Innholdsfortegnelse for 7/30/24 i Amateur Photographer

The word ‘photography’ is derived from the Greek words for ‘light’ and ‘drawing’ – light is our paint. We don’t necessarily need a lot of it, especially with today’s modern cameras, but for magic to happen it does need to interact in an interesting way with our subject, whether that be a landscape or a human face. This bumper issue is dedicated to photography’s most important ingredient, and how to use it. Whether you’re working with natural light or your own man-made ones we hope that you will find lots of inspiration and useful tips within these pages. We also reveal our verdicts on the Fujifilm X-T50 and the updated Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 II, and we showcase the winners of our Urban Life round of APOY 2024. Our cover image…

7 days A week in photography An interesting-sounding discussion on ‘Photography as Art’ is being held on 8 August as part of the Royal Portraits: A Century of Photography exhibition at the King’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, in London. The talk will focus on how photography came to be accepted as fine art, and will feature Philippe Garner, auctioneer at Sotheby’s and photography expert, and Alessandro Nasini, senior curator of photographs and the curator of the exhibition. The £35 ticket also includes a private view of the exhibition and a drink. Full details are at bit.ly/photoartshow…

Six Lives: The Stories of Henry VIII’s Queens Until 8 September 2024 National Portrait Gallery, London £21/concessions available Although traditional paintings can give us plenty to think about from a photography perspective, from composition to poses, that’s not why I’ve included this exhibition celebrating the notorious Tudor royals in this week’s issue. Interestingly, alongside paintings by Hans Holbein the Younger, the show also includes contemporary photography by another legend in his field, Hiroshi Sugimoto. These are being shown for the first time in London, and were captured in 1999. Black & white photographs of waxworks made by Madame Tussauds, they’re so naturalistic, you’d be forgiven for thinking they were shot from life. In this way, we get a fascinating exploration of the blurred lines between the real and the imagined.…

Cliff Harvey, Pavenham About Cliff Cliff is retired, and is a member of the RPS and Bedford Camera Club How did you get into photography? When I was in the United States Air Force, stationed at Chicksands RAF base near Bedford from 1963 through 1965, I purchased a camera with the sole purpose of recording the beauty of the English countryside. What do you love about photography? Working with people of all ages – either individually or in a family situation, from youngsters to pensioners – is a delight for me. And when I’m able to capture the essence of my sitter(s), I almost giggle when I’m able to show them the back of the camera and say to them, ‘There you are!’ What was your first camera? A Pentax…

IN ASSOCIATION WITH Round Three Urban Life Urban life comes in every possible colour, sight, sound and texture, and it’s no wonder so many photographers throughout the decades have been compelled to capture it. From the quirky to the classic, almost every human experience can be found on the street. It’s not just about people, though – it’s also about their interaction with their surroundings, or simply the surroundings themselves. Architecture and urban photography will always make a very strong pairing. This month’s top ten images demonstrate that carrying your camera with you at all times pays dividends. 1 Daniel Goody UK 100pts Fujifilm X-T2, 23mm, 1/500sec at f/5.6, ISO 800 ‘People walking past things’ is a well-worn device in street photography, but Daniel’s excellent image takes it to a…

The great thing about photographing bottles and glass objects is the ability to control the lighting, backgrounds, props and exploring fresh ideas. There are so many bottles around us in everyday life, from food, beer, wine and spirits to toiletries and perfumes. Whether you decide to photograph bottles for fun or business it can be challenging as there are so many variables including labels with shiny varnish or metallic foil. Understanding bottle photography forms a solid foundation for honing your skills for other product photography. The best lens A short telephoto lens around 60-80mm on mirrorless cameras and 100mm on full-frame cameras gives reasonable working distance between the camera and bottle whilst reducing distortion and accurately rendering the bottle shape. Some brands pay a lot of money for the design…

Photo Critique I like pictures that have a story to tell, and this one has three. The first concerns my father, Corporal Sid Wade, a somewhat reluctant soldier. In truth, he hated the army. So when, in 1943, he was transported to Sierra Leone in West Africa, an area that rejoiced under the epithet of ‘The White Man’s Grave’, I’m pretty sure that he wasn’t jumping for joy. On his return to England in 1945, he rarely spoke about his time in Africa. But when he died, I discovered a scrapbook he had assembled while there. It contained paintings, drawings, newsletters about people in the regiment, documents and government pamphlets, programmes for amateur dramatics performances the soldiers had organised... and more than 100 photographs. Incongruous Which brings me to the…

7 days A week in photography Capture Forwards – an annual scheme offering young photographers from under-represented backgrounds the chance to gain experience photographing live music through hands-on workshops and mentorship – has been announced for this year. Applicants need to be from Bristol or within 15 miles of Bristol. New for 2024 is a collaboration with Sony UK, who will provide state-of-the-art camera equipment and the chance to gain hands-on experience from Sony ambassadors. The deadline is midday on 5 August. For full details and the application form, visit: https://bit.ly/captureforwards…

SheClicks, the popular website for women photographers, has celebrated the first anniversary of its Women in Photography podcast. The site was set up by former AP technical editor and current AP contributor Angela Nicholson, and to mark the milestone, a special podcast has been released, featuring 15 lessons learned from women photographers. Contributors include such big names as the eminent music photographer, Jill Furmanovsky (also the recent winner of our Lifetime Achievement award), landscape ace Rachael Talibart and Jemella Ukaegbu, founder of the UKBFTOG community. The podcast can be found at bit.ly/sheclickspod and all serious photographers should check it out.…

7 days A week in photography AP picture of the week Stay on your Chosen Path by Lewis Jones Sony A7 IV, Sigma 85mm F1.4, 1/800sec at f/3.2, ISO 200 ‘Bath has some iconic architecture – ideal for photography. However, the quiet side streets can also provide some great photo opportunities. I enjoy capturing minimal compositions with just one subject, so upon seeing this person enter the street I knew I should wait a few seconds, compose and capture the shot.’ Website: www.lewisjones.photo Instagram: @lewisjones.photo @lewisjones.wedding Sunrise Silhouette of St Paul’s Cathedral by Alister Gooding Fujifilm X-T3, Fujinon XF 50mm F2, 1/250sec at f/2.8, ISO 160 ‘Captured at dawn, I caught the reflection of the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral in a glass door. I liked the way the door…

Voigtländer, owned by Japanese company Cosina, has announced two attractive-looking 50mm manual focus lenses for Leica M mount – the 50mm F3.5 APO-LANTHAR VM Lenses Type I and II. These apochromatic lenses have a maximum aperture of F3.5 and are composed of eight lens elements in six groups, four of which are made of anomalous partial dispersion glass to boost optical performance. Both lenses feature metal lens barrels for durability, and come with a clicking mechanism that alerts users to the junction point of the rangefinder linked range. The main differences between the two are in the minimum focusing distance – 0.45m for Type I and 0.35m for Type II – and barrel design. Type I is styled to look like a classic collapsable design. Prices start from £549 for…

7 days A week in photography This striking – and telling – image by Raymond Davies is amongst the finalists in this year’s Emerging Talent Awards organised by the Association of Photographers (AOP). All of the finalists have been practising photography for three years or less, and the winners will be announced live at the AOP’s Photography Awards Showcase event in September. ‘The guiding principle behind our open entry for “Emerging Talent” is to provide an opportunity for a new wave of photographers and image-makers, of any age or background, to be discovered above and beyond the crowded marketplace,’ said Isabelle Doran, CEO of the AOP. See www.aopawards.com…

7 days A week in photography Until 8 September, Saatchi Gallery, London £14 (concessions available) Fashion photography is big business. Even if most of us will never engage with it as photographers ourselves, we live our lives surrounded by it in one form or another. Such is its ubiquity, any exhibition looking at fashion is always bound to attract attention. In this display at the fantastic Saatchi Gallery, we’ve got an array of acclaimed fashion photographers. The show demonstrates how fashion photography has evolved from mere product presentations designed to sell the latest clothing lines to something which far exceeds that, pushing at the boundaries of creativity and reflecting our own lives. Names in the exhibition include those with legendary status, including Nick Knight, Ellen von Unwerth and Peter Lindbergh.…

‘There’s nowhere like London’s West End in terms of atmosphere,’ says Bal Bhatla. ‘As soon as it gets into the later hours, there’s a real sense of freedom. Everyone’s unleashed and ready to have a good time and I get to blend in with them, and I’m not sticking out like a sore thumb as a street photographer. I know it will always be different and there will always be something interesting to capture.’ Bal, better known by the name Mr Whisper, has been shooting his own distinctive style of street photography for over a decade. In his personal work he has specialised in shooting at night, capturing what he calls ‘little vignettes’ from among the thousands of people out on the capital’s streets. In these images, people are often…

LETTER OF THE WEEK Field test thumbs up A recent letter questioned the lack of technical data in your field test of the Fujifilm X-T50. While I find the facts and figures interesting, the narrative of these articles is far more compelling. I am not a pixel counter, nor do the number of frames per second interest me. Last March, when I was unsure which mirrorless camera to purchase, I read Nigel Atherton’s article Cape Crusade, detailing his visit to South Africa with an OM System OM-5. That article convinced me that the OM-5 was the right camera for me and my own style of photography. A couple of months later I took the plunge acquiring the 12-45mm f/4 lens (I was able to use my existing Nissin i40 flashgun,…

IN ASSOCIATION WITH OM System Tough TG-7 ● £499 ● explore.omsystem.com This latest model in a long line of class-leading rugged cameras is waterproof to 15m, shockproof against a 2.1m drop, crushproof and freezeproof. The 25-100mm equivalent lens is paired with a 12MP sensor, with in-body stabilisation to combat shake. Viewing is via a 3in LCD. The TG-7 is also one of the few cameras of its type that can record raw files. Reviewed 2 Apr 2024 Canon PowerShot G1 X Mark III ● £1,140 ● www.canon.co.uk This unique zoom compact offers excellent image quality by employing the same 24.2MP APS-C sensor as several of Canon’s DSLRs and mirrorless cameras, along with a 24-72mm equivalent lens. A central viewfinder, fully articulated touchscreen and comprehensive external controls round off a superb…