Innholdsfortegnelse for 6/10/25 i Amateur Photographer

In a world where most cameras look kind of similar, it’s refreshing to see Sigma continuing to plough its own furrow. The firm’s outside-the-box thinking hasn’t always come off for them but in the new BF they have made a gorgeous piece of art, hewn from a single slab of aluminium. But how does it fare as a camera? Read Andy Westlake’s review on page 22. Also this week John Wade looks back at the zenith of British camera manufacturing, where the word ‘gorgeous’ is not always the one that springs to mind. And Paul Hill begins his new series on photography legends with Paul Strand. To see and hear some of today’s documentary photography legends, don’t miss our next Festival of Photography event on 9 August. See page 38…

THE ABBEY Road Music Photography Awards (MPA), a free competition run by the world-famous recording studio, is now open for submissions until 28 July. Categories include a new Portrait and Festival option, along with Music Moment of the Year, Emerging Photographer of the Year, Making Music, Underground Scenes, Live Music and Club Culture (the only category to accept images taken before 2024). See abbeyroadmusicphotographyawards.com…

Shosa – Meditation in Japanese Handwork by Ringo Gomez-Jorge £35, Luster Publishing, hardcover, 240 pages, ISBN: 9789460583803 The beautiful images in this book show off the crafts, methods and surroundings of 12 Japanese makers from different regions across the country. There’s a bamboo weaver, a tatami mats maker, a ceramicist, a cook who specialises in puddings, and more besides. Something they all share is the Japanese concept of ‘Shosa’. Although hard to precisely translate, it reflects the beauty of repetition of action and movements, striving for perfection and efficiency in execution. Many Japanese rituals contain it – such as tea ceremonies – but you can also see it in abundance in the skilful action of the country’s craftspeople. The photographer Rob Walbers, along with the writer Ringo Gomez-Jorge, visited the…

When was the club founded? Founded in 1865 by Dr Edward Thomas Wilson (father of Dr Edward Adrian Wilson, the Antarctic explorer), we are one of the oldest camera clubs in the country. Now in 2025, some 160 years later, the club continues to go from strength to strength. What does your club offer to new members? We are a fun, friendly and supportive photography club, welcoming members of all ages and abilities. Our main programme runs from September to May where we offer a wide range of different activities including Thursday Meetings with guest speakers and competitions, summer activities including social events, trips and photo walks, special monthly ‘First Tuesday’ meetings, training sessions, practical evenings, critique groups, annual exhibitions, special interest groups, and support and guidance for those wishing…

ANDY WESTLAKE Technical Editor Our chief reviewer conducts an in-depth test of the Sigma BF full-frame mirrorless camera PETER DENCH Acting Features Ed Peter highlights winners from The World Food Photography Awards 2025 PAUL HILL In his series about his book Dialogue with Photography, Paul Hill meets US photographer Paul Strand JOHN WADE In Film Stars, AP’s expert on camera history writes about the British camera industry in the 1950s AMY DAVIES Features Editor Amy highlights a fantastic free exhibition – Picture Post: A Twentieth Century Icon JESSICA MILLER Dep. Online Editor Jessica quizzes readers on page 40 and also picks the best reader shots on page 42…

I’ve been lucky enough to spend quality time with both the Sigma BF and Fujifilm X half at some recent events, and while I don’t think either will transform the camera market overnight, both are cool devices that reflect some interesting trends. While Fujifilm and Sigma are well established as conventional camera and lens makers, they’ve realised that not everyone is seeking a boring-looking black box (or phone) that does all the thinking for you. Now, as someone who’s got more into bird photography lately, I really welcome the latest advances in autofocus, subject detection, low-light performance and so on. But as these Sigma and Fujifilm releases show, there is also a market for more quirky and beautifully designed ‘experience’ cameras – in other words, cameras that return photographers to…

● From £52.95; £27.95 for shoulder pad● bowmanleather.co.uk About a year ago, I reviewed the Bowman Peak Duo – a unique slim leather shoulder strap with an integrated wrist loop. Now the firm has expanded on the idea with the Summit: in essence, an adjustable-length version of the same strap. There’s also a new optional shoulder pad for carrying heavier cameras more comfortably. The Bowman Summit Adjustable Duo Camera Strap, to give it its full name, is a high-quality product hand-crafted from nice, thick leather. Length adjustment is via a single metal buckle, with a small leather loop to secure the free end of the strap. Changing the length is fairly quick and easy, much like adjusting a belt. At its shortest, the strap works well for me when used…

You said... Susan Burgess Kenya to see the big cats, and India to see tigers. Mark Gawthorne Fukushima exclusion zone and Hashima Island. Marcus Musashi @MarcusMusashi High on my to-go list: Taj Mahal, Varanasi, Uluru, Pyramids of Giza, The Edge NYC, The Sphere Las Vegas, Easter Island, and Bora Bora. Oddy Barber Alaska, to photograph the bears catching the salmon, this is top of my bucket list to do. Duncan van der Velden Next trip is Norway, which has been on my bucket list for some time. But my all-time favourite is still and always will be the Ardennes. Chris Enion Now, that’s a great question. Reno for the air races, also the Norwegian fjords to photograph the aurora borealis. Matt Scott I’d probably go back to New Zealand where…

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…

THE WORLD Press Photo exhibition is taking place at the MPB Gallery in Here East, London, until 25 August, and you can get 15% off ticket prices using the code AP15. A selection of finalists and winning images are on display, including Samar Abu Elouf’s image for The New York Times, ‘Mahmoud Ajjour, Aged Nine’ – which won the 2025 World Press Photo of the Year. Samar also received the AP Photojournalism award at this year’s AP Awards. You can book exhibition tickets at bit.ly/wppdiscount…

The topic for this month’s article is Look-Up Tables (LUTs) and camera colour modes or ‘picture styles’. We’ll start with a bit of theory and then some history, which together help explain how these things came to be. The theory entails an understanding of what the output of the photographic process is. Many commentaries are based on the assumption that it is light, which it is not. It is a prescription of how a human viewer should see the scene. Sunglasses reduce the amount of light going into your eyes, but you will still see a full range of tonalities from white to black. What you perceive is the result of complicated processing by the visual cortex of your brain, rather than a direct physical phenomenon. The output file (e.g.…

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 The Turbine Hall, Tate Modern, 2025 by Declan Andrews Nikon F, Fomapan Action 400 ‘I’d just come out of the Josef Koudelka exhibition and found myself with a post-inspiration itch overlooking the Turbine Hall. It felt like a great vantage point, so I started photographing straight away and shot about…

This image, from a new photo project by Yvette Monahan, was commissioned as part of the UK-wide project linking creativity and food production, We Feed The UK. Monahan, a photographer working and living in Ireland, has chronicled the remarkable story of Mallon Farm in County Tyrone, where a model of growing sustainable and diverse chemical-free flax is being undertaken by farmers Helen Keys and Charlie Mallon. In a country where linen heritage is immensely strong, their endeavour respects and pays homage to that heritage and also takes on the role of rejuvenating the soil, waterways and wildlife as part of a shared endeavour to strengthen resilience in the Northern Irish food and farming system. In her text accompanying the exhibition, which showed in Belfast Exposed Gallery until mid-March, Monahan said:…