Innholdsfortegnelse for 10/22/24 i Amateur Photographer

There’s something magical about black & white photography that continues to enthrall successive generations of photographers. There is a purity and a simplicity to mono, an elimination of visual noise and distraction, and a paring down to the bare graphic elements that can be very satisfying both as a creator and a viewer of such images. This issue we showcase a variety of photographers past and present, all working in different genres, but all of whom are masters of the art of b&w. If you haven’t worked in mono for a while I hope that this inspires you to take a fresh look, whether you shoot some new work using an in-camera mono mode or go through your existing colour images and convert them. Connect with us @ EMAIL US…

Fujifilm has also revealed an updated version of its premium standard zoom, the Fujinon XF 16-55mm F2.8 R LM WR II. This new lens is considerably smaller than its predecessor and 37% lighter, at 410g compared to 655g. Measuring 78.3mm in diameter and 95mm long, it uses 72mm filters. Optically the new lens employs 16 elements in 13 groups, including 4 aspherical lenses for cross-frame sharpness, plus 3 extra-low dispersion (ED) and 1 super ED glass element to suppress colour fringing. The aperture diaphragm is formed of 11 curved blades in a bid to deliver attractive out-of-focus areas. In a first for Fujifilm, the aperture ring can be switched to clickless operation for video. As indicated by its WR badge, the lens boasts weather-resistant construction. It also employs a fluorine…

7 daysA week in photography AP picture of the week Silver Shadow II by Fred Ostrovskis-Wilkes Pentax SFXn, SMC Pentax-DA 50mm F1.8, Kodak Gold 200 ‘I came across this striking old Rolls-Royce whilst walking through London and had to stop to take a few shots. There’s something beautiful about the marriage between vintage cars and shooting on film – they bring the best out of one another.’ Instagram: @fredshootsfilm #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 mouse and select from a wide range of frames,…

ANDY WESTLAKE Technical Editor Our chief reviewer takes a first look at Fujifilm’s X-M5 for still images and vlogging BENEDICT BRAIN The photographer and author talks to photographer Bruin Feskens, and also interviews Mostafa Nodeh GEOFF HARRIS Deputy Editor Geoff speaks to top pro Phil Sharp, about how he creates beautifully executed portraits JOHN GILBEY The AP regular writes about using a large-format camera, the Micro Technical Mark VIII, made by MPP JESSICA MILLER Dep. Online Editor Jessica tests a premium half-frame camera, the Alfie Cameras Tych+ PETER DENCH The AP regular talks to family and friends of Michael Ormerod about Michael’s photos of the USA…

In a move that’ll be particularly welcome to X-system users shooting sports, wildlife and action, Fujifilm has also produced a new long telephoto prime. The Fujinon XF 500mm F5.6 R LM OIS WR has a lot in common with the medium-format GF 500mm F5.6 that appeared earlier this year. It offers an impressive 750mm equivalent view, which can be extended even further using the XF 1.4x or 2x teleconverters. Most specs are identical to its GF sibling, with built-in optical stabilisation and a minimum focus distance of 2.75m. The lens is 255.5mm long and 104.5mm in diameter, weighs 1,335g, and accepts 95mm screw-in filters. It’s fully weather-sealed, too. Controls include a focus limiter switch and a focus control button that can be used to recall a preset focus distance. It…

MAGNUM Photos has teamed up with The Photo Society for its latest square print sale, which offers 6x6in prints from Magnum photographers at more affordable prices. The theme, Eden, explores the beauty of Earth’s landscape, ecosystems and people, and the sale runs until 27 October. More than 120 limited-edition prints are available, with featured photographers including Steve McCurry, Alec Soth, Susan Meiselas, Myriam Boulos and Harry Gruyaert. See store. magnumphotos.com…

Phil Sharp Phil Sharp is a London-based portrait photographer who is noted for his expressive, atmospheric, sometimes quirky style. As well as specialising in headshots for actors, Phil has been included in the Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize four times and has worked with brands including Apple, Adidas, SkyTV, Audible and the BBC. See www.philsharp-photo.com and follow him on www.instagram.com/philsharp/ One thing that AI can’t do at the moment is generate the kind of convincing, revealing portraits you get when a subject sits down with a skilled portrait photographer. Phil Sharp is one of the more interesting portrait specialists we’ve come across recently, particularly as he specialises in headshots of actors. Just describing Phil as a ‘headshot photographer’ singularly fails to do him justice, however, as his beautifully executed portraits are…

LETTER OF THE WEEK Camera vs phone I was surprised that your well-argued comparison of camera versus phone made no mention of the differences between viewfinder and screen under ‘Ease of Use’ which, for me, is the most challenging aspect of smartphone photography. In the viewfinder my subject is framed in black, irrespective of ambient lighting. It’s eyepiece-corrected to confirm precise focus and offers accurate visualisation of the finished image. My phone screen is surrounded by distracting context and reflections, it needs specs at normal viewing distance and takes much longer to ensure capturing what I want. Yes, monster pixel counts enable cropping, particularly as few images are printed and yes, screen-only cameras suffer similar limitations. Film directors on set use nifty hand-held scopes which underlines the point I suggest.…

LAUNCHED 1951 PRICE AT LAUNCH about £100 GUIDE PRICE NOW £160 (recent auction buy) The German Curt Bentzin company made its first Primarflex in 1935, and several variants were produced pre-World War II. Post-war, the camera was relaunched in a new, more streamlined design. In its home country it was called the Primarflex II, but for export purposes the name was changed to Primar-Reflex II. The camera is big and heavy: 18x15x10cm and 1.6 kilos. Its modular design consists of a box with a reflex mirror inside and a detachable lens in a broken-thread mount, that’s like a bayonet with a screw thread on the lugs. Pull back a catch on the top, and a viewing hood incorporating a magnifier springs into place for waist-level viewing. Its eye-level sports finder…

Chris Seary, Oxfordshire YouTube: @threeminutepro This picture of my wife was taken using an Olympus OM-2 and a 100mm f/2.8 Zuiko lens. It was lit by daylight coming through a large window from behind me. After many years of doing digital photography, I found an efficient workflow for digitising film and went back to using it. I love the tonal range that Ilford products provide, and I also like to experiment with different black & white films, such as Lomography Potsdam. Currently, I use Nikon and Olympus for my 35mm photography, and a Rolleiflex for shooting medium format. Being able to review analogue cameras on my YouTube channel is like being a kid in a sweetshop. It’s great to receive comments and feedback from photographers that are newly discovering film.…

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 Ricoh GR III ● £949 ● ricohgr.eu/en-gb A favourite of street photographers, the GR III combines a 24MP APS-C sensor and a sharp 28mm equivalent f/2.8 lens in a slim, pocketable body. It offers sensitivities up to ISO 102,400 and 4fps shooting, while in-body image stabilisation helps keeps image sharp. Viewing is via…

Have you noticed how so many TV dramas and documentaries these days involve aerial photography? I guess it has become more commonplace because, where once filmmakers had to hire expensive helicopters to get their cameras high in the sky, now all they need do is hire a drone camera operator. Well... I am assured there’s more to it than that. The person doing the assuring is my daughter, who works for a video production company and whose job partly involves hiring crew for shoots. She tells me there are different types and grades of drone operators and she has to match the right person to the job in hand. There are different types of camera for different kinds of shoot, various sizes and types of drone, and that’s before she…

NOW Gallery, London, Until 17 November 2024, Free The latest edition of NOW’s ‘Human Stories’ exhibitions takes a look at the work of documentary photographer Inès Elsa Dalal. In it, we’re presented with a series of photographic essays documenting the protests of striking workers in the UK. Captured during the first quarter of 2023, at a time when many in the public sphere were striking, including firefighters, train drivers, teachers, junior doctors, nurses, public civil servants and many more groups, the photogrographs are an important record of a time when it looked like we might be heading towards a General Strike. Having spent time among those striking, Dalal’s work shows off the importance of photography to capture these moments in history – and those men and women depicted within are…

You said... Chris Prichard How obsessed I’d get and how much it would cost. I’ve two hobbies, photography and Land Rovers, God help my wallet! Mike Jones @corporal51 That one is never enough! Steve Fairclough @SteveF_Content That 110 wasn’t the most popular format... Faye Louise I spent a long time researching the specs and made my choice. I never considered the weight, and find it very heavy lugging it around and holding it. Hazel Dunlop At 18 years old, I’d wished I had known about the history of photography. Alec Hunter Photographers make photos not cameras. Shaun Hurd That I should’ve also blagged my dad’s old darkroom equipment from him! First camera I bought for myself was a Pentax MX. By that time my dad’s darkroom equipment wasn’t being used,…

APOY 2024 Round Six People Portraiture is always a challenge. It can be easy to become overwhelmed by our own desire for creativity, or distracted by the technicalities of studio flash, or confused by the matter of controlling natural light. There’s potential to forget there’s an individual in front of the camera who needs directing. A successful portrait has an edge – a certain something that, in a split second, reveals some small detail or nuance about the person. It’s a wonderfully fulfilling, creative genre, and the top ten images in this month’s round all succeed on a range of levels. 1 Patrick Reilly Ireland 100pts Fujifilm X-Pro2, 23mm, 1/320sec at f/8, ISO 1600 There’s so much to enjoy about this hugely eye-catching portrait. Needless to say, our attention is…

South African-based photographer Bruin Feskens was initially exposed to the world of image-making and creativity in Amsterdam, Netherlands, where he was born and raised. His mother was a commercial photographer, and from an early age, Feskens was introduced to the dynamic worlds of film and photography by hanging around film crews in studios with fancy lighting and creative folk. It wasn’t long before Feskens was cutting his own teeth working in the TVC studios, at first in the lighting department. At the time, he was sure that his career path would lead towards his love of film and the moving image; however, soon after deciding to split his time between Cape Town, South Africa, and Amsterdam, Feskens came to the realisation that maybe his creative path was with still, black…

Why does black & white photography still exist? There’s no logic to it. Black & white photography conveys less information about the world than colour, and it stems from a time when it was the only thing that was possible, not because it was in any way better. And yet it seems that countless photographers are still obsessed with monochrome imagery, perhaps even more so in the modern digital world. If the latest explosion of interest in analogue photography shows us anything, however, it’s that while digital photography has advanced further than we might ever have imagined, it’s perhaps the things it has left behind that we miss the most. So, down to business. If you shoot digital images but you want to recapture some of the depth, drama and…