Innholdsfortegnelse for 4/30/24 i Amateur Photographer

Software can do amazing things these days – it can even make a bear play the guitar (see Adobe Firefly for details) but can it replace the need for carrying a bag full of expensive filters? This week we compare HDR-based contrast correction with good old-fashioned ND grads to see how they compare. Also this week we feature the latest work by Thandiwe Muriu and Paul Hart, whose images could not be more different, and we go behind the scenes with the stills photographer on Disney’s latest TV epic, Shogun. If you’re looking for the very finest mirrorless camera available check out our test of Leica’s new flagship. The SL3 offers several major improvements over its predecessor. Finally don’t miss our latest subscription offers on page 52. Our cover shot…

SIGMA is releasing six APS-C lenses for Canon EOS RF mount, thus widening the choice of glass for Canon’s previously ‘closed’ RF system. First to hit the market is the Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN, equivalent to 29-80mm on Canon APS-C bodies and available from July. In autumn, Sigma will release the 10-18mm F2.8 DC DN, followed by four prime lenses, each with a fast F1.4 maximum aperture – the 16mm, 23mm, 30mm and 56mm. ‘Algorithms including AF drive and communication speed optimisation has been developed specifically for Canon RF mount,’ said Sigma. ‘The lenses also support AF-C, in-camera aberration correction (available on supported cameras only) and in-camera image stabilisation. The mount is rubber-sealed to cater for use in a variety of environments.’ The exact UK release dates and pricing…

There’s an African proverb that reads, ‘Do not let what you cannot do tear from your hands what you can.’ It’s a beautiful sentiment and one that fine art photographer Thandiwe Muriu has been guided by since taking up photography at the age of 14. Born in Nairobi, Kenya, Muriu and her sisters were raised by two parents with a definite ‘can-do’ attitude. ‘My father was my first cheerleader, encouraging me as I experimented with his old Nikon camera after school,’ she explains. Muriu would race through her homework and head out with the Nikon before it got too dark. ‘I was using a D80, and it got noisy around ISO 400, so I had to get everything shot before dusk,’ she laughs. What her father couldn’t teach her, Muriu…

Landscape photographers often look for workable ways to reduce the weight of their kit; when walking mile upon mile, a few hundred grams here and there can make a huge difference your back and shoulders will undoubtedly appreciate. There are a few simple ways to cut weight, but one that’s growing in popularity is to ditch 100mm glass square filter systems in favour of magnetic systems or screw-in filters. 100mm glass filters provide the best image quality and the greatest flexibility when it comes to controlling exposure and stacking filters to achieve the desired result, but they’re also the largest and heaviest filter system. By swapping over to magnetic systems where a polarising filter can be stacked with ND filters, weight can be drastically reduced. The downside, however, is that…

7 days A week in photography AP picture of the week Curlew and Castle by Rachel Riley Canon EOS 90D, Sigma 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary, 1/600sec at f/7.1, ISO 100 ‘I was on my way to Holy Island one morning when I found the opportunity to photograph Bamburgh Castle in a unique way. There was such a variety of birds out on the causeway as the sea was clearing and this curlew was perfectly placed for me to photograph.’ Website: www.rachelrileyphotography.comInstagram: @rachel_riley_photography #appicoftheweek Win! The AP Pic of the Week winner will receive a beautifully framed print of their winning image worth up to £100. If you Love it, Frame it! ThisPicture.com is an experienced, high-quality framing company with a unique, easy-to-use website. Build single or multi-image…

AILSA McWHINNIE Acting Features Ed. Ailsa interviews Paul Hart to find out more about his latest book, Fragile ANDY WESTLAKE Technical Editor Our chief reviewer tests Leica’s SL3 mirrorless camera and the Lumix S 28-200mm TRACY CALDER The AP regular talks to Kenyan fine art photographer Thandiwe Muriu about her work JAMES ABBOTT HDR technique vs ND grad filters, which is better? Expert contributor James assesses both approaches GEOFF HARRIS Deputy Editor Geoff interviews the stills photographer on the big television series, Shogun ANGELA NICHOLSON AP’s former technical editor tests quick-release plates from 3 Legged Thing…

● £52 ● 3leggedthing.com In essence, these Ultra Plates are very simple. They are long quick-release plates that can be mounted on any Arca-Swiss-type tripod head (including 3 Legged Thing’s) instead of a standard plate. That extra length and the additional fixing points mean you can mount lights, microphones, monitors or scopes alongside your camera. The Ultra Plates come in four lengths: 150mm, 200mm, 250mm and 300mm. They’re constructed from anodised aerospace-grade magnesium alloy and the shortest one weighs 81g, while the longest is only 143g. They all feel very strong and I’m unable to bend them when using my full strength. Each plate has a screw slot that runs for most of its length, enabling precise positioning of whatever camera kit you’re mounting. This positioning can be guided by…

This is one of the most fun projects in photography right now, and by one of my favourite people in photography too, so it was an absolute given that I would choose an image for this column from the new book Whilst the World Sleeps by Eleanor Macnair. Eleanor is a photographer and artist who began her Photographs Rendered in Play-Doh series in 2013 during a pub quiz. Inspired by the artists MacDonaldStrand – who also wrote the text to accompany her new book – to progress the images beyond being just an experiment, she published them in 2014 and soon began to amass a large audience and an archive of over 400 images. She has since been exhibited internationally and in 2017 was invited to create a series from…

AFTER over a decade of bleak news about the key Japanese camera market, domestic research firm GfK Japan has reported positive growth for the first time in 13 years. According to GfK, sales volume in 2023 reached 1.2 million units, a year-on-year rise of 7%. As widely reported in AP, demand for higher-end mirrorless cameras is helping reverse the trend, despite the ever-increasing photographic prowess of smartphones; makers can charge premium prices for top-end models, while stylish compacts, notably the Fujifilm X100VI, are all the rage, thanks in no small part to social media influencers. Indeed, unit sales of compacts rose by 6%, only three percentage points behind interchangeable-lens cameras. Kaoru Takeuchi, a science writer, made some perceptive comments on the story when it recently appeared on the website of…

7 days A week in photography THE TOP awards of the 2024 World Press Photo Contest have been announced, with the photo of the year going to Mohammed Salem for his heartbreaking image of a Palestinian woman embracing the corpse of her niece, aged five. The little girl was killed, along with her mother and sister, in an Israeli missile strike. Lee-Ann Olwage from South Africa won the Story of the Year award for her project about dementia sufferers in Madagascar, while the longer-term project award went to Alejandro Cegarra from Venezuela, for his project on Mexico’s increasingly draconian immigration policies. See worldpressphoto.org/contest/2024 and there is also an exhibition of winning images at Borough Yards, London, from 3-27 May.…

The introduction to photographer Paul Hart’s latest book, Fragile, features a poem by American poet Helene Johnson (1906-1995). Titled Trees at Night, it includes descriptions such as ‘lacy arms’, ‘stilly sleeping lake’, ‘torn webs of shadows’ and ‘trembling beauty’. As you leaf through the 51 richly detailed black & white plates in the publication, these words – and more – echo time and time again. The images are imbued with an all-encompassing sense of stillness, as seen in the pin-sharp reflections of trees in water, the electricity pylons that dissolve into the mist-engulfed distance, and the vanishing points of reed-flanked trenches and footpaths through fields. Fragile is Hart’s fifth monograph, and follows his Fenland Trilogy, which was made up of Farmed, Drained and Reclaimed. All three are studies of the…

Tech Talk The days of finding interesting cameras in charity shops seem to have faded away, so it was a few years ago that I spotted this one. In an inexplicable, yet surprisingly common way, the camera was displayed in its closed case behind glass, with the price label invisible. Maybe it’s a deliberate policy to discourage all but the most determined purchasers, as it means you have to ask for the item to be removed from the case to be identified and priced. Opening the case revealed it to be a Leidolf Lordomat priced at £9.99. Seasoned charity shop browsers will probably spot that this was a branch of Oxfam, who steadfastly stick to the £n.99p price format, a practice which most other shops seem to have abandoned. This…