Innholdsfortegnelse for 8/29/2023 i Amateur Photographer

We live in a beautiful world teeming with magnificent creatures – though sadly less teeming than it once was. It’s no wonder that wildlife is among the most popular genres of photography both to do and to consume (Sir David Attenborough has made a career out of it). Unfortunately it isn’t easy. Most wildlife is elusive, and you need to keep your distance. Some subjects only come out at night, or in challenging environments. So becoming proficient at wildlife photography takes dedication and perseverance. In this bumper edition we present a whole issue’s worth of invaluable advice and tips from those who have put in the time and become experts at photographing wildlife both in the UK and around the world. Our cover image is by Gurcharan Roopra. See p48.…

THE MYLONDON calendar, produced by photographers who have recent experience of homelessness, is pre-selling online in order to help fund a bigger project to get participants off the streets. The project has been running since 2013, and was championed by AP’s sadly missed news editor, Chris Cheesman. ‘MyLondon is a social enterprise mostly funded by sales of the calendars to the public, both online and face-to-face,’ explained Paul Ryan from organisers Café Art. He added that they have been launching the calendars on World Homeless Day since day one. ‘World Homeless Day coincides with World Mental Health Day, and we see that as a good coincidence, as so many people who are homeless have mental health issues.’ An exhibition featuring the 100 photographers who took part is online now and…

LETTER OF THE WEEK Troubled by ‘The Troubles’ In 1918 Sinn Fein won 73 out of 103 seats in the election held in all of Ireland. Before the treaty was signed Lloyd George threatened ‘immediate and terrible war’. A system was set up in the North of Ireland with massive discrimination in housing, banks, building societies, local councils, industries, universities and almost all aspects of life. This was legislated and financed by the British government, who deliberately provoked division – as expounded by General Kitson’s Low Intensity Operations, a handbook of how to foment hate, divide and rule. There is hardly a mention of any of this at the Imperial War Museum exhibition ‘Northern Ireland: Living with the Troubles’, in London until 7 January, 2024. Almost the whole exhibition depicts…

‘The longer you spend in an area, the more that it reveals its rhythms and its essence,’ says photographer and TV presenter Jonathan Scott. He’s talking about the Maasai Mara in Kenya. But the same lesson applies to any wildlife location. ‘Over time, we’ve learned about seasonal changes that affect the movement and behaviour of the animals and birds we wish to photograph,’ he continues. ‘And when it comes to big cats, there’s nothing like really investing time in understanding their behaviour – learning where are their favourite places to rest up, their favoured places to den their cubs, or favourite ambush sites.’ Jonathan and Angela Scott are on first-name terms with many of the Maasai Mara’s lions. Famous for several books and TV shows, including the BBC documentary series…

EISA MAESTRO UK WINNERS 2023 Earlier this year, we featured the work of the UK winner of the EISA Maestro competition. Angi Wallace is in contention to take home the overall prize at a ceremony taking place in September. In the meantime, there were also some excellent portfolios which made it into the top three of the UK entrants. Although these two brilliant portfolios don’t progress to the next round of the competition, they certainly deserve a space in the magazine. On this spread, you’ll see 2nd placed Hayleigh Callaghan, who impressed with her monochrome headshots of various predatory birds, and overleaf see Michelle Jackson, who came in 3rd with her beautiful set of kingfisher shots. Hayleigh Callaghan Hayleigh Callaghan is an amateur photographer with a particular interest in landscape…

Photo Critique I was born with a lazy left eye. It wasn’t the left eye’s fault. It was so bad it could peer round corners. Treatment for a lazy eye should ideally start before age seven, when vision is still developing. As soon as it was practical, my fully functioning right eye was covered with a white patch. This forced the lazy left to work harder. The patch was paired with NHS glasses. The NHS boasted that many stylish frames were available in stylish colours. I remember two styles and six colours: ice blue, crystal, flesh, light brown mottle, dark brown mottle and black. The flesh-coloured ones were basically pink and preferred by girls; the ice blue ones by boys. Gender fluidity hadn’t flowed into 1970s Dorset. I was given…

KEITH WILSON The editor of several acclaimed photo books interviews pros who share tips on British wildlife GRAEME GREEN The photographer and travel writer talks to pros from African countries who share their wildlife insights WILL CHEUNG The top photo tutor discusses which you should pick for nature and wildlife photography: MFT or full frame? AMY DAVIES Features Editor Amy brings us the gorgeous runner-up portfolios of the UK EISA Maestro competition ANDY WESTLAKE Technical Editor AP’s camera expert reveals his in-depth test of the Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome ROD LAWTON In the fourth article in his series, Rod explains how to use the retouching tools in Affinity Photo 2…

THE FIVE shortlisted photographers in the Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize 2023 have been announced by organisers the National Portrait Gallery (NPG). And the overall winner of this prestigious contest will be revealed on 6 November. The first prize winner will receive £15,000, second prize gets £3,000 and both third-prize winners will bag £2,000. A commission from the NPG will also be given to one of the five shortlisted photographers, and a big exhibition is in the offing – a total of 58 portraits from 51 photographers will go on show at the recently renovated NPG for the first time since 2020. This year’s judging panel was chaired by NPG director Dr Nicholas Cullinan, who was joined by senior curator at The Photographers’ Gallery, Karen McQuaid; writer and photographer, Caleb…

Round Six Architecture Around 84 per cent of the UK’s population lives in urban environments. As such, the vast majority of us are surrounded by architecture in all its myriad forms – be that a view of a 1930s suburban street or the sight of an ultra-modern city skyline, all glass and steel. Despite architecture being for human use or habitation, it’s rare to see an architectural image that features the presence of humans. That presence is, however, very much implied, and gives many of the images an eerie, almost cinematic feel. Laura Allegri’s winning image in this round is an exception to this norm, as is Hugo Salvador Garcia’s first-placed shot in Young APOY – and perhaps that’s what made those photographs stand out. 1 Laura Allegri Italy…

Wildlife photo holidays and safaris continue to enjoy growing popularity among Britain’s photographers, and there’s no denying the excitement and memories that such experiences provide. But many of the professionals who lead these trips also stress the importance of honing your skills and abilities by shooting local wildlife before you board that flight for Africa, India or South America. A badger isn’t as grand as an elephant; a squirrel pales before the tiger; the grey city pigeon will always be outshone by a scarlet macaw; but the disciplines, knowledge and techniques required for creating great pictures of these subjects are usually the same. Indeed, in the right light and conditions, and with more opportunities to return, experiment and try, try again, the chances of getting a technically better picture are…

Tech Talk If someone wants to know the details of how something works, then very often the best source is a patent. A patent is a deal between an inventor and the state. In return for a guaranteed monopoly for a period (up to 20 years) the inventor makes public how the invention works, which goes into the public domain. The patents that I’m looking at in this article are US 11,415,771 from Nikon Corporation, which provides the base definition of the Z-mount system, and US 10,591,808 from Canon, which does the same for the RF mount. The first thing that is apparent is how similar they are, including the peculiarities that distinguish them from other autofocus mount systems. One problem with any electronic mount system is ensuring that power…

IN A recent interview with the Chinese social media giant, weibo. com, Canon revealed it’s in discussion with third-party makers about licensing the RF mount for AF lenses – at the moment you can only get Canon-branded glass. ‘Now if we receive a request from a third-party lens company to open the mount, we will study whether to license it according to Canon’s own business planning and strategy,’ said the company’s Kazuka Yonei. ‘We are now communicating with several third-party lens companies in this regard.’ Nothing else was forthcoming, but you can read the full interview at bit.ly/yonei…

MAJOR microphone maker Rode has announced a ‘groundbreaking’ wireless mic system for filmmakers and content creators, the Wireless PRO. Key features include 2.4GHz digital transmission with 128-bit encryption designed for clear audio recording within a distance of 260m, 32GB of internal memory for over 40 hours of on-board recording, and advanced timecode capability for syncing audio and video. It fits into a pocket and has integrated clips and in-built omnidirectional microphones on the transmitters for easy set-up. It can be pre-ordered at US$399 but should be available from UK retailers very soon. See rode.com/en…

7 daysA week in photography AP picture of the week Dancing Grass by Julie Spokes Fujifilm X-T5, Fujifilm XF 18-135mm at 135mm, 1/150sec at f/5.6, ISO 400 ‘This feather grass was growing in a pot in the back garden, and I was drawn to its flowing lines, highlighted in the sunshine. The whiteness of the wisps reminded me of a cyanotype so I converted the image to a blue monochromatic colour in camera to emphasise its gracefulness.’ Instagram: @julie_spokes #appicoftheweek Win! The AP Pic of the Week winner currently wins a 3 Legged Thing Alan 2.0 monopod kit worth £169.99. This robust carbon fibre monopod can support camera gear up to 60kg, and thanks to its 5-sections folds small enough for travel. Ideal for sports and wildlife photography, it features…