Innholdsfortegnelse for 5/28/24 i Amateur Photographer

Everyone loves a seascape but not everyone agrees on how the restless motion of the sea should be recorded. For me it’s like any other moving subject, like cars and bikes – if you want to convey motion in a still image then you need to use a slow shutter speed to do so. The contrast between the moving and static parts of the scene (such as a rocky coastline) creates a visual tension that can be really engaging, as you can see this week in the work of Francesco Gola. If you’re more interested in rock than rocks then don’t miss our interview with Brian Aris, who has spent a lifetime photographing our most iconic artists. We also preview a new exhibition of historic royal portraits and take a…

For those who want to make the smallest package with the S9, Panasonic has announced a new slimline pancake lens. The Lumix S 26mm F8 is by far and away the firm’s thinnest full-frame optic, at 18.1mm long, 67.1mm in diameter, and a featherweight 58g. To achieve this tiny size, the lens has a fixed aperture and is manual focus only, with a minimum focus distance of 25cm. Panasonic is keen to claim, though, that unlike some other ‘body cap’ lenses on the market, this isn’t some sort of toy lens. Instead, the firm claims it will produce ‘high resolution from corner to corner’, while delivering ‘subtle bokeh that creates a natural feel’. Of course, it’s debatable how much background blur you’ll ever get from a 26mm f/8 wideangle lens.…

THE search is on for the next Close-up Photographer of the Year (CUPOTY), in association with Affinity Photo. You have until 14 July to enter the sixth edition of the competition, jointly set up by regular AP contributor Tracy Calder, and be in with a chance of winning £2,500 cash, a trophy, a universal license for all three Affinity apps and the CUPOTY title. The competition is open to anyone of any age from any country, using any camera, phone or microscope for the entries. There are two new categories this year, Arachnids and Studio Art, bringing the total to 11. In addition, the prize purse has been boosted to almost £9,000. Last year’s CUPOTY attracted nearly 12,000 entries, and the judging panel includes AP editor, Nigel Atherton. The closing…

7 days A week in photography IF YOU are into garden and plant photography, don’t miss the RHS Botanical Art and Photography Show, taking place from 14 June to 7 July at the Saatchi Gallery, London. It will showcase the work of 23 botanical artists and 18 photographers, representing countries including the UK, Italy, Portugal, Romania, USA, South Africa, Taiwan, Republic of Korea, Singapore, and Japan. This year’s show welcomes back previous medal winners as well as newcomers to the show. Tickets cost £7, and to book, see saatchigallery.com/product/rhs2024…

ROYAL PORTRAITS It’s hard to refuse a request from Annie Leibovitz. In 1978 she persuaded Patti Smith to pose with a fire raging behind her for Rolling Stone (Smith ended up with a scorched back); in 1991 she shot Demi Moore, heavily pregnant and wearing nothing but earrings for Vanity Fair; and in 2003 she talked Natalie Vodianova into squeezing into a doll’s house for Vogue. The celebrity portrait and fashion photographer met her match, however, when she asked Queen Elizabeth II to ride a horse inside Buckingham Palace. ‘It just wasn’t possible,’ says Alessandro Nasini, senior curator of photographs at Royal Collection Trust. Leibovitz was invited to photograph the Queen twice. During the first session, in 2007, she was given 25 minutes and ended up irking the monarch by…

ANDY WESTLAKE Technical Editor AP’s chief reviewer gets his hands on Panasonic’s Lumix S9 and shares his first impressions GEOFF HARRIS Deputy Editor Geoff conducts two big interviews this issue: with Francesco Gola and Brian Aris EMILY ENDEAN Top pro Emily Endean field tests the new Fujifilm X100VI while working on a project in Cornwall TRACY CALDER The AP regular talks to the curator of an exhibition covering 100 years of royal portrait photography DAMIEN DEMOLDER Former AP editor Damien tests the intriguing Sigma 50mm F1.2 DG DN Art lens JESSICA MILLER Dep. Online Editor Jessica selects more of your stunning reader pictures, in It’s good to share…

Panasonic has announced the development of its smallest full-frame zoom to date, the Lumix S 18-40mm F4.5-6.3. With an ultra-compact retractable design, it’s clearly designed to be the S9’s primary kit zoom, so it’s a real shame that it won’t be immediately available to buy with the camera. The firm claims it will be ideal for both photo and video use. Confirmed features include a minimum focusing distance of 15cm and a 62mm filter thread. An AF/MF switch on the side of the barrel selects between focus methods. In terms of size, the lens looks to be about 66mm in diameter and 40mm in length when retracted. There’s little information on when the lens is expected to be available, either. Panasonic says only that the Lumix S 18-40mm F4.5-6.3 is…

7 days A week in photography KODAK has released the Smile+ digital instant print camera, which enables you to switch between natural, retro or a star filter by twisting a dial in front of the lens. It features a wideangle f/2.8 lens, a built-in flash and a viewfinder. Like other Kodak instant print digital cameras, the Smile+ takes the company’s specially designed inkless Zink photo paper which requires no ink cartridges, or film. Available now for £119 from kodakphotoplus.com…

● £79 ● nisioptics.co.uk Without doubt, Fujifilm’s X100VI has been the biggest hit camera of 2024. But one quirk of the X100 design has always been that, in order to keep the camera as slim as possible, the lens doesn’t have a filter thread. Instead, it requires a screw-on 49mm adapter. And while the two most recent X100 models boast weather-resistant construction, you need to screw a UV filter over the lens for full sealing. Fujifilm’s own solution is a ‘Weather Resistant Kit’ that includes a UV filter and adapter for £100. Alternatively, you can buy a hood and adapter set for £75, and then add the UV filter for a further £75. It’s no great surprise that third-party makers are coming up with a vast array of alternatives. One…

LETTER OF THE WEEK Documenting change I enjoyed reading the article by David Clark on the work of Peter Mitchell. It highlighted an aspect of documentary photography that to me gets forgotten. How many times have we visited somewhere we used to live or an area where we now live and haven’t been to for a while? In doing so, have you said, “That’s changed. What used to be there?” That is because what is missing is a building. Listed buildings are fine and of course, unless on the ‘at risk’ list, will be there for the future. However other buildings disappear, shops change and development takes place. From a heritage and history point of view it is just as important to capture these. Photographers may ask who would want…

7 days A week in photography ICONIC royal photographs spanning a century are being shown at the King’s Gallery near Buckingham Palace until 6 October. Highlights include Snowdon’s never-before-seen image of the late Queen; Princess Margaret, Princess Alexandra and the Duchess of Kent holding their newborns; and Paolo Roversi’s 40th-birthday portrait of the Princess of Wales (above), which resembles an 1864 portrait of Alexandra, Princess of Wales. Full details at www.rct.uk. See our in-depth feature on page 10.…

Tech Talk The Olympus Centurion is one of a handful of SLRs that were made for APS film. It has the characteristics of a bridge camera, and could pass for a digital model from the turn of the century. The specs are pretty similar too, a 4x zoom lens with a choice of exposure modes, and a smattering of manual overrides thrown in. I’ve got a number of APS cameras, and a handful of films, so I decided to set myself a little project, ‘APS April’. I aimed to use five different APS cameras that month, starting on each of the five Mondays in April. The expression ‘use it or lose it’ comes to mind; APS film was last made in 2011, so any still around is well past its…

7 days A week in photography AP picture of the week The Way by Stewart Reading-Brown Canon EOS R5, 70-200mm, 1/20sec at f/10, ISO 200 ‘At sunset, the sun shone straight through the trees creating long shadows; I loved the way everything converged in the middle. I used focus stacking to ensure sharpness throughout and then added my signature editing techniques to create an ICM type effect to the tops of the trees.’ Website: www.srb.photosInstagram: @srbphotos_Facebook: srbphotos #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 frames with a few clicks of your…

I recently curated an article for AP on social documentary photographer and photojournalist Sebastião Salgado. In the article, nine experts from different parts of the photographic industry were invited to comment on what makes the Brazilian’s work special to them. They were united in their praise and certain words percolated to the fore – powerful, poetic, epic, immense, strength, honest and Biblical among others. These words could be applied to this image of Ever Sosa (centre) carrying his daughter on his shoulders as they cross the Suchiate River from Guatemala to Mexico. They are part of a caravan of 3,000 migrants and asylum seekers attempting to get to the United States. The daughter is moulded to the shoulders of her father, who clamps her in position by holding tight onto…