ‘photo-diode’, each of the four pixels under one colour filter is fully functional and capable of being read out independently from the others. Indeed, there would be little point in the design were this not the…

BRITISH camera bag maker Billingham has announced the Eventer Mark II – a large shoulder bag that’ll hold a DSLR or mirrorless camera with four or five lenses, along with a 14in laptop. Like all Billingham bags, it’s made from three-layer cotton or nylon canvas that incorporates a ‘Stormblock’ butyl rubber layer for effective waterproofing, and a soft inner lining. To aid handling, the top handle has been refined and a trolley strap has been added to the rear, allowing the bag to be slipped over the handle of a rolling suitcase. The bag’s external dimensions are 40x35 x18cm and it weighs 1.83kg. It comes in five colour combinations, and costs £560.…

VENUS Optics has announced the new Laowa 20mm f/4 Zero-D Shift lens, which is designed to provide an ultra-wide angle of view with nearly zero distortion. Primarily designed for use on full-frame cameras the lens allows for a +/-11mm shift on such cameras or a +/-8mm shift on medium format cameras. At launch, the lens is available in the following mounts: Nikon F and Z, Sony E and FE, Canon EF and RF, L-mount and Fujifilm GFX. It is mainly designed for shooting architecture, interiors, commercial work and panoramas. It’s the first Zero-D Shift lens from Laowa since the Laowa 15mm f/4.5 Zero-D Shift optic that was announced in October 2020. The construction of the new 20mm lens features 16 elements in 11 groups with two aspherical elements and three…

50mm prime lens It’s an honest lens that delivers and honest photograph, it tells the story as it is. It’s not tricksy and doesn’t discredit the subject. Leatherman Compact, lightweight and capable, the multiple tools and knives allow me to tackle the expected and unexpected in everyday shoots. Assistants Reliable assistants, fixers and guides are often essential in what I do. Sometimes I hire locals, while at other times I’ll travel with someone I’ve worked with before and know well and who knows how I work and what I expect. Aircraft A helicopter or seaplane is a pretty useful bit of kit to help me access hard-to-photograph and hard-to-reach locations. Tripod The Manfrotto 055 is easy to use. It allows me to get creative and guarantees camera stability. It’s strong,…

1 Ethiopia It is biblical. You’re an observer. Very little of what’s going on is done for visitors or tourism. It’s a voyeuristic approach but what you’re witnessing has been going on for centuries. 2 China Epic, stunning landscapes. Every province is like a different country. It also has a history of fantastic artwork, art and crafts and architecture. It’s easier to travel around now compared to 20 years ago – the infrastructure is good, I’ve never had a problem with the people there. 3 India India is sometimes used as an easy go-to destination by photographers because it’s so colourful and lively. It’s not difficult to get cracking images. The theatre is there for you, they style themselves beautifully, the skin tone is perfect to photograph. I love the…

Round One Low Light Low light is like catnip to the photographer. As light drops and reduces, it gives dimension, depth, colour and atmosphere to a photographic image, allowing previously ordinary scenes to gradually come alive. Low light has the power to either reduce a potential composition to its basic elements, or it can introduce a riot of conflicting tones and colour temperatures. It’s no wonder that generations of photographers have exploited it to their advantage. 1 Tommaso Carrara UK 100pts Fujifilm X-T3, 35mm, 1/250sec at f/1.4, ISO 160 Tommaso’s superb capture has everything you want from a candid, low-light image: boldness, simplicity, atmosphere and colour. It also has an excellent sense of place – anyone who’s been to London could guess it was taken in Piccadilly Circus. The man’s…

It’s very early days, so impossible to tell right now how much the leaderboard will change between now and Round Ten of APOY. Tommaso Carrara sits at the top with 100 points for his excellent winning image, but with nine rounds still to go, there are still a lot of points to hand out. Who knows? It could be you at the top next month! Young APOY is equally up for grabs, but India’s Pubarun Basu is off to a good start, with two images in the top ten (but, as always, only the highest-scoring shot in any one round is awarded points). In our camera clubs category, the familiar name of Launceston Camera Club tops the leaderboard, with Kempsey Camera Club in a strong second place. APOY 1 TommasoCarrara…

The winner of each round of APOY 2022 receives a £500 voucher to spend on anything at MPB. Ideal for travel photography, and for £659, you could treat yourself to a Ricoh GR III in like-new condition. This compact APS-C-format camera has a 24MP sensor, a superb 28mm-equivalent f/2.8 lens, a built-in two-stop optical ND filter, and is perfect for slipping into a jacket pocket. For film footage, why not try the diminutive DJI Osmo Pocket. A three-axis stabilised 4K camera, it’s simple to use, and has an intuitive time-lapse function. This neat gadget is available at MPB for between £129 and £154, depending on condition. Another easy-to-carry option is the retro-styled Fujifilm XF10 – a 24MP APS-C CMOS-sensor camera with a 28mm-equivalent f/2.8 lens, five exposure modes, 6fps drive…

Nikon D850 Rico X. relies on a trusty Nikon D850. However, he is looking to upgrade to something small and mirrorless soon, perhaps a Leica Q2. Sigma 40mm F1.4 DG HSM Art Used exclusively for Rico X.’s cities at night project ‘Who Left The Bloody Lights On’. This is his go-to cockpit lens. Nikon 24mm f/1.8 ‘Most of my work the last 18 months has been shot on this. It’s great in low light and just captures everything I need.’ Peak Design straps These keep Rico X.’s kit light and easily accessible. He also carries a fanny pack (bum bag) for his wallet, phone, spare memory cards and batteries.…

Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8 The Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8 is Strand s current favourite wideangle lens. ‘I use it all the time – it’s sharp all the way to the corners,’ he explains. He also rates the Tamron 35mm f/1.4. ‘It’s probably the sharpest lens I own.’ Zeiss Otus lenses As a former engineer, Strand enjoys using the manual-focus lenses from the Zeiss Otus range. ‘There are four focal lengths: 28, 55, 85 and 100mm,’ he explains. ‘They are bulky, heavy as hell and clumsy, but the results are from another planet!’ Nikon D850 Strand works with Hasselblad and Nikon cameras. ‘I try to use the Hasselblad from the air as the high resolution allows me to make large prints that can be scrutinised at close distance,’ he explains. ‘But the Nikon…

One of the participants was Owen Cochrane, who is also president of Inverness Camera Club. ‘This was my first photo tour and I booked it on AP’s recommendation. With all the Covid problems, I wanted to get away and do something different. I’ve had mental health issues and photography has been key to helping me get out there again. I was a bit worried about going on the trip – but it worked out really well. Everything was so well planned and it boosted my confidence for travel. In terms of photography, I know my camera, so the ideas and instruction from Hans and Florian were more along the lines of suggestions, trying new angles – they didn’t spoon-feed me. They tailored their guidance very well. It certainly wasn’t a…

AP: Tell us a little about your photography background DP: I trained as an artist and a painter. In the old days photography was a more stable and reliable career than painting so I started by photographing artworks for artists and galleries. This led me to book covers and studio photography before moving into corporate and editorial work. After this I ventured into advertising photography and did that for a few years before finally moving out of London to the South East to focus on my goal of opening a gallery and selling prints of picturesque landscapes. I opened my gallery in Rye in 2007 and haven’t looked back since. AP: If we were to take a look in your camera bag, what would we find in it? DP: Not…

● £240 ● uk.benroeu.com TRIPODS used to be relatively simple affairs, but there’s now a trend towards multi-functional designs capable of converting into desktop stands or monopods. The latest MeFoto RoadTrip Pro might just be the most versatile Swiss Army knife of a support that we’ve ever seen. In one single kit, you get a full-size tripod, a mini table-top tripod, a monopod, and a boom arm. Even the camera quick release plate converts into a smartphone holder. Yet the entire kit weighs in at a travel-friendly 1.5kg, including the carry case. When used as a conventional tripod, this is a carbon-fibre affair with five leg sections and a two-piece centre column, adjusted using quick and easy twist locks. The legs can be set independently to three different angles, and…

AP picture of the week APICEM by Andrew Alcock Canon EOS R, 24-70mm EF f/2.8 lens at 70mm, 1/160sec at f/11, ISO 400 Andrew says, ‘I took this image on a recent visit to Madeira when I was hiking from Pico do Arieiro to Pico Ruivo. As the cloud level dropped, they kept rolling in over the peaks of the surrounding mountains occasionally exposing scenes like this one. Minimalist photography isn’t usually my style but sat in thick white cloud with brief spells of views such as this, I couldn’t resist in giving it a go.’ See more of Andrew’s photographs on his Instagram: @alshot_images We also liked... Sands of Time By Alex Doig Fujifilm X-T3 at 23mm, f/2 ‘This photo was taken on Newburgh Beach (Aberdeenshire) during Storm Corrie.…

WISE and Sabrent have both announced the world’s first ever 512GB capacity V90 Class 10 SDXC UHS-II memory cards – they both double the previous highest capacity for any such cards on the market. Wise’s 512GB card ($800) offers read and write speeds at 290MB/s and 260MB/s, respectively, versus the Sabrent 512GB card’s ($599.99) read and write speeds of 280MB/s and 250MB/s respectively. Both firms also offer 256GB and 128GB capacities. Wise’s cards are expected to go on sale in April 2022. Sabrent said it is likely to start shipping the cards on 24 April.…

I was scared that memories from the deep recesses of my brain would be gone forever. I needed to get past the resistance. I took a long deep inhale and closed my eyes. My index finger pushed. Click. They were gone. And that is how I cleared my Adobe Lightroom library, but this article is about getting attention. I’m currently reading Stein on Writing, by Sol Stein, and it struck me that many of his thoughts on grabbing a reader’s attention in the first paragraph are equally applicable to a photograph. Researchers at the famed Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) discovered that the fastest that humans could recognise an image was as quick as 13 milliseconds. That equates to seeing a single frame from a video playing at 71fps. Humans…

Collaborate Involve your subjects in the photography process, show what you are doing in the back of the camera, ask their opinion. Sometimes everyone is guilty of stealing pictures rather than making them. When you collaborate you both come away feeling you’ve gained something. Be in control I never look at what’s the correct exposure, mine’s instinctive. I use a highlight alert but also know what I can do afterwards. People rely too much on the camera light-meter. I only shoot raw. I don’t want my camera to make many decisions, it’s not emotional. You’ve got to be in control of your craft. Then you can be creative. Make effort Shoot before and after sunrise, there is a very special glow that can be used to your advantage. Don’t always…

We wondered if Rico X. has any advice for shooting out of an aeroplane window? ‘Just don’t!’ he replies with a hearty chuckle. ‘Nearly all but a few passenger windows are scratched, scuffed or filthy. Joking aside, it will be pretty difficult due to all the reflections. The cabin lights need to be off and you ideally need zero turbulence.’ When it comes to shooting from the cockpit, Rico X. agrees that it’s great access, but notes challenges such as turbulence and cloud cover – ‘especially in northern Europe where there are lots of clouds’. He also describes how city lights change around the world. ‘They are much bluer in the east towards Asia and more orange in Europe, while China and Japan are more multicoloured. The difference in the…

Try to be realistic Creating fine art can involve a lot of hard work – you might need to travel long distances, expend time, energy etc – but many people base their price expectations on the cost of paper and printing. ‘It’s just the way people think,’ says Strand. Bear this in mind if you’re planning to sell your work. Check the corners When you position bold shapes and colours in the corners of your frame, it can disturb the balance of your composition. ‘You have to be accurate with the corners and then have an interesting balance of elements inside the frame,’ urges Strand. Don’t follow the herd ‘I see some photographers working like crazy to get “hallelujah” shots with strong light, mountains, deep valleys etc,’ says Strand. However,…

It was 1997. I’d arrived in London two years previously, moving down the day after I graduated with a first class (Hons) degree in Photographic Studies from the University of Derby. It proved useless for preparing me for work in the industry and it would be another year before I received my first paid photography commission. I was on the dole, doing a bit of cash-in-hand assisting and photographing at jollies and jamborees to rebuild my portfolio. I was in love (I still am), had hair tucked behind my ears and shirt tucked into my trousers. A belt was still necessary. My grandparents were still alive and my friends were ambitious. I could tune into a fifth terrestrial TV channel. My mobile phone was tiny, used sparingly and not for…