Innholdsfortegnelse for 3/4/25 i Amateur Photographer

One thing you soon learn as a journalist covering the photographic industry is never to write anything off unless it really is dead and buried. Many pundits ghoulishly predicted the demise of the Micro Four Thirds format in a market dominated by full-frame cameras, for example, but OM System has just released a very impressive new camera, the OM-3. Don’t miss Andy Westlake’s definitive review on page 24. Other highlights of this packed issue include a look at how the photography in The Face magazine changed popular culture; and a celebration of the work of pioneering South African documentary photographer, Ernest Cole. The ever-versatile David Clapp also reveals how a humble 1960s Mamiya convinced him it’s hip to be square! Connect with us @EMAIL US at ap.ed@kelsey.co.uk with your letters,…

Sigma has also taken the wraps off two new lenses. First is an all-in-one ‘superzoom’ lens for APS-C mirrorless cameras, in the shape of the Sigma 16-300mm F3.5-6.7 DC OS Contemporary. With a massive 18.8x zoom range covering 24-450mm in full-frame terms, it should be able to handle almost any kind of subject – travel, landscape, or wildlife, or simply everyday photography. It’s even capable of half-life-size magnification at 70mm. Despite its zoom range, the lens is perfectly sensible in terms of size. It’s 73.8mm in diameter, 121.4cm long, and weighs 615g. You get built-in optical stabilisation, with 6 stops of shake reduction promised at wideangle, dropping to 4.5 stops at telephoto. Autofocus is said to be fast and quiet thanks to Sigma’s High-Response Linear Actuator (HLA) motor. Other attractive…

‘My name is Geoff and I am an overshooter. It’s making my photography unmanageable.’ While I’d never compare overshooting to a more serious addiction, I feel I need to be honest about my problem – and I suspect I am not alone. ‘But why is it even that big a problem,’ I can hear you say. ‘You no longer need to worry about running out of film and cheap, large-capacity memory cards are readily available.’ True, but overshooting has a knock-on effect. The problem is that overshooting then turns culling and editing my pictures from a shoot into a real chore. So I put it off, and the pile of unedited images sitting on various memory cards or ‘clouds’ soon mounts up. Being too trigger-happy can also cause problems if…

Featuring more than 200 prints by over 80 photographers, it’s clear that some of the world’s best fashion artists contributed to The Face, making it one of the most influential publications of the eighties, nineties and noughties. Although a British publication, its influence was felt worldwide. That too was reflected by the famous faces both behind and in front of the lens that appeared on its pages over the years. Some big names that you might recognise include – but are not limited to – Miles Aldridge, Brian Aris, Janette Beckman, Elaine Constantine, Anton Corbijn, Kevin Cummins, Chalkie Davies, Corinne Day, Jill Furmanovsky, Jean Paul Gaultier, Nick Knight, David LaChapelle, Jeurgen Teller, Mario Testino, Ellen von Unwerth and Albert Watson. There are many more, which all feature in the show.…

● £79.99 ● hahnel.ie The Hahnel ProCube3 is a dual charger for camera batteries that works from any USB-C power supply. It’s an upgrade to the ProCube2, which used proprietary mains and car adapters. Switching to USB-C makes it faster and means you can now charge your batteries from a powerbank. There are plenty of cheaper USB-C dual chargers on the market. But the ProCube 3 feels far more robust than most, thanks to its chunky metal casing. It also employs interchangeable battery plates, so the same base unit can be used for almost any camera. To this end, the ProCube3 comes in kits that have all the plates required for each camera brand. I tested the Sony version, which works with BX1, FW50 and FZ100 batteries, covering everything from…

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, window mounts and glazing options. Each frame comes with a three-year guarantee and FREE P&P within the UK. Visit thispicture.co.uk Through the Keyhole by John Wakeling Nikon Z5, Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 S, 0.6sec at f/11, ISO 100, 24mm ‘Wading out into the Thames Estuary for sunrise, looking for interesting boats and chains for leading lines. We spent most of our time at “Boy Samual” and we decided to stick…

Considering how universally pervasive camera-made imagery is now, it is astounding that it is only in the past 40 years that photography has become a university undergraduate degree subject; even more remarkably, the history of photography is only studied at MA level in three British universities. This may explain why vital information around the role of women at the inception of the medium 186 years ago is only lately being uncovered. Most photographers know about the cyanotypes made by Anna Atkins (1799-1871), but not many have heard of Constance Mundy (1811-1880). She married photography’s originator, William Henry Fox Talbot, in 1832 and was the first woman to use his process. Importantly, many experts think she made a more significant contribution than has been acknowledged. I believe she should have equal…

ANDY WESTLAKE Technical Editor Andy tests the exciting OM System OM-3, and gets a hands-on first look of the uniquely designed Sigma BF AMY DAVIES Features Editor Amy writes about a major exhibition that explores the impact of the iconic magazine, The Face DAVID CLAPP The top landscape and travel photographer shares his medium format analogue journey and love affair with Mamiya PETER DENCH The AP regular writes about a documentary highlighting the crucial work of South African photographer Ernest Cole JESSICA MILLER Dep. Online Editor Our social media manager selects some more excellent reader images – see pages 44-46…

WITH Adobe Photoshop recently celebrating its 35th anniversary, the company has released a brand-new Photoshop app for iPhone – with an Android version coming soon. Both the newly designed app and web version include some of Photoshop’s core imaging and design tools, such as layering and masking. There are also tools for precise selections, targeted adjustments, advanced colour corrections, and object removal with the Spot Healing Brush; plus the ability to remove, recolour or replace parts of an image with the Tap Select tool. AI-powered Generative Fill and Generative Expand are included, too, and both app and web versions integrate with the Adobe Stock library, should you need to import extra imagery. ‘The introduction of Photoshop’s new mobile app marks the first time that image editing and design features and…

THE PHOTO North photography festival is returning to Leeds this year, taking place from 11-13 April. A wide variety of work will be exhibited by a diverse range of photographers, including Paul Hill and Maria Falconer, Michael Ormerod and John Bulmer. There is also a Live Lounge with talks and screenings, a market area with book and print stalls, and special events for students. For details, see www.photonorthfestival.co.uk…

7 March – 15 June. The Photographers’ Gallery, London. On the door, £10/£7 concessions (members go free), Advance online booking, £8.50/£6 concessions Marking a return to The Photographers’ Gallery after more than 40 years, the work of the visual storyteller Peter Mitchell is often regarded as some of the UK’s most important early colour work. First photographing in the 1970s and 1980s, Mitchell’s observations of social history in Leeds show off his longstanding, warm and poetic connection with the city. It’s clear from looking through his extensive back catalogue that he has a huge amount of affection – told in a sometimes offbeat and quirky way – for Leeds. We get to see the changing face of a city over many years, a place that has gone through a huge…

When was the club founded? Winchester Photographic Society (WPS) is one of the South’s most popular and friendly photographic societies, and one of the oldest, having been established in 1923 (thus 2023 was our Centenary Year). We have a wide and varied membership, from absolute beginners to the experienced and advanced. It all began when Mr Francis Blake Heathcote Wride, a local chemist with a shop in Jewry Street, Winchester, wrote to the Hampshire Chronicle to suggest forming a photographic society in Winchester. The response was instant. A general meeting was arranged and advertised for Saturday 17 November 1923 when ‘all photographic workers box camera user upwards’, were invited. Over 40 requests for membership were received before the initial meeting. Mr. Heathcote Wride was appointed as the Hon.Secretary and a…

THE SONY World Photography Awards has revealed the 30 finalists and shortlisted photographers in its 2025 Professional competition, chosen from over 419,000 images from over 200 countries. Ten category winners will be chosen from the 30 finalists and announced at a ceremony in London on 16 April. The winner of the Photographer of the Year title is chosen from the category winners and announced on the same night, with the recipient getting a $25,000 cash prize and a range of Sony digital imaging equipment. Several UK photographers made the finalist list, including Owen Davies (Architecture and Design), Julio Etchart & Holly Birtle (Creative), Tom Franks (Portraiture) and Laura Pannack (Perspectives). For more details, visit bit.ly/sonywpapro…

CANON has announced the PowerShot V1 compact, aimed at vloggers and content creators – but it’s currently available only in Asia. The new camera comes with a fixed 16-50mm equivalent F2.8-4.5 zoom lens, with built-in 3EV ND filter, and a new 22MP Type 1.4 CMOS sensor. (Type 1.4 sensors are similar to Micro Four Thirds chips, but have a wider 3:2 aspect ratio.) Specific video features include 4K video recording at up to 60p (from a 1.4x crop, 1:1 pixel capture), a built-in fan and a choice of ‘moods’ for movie shooting.…

The Synthetic Eye: Photography Transformed in the Age of AI by Fred Ritchen £20, Thames & Hudson, softback, 240 pages, ISBN: 9780500297391 There’s perhaps no bigger – or more talked-about – subject right now than photography’s interactions with AI. In this fascinating book, the writer, educator and critic, Fred Ritchin, goes on a vital exploration of the ethics and potentials of artificial intelligence and what it means for the future of photography. Currently, Ritchin is the Dean Emeritus of the International Center of Photography (ICP) School, and has previously worked at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. He’s also been a picture editor at The New York Times and has been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize – safe to say this is someone who knows their stuff. There’s a…

LETTER OF THE WEEK Zip it Your recent special issue, about saving money and simplifying your equipment, has galvanised me to try to shoot with my ‘reduced kit’ for a year. I’ve managed to squeeze together a range of E-mount lenses into a zippable container, bought from a charity shop, that is basically the size of an A4 piece of paper, and deep enough to hold the lenses. So my kit is as follows: ● Sony 11mm F1.8 (this is the luxury item)● Sony 20mm F2.8 plus 16mm adapter● Viltrox 28mm F4.5● 7Artisans 35mm F5.6● TTArtisan 50mm F2● Sony A5100 That’s an APS-C range of 16.5mm up to 75mm. Yes, I could have just got a zoom lens, but portability, including pocket-ability, was important. Plus each lens has its own…

Cameras Cameras come in three types: DSLRs with optical viewfinders, mirrorless models with electronic viewing, and compact cameras with non-interchangeable lenses ALMOST all serious photographers prefer to use cameras with interchangeable lenses, as this gives the greatest degree of creative flexibility. At one time, this meant digital single-lens-reflex (DSLR) cameras, but these have now been joined by mirrorless cameras that use electronic viewfinders. The latest models are true alternatives to DSLRs, offering the same image quality and creative options. Camera manufacturers offer a range of options, from simple, relatively inexpensive beginner-friendly designs, to sophisticated professional models. In the middle of the range you’ll find enthusiast cameras with more-advanced control layouts. Meanwhile the term ‘compact’ refers to cameras with built-in lenses, regardless of their size. Many offer excellent image quality and…