Innholdsfortegnelse for 7/8/25 i Amateur Photographer

What is ‘British photography’? Is it about the colour of the photographer’s passport, or more about their sharp insight into British life and culture? How do they regard us across the Channel? Peter Dench went to find out when he, along with Martin Parr, Don McCullin and others, were invited to participate in an exhibition in France dedicated in part to British photography. Peter’s report is a fascinating and entertaining read. Also this week we head across the pond to visit the cowboys of the American West; take a look at DxO PureRAW; and test the confusingly named Panasonic Lumix S1IIE. Don’t forget to get your tickets for our upcoming live event dedicated to award-winning documentary photography. Details on page 38. Our cover photo was taken by Peter Dench and…

As a phone reviewer, I’ve tested both budget phones and more high-end phones, from brands like Motorola, Honor, and Vivo. Most have had flat screens. But one in particular sticks out for me: the Motorola Edge 50 Pro. The photos and videos I took with it were crisp, just the right amount of vibrant and beautiful. That is, the photos and videos I managed to take. The Motorola Edge 50 Pro, 40 Neo, as well as the newer Edge 60 Pro have a curved screen. They look amazing and give these phones a fancier look than the budget flat screen phones. Problem is, they aren’t very practical. I took the Edge 50 Pro and another phone to the studio and quickly realised that the 50 Pro was not very good…

£45, GOST, hardcover, 192 pages: ISBN 978-1-915423-82-5 Please note, each book has a tipped in image on the back cover – of which there are 35 variations. Copies will be allocated at random Only in Australia could you find a museum in an abandoned opal mine – or one devoted to apples, housed in a former apple warehouse. Photographer Simone Rosenbauer criss-crossed every single state and territory in search of the country’s quirkiest custodians of memory, and Small Museum is the result: a visual love letter to the underfunded, over-dedicated institutions where history is preserved with pride and a dash of lunacy. It’s a book that could only come from a place where spiders can kill you and a meat pie counts as a balanced meal. But Small Museum is…

● £119 ● www.colborlight.com Colbor’s CineFlare CF5 is a handheld device that gives plenty of control over the quality of the fog, smoke or mist it produces. While it can fill a room with a thick haze when needed, its size and accessories also lend themselves to the exact placement of precise little clouds on the still-life table. With a neat rotatable head, it can act as a smoke stick or be angled like a pistol. Inside, we have a 12ml canister that we fill with the supplied plant-based food-grade glycerine to give 25 density choices. These can mimic a hazy mist, a thick fog, a smoky atmosphere or dry ice that sits low on the table. We can use the device with a range of nozzles, a flexible tube…

LETTER OF THE WEEK Move on from megapixels Dan Mold (Viewpoint, 1 July) is right to suggest we move on from pixel count as a yardstick to compare cameras. High megapixel counts are not without their downside (noise, file size, speed) and many photographers prefer faster burst speeds to images taken at resolutions that will probably never be seen. A 50MP image has to be printed to A0 (120x80cm) to be seen at full resolution, and even a flagship monitor like the Apple Pro XDR can only just display a 20.4MP image from my OM System OM-1 camera. If your pictures aren’t sharp, it’s likely down to the old culprits: focusing errors, camera shake or subject movement. Above 20MP, camera resolution is way down the list. Dr Michael J Jordan…

PETER DENCH Acting Features Ed Peter meets his photographic heroes at Europe’s largest open-air photo event ROD LAWTON Editing expert Rod Lawton shares some essential enhancements when working with raw files ANDY WESTLAKE Technical Editor Our chief reviewer conducts an in-depth test of the Panasonic Lumix S1IIE camera JOSHUA WALLER Online Editor Expert reviewer Joshua assesses the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE smartphone DAMIEN DEMOLDER Former AP editor Damien tests the low-cost Colbor CineFlare CF5 smoke machine JESSICA MILLER Dep Online Editor Jessica quizzes readers on page 40 and also picks out great reader shots on page 42…

FOR those whose means don’t stretch to special edition cameras, Leica has published a book to mark the Leica I’s anniversary. Across 320 pages, it ‘chronicles personal moments, iconic photographs, groundbreaking technical achievements and behind-the-scenes perspectives that weave together a century of Leica’s history’. It’s due to be available from 14 July from Leica stores, the Leica Online Store, and the LFI Online Store, for £50.…

The 2025 edition of Festival Photo in the bucolic village of La Gacilly is gloriously titled SO BRITISH! – a sideways celebration of British photography, featuring some of the genre’s most iconic names. Among them: Tony Ray-Jones, Terry O’Neill, Martin Parr, Don McCullin, and, somehow, me. Established in 2004, the La Gacilly Photo Festival is Europe’s largest open-air photography event. From 1 June to 5 October, the festival transforms the village’s streets, gardens, and alleys into expansive galleries showcasing large-format photographs. I have 39 of my best of British images in a section adjacent to Ray-Jones and Parr. In addition to the SO BRITISH element there’s a focus on environmental and social themes, and it features works from both renowned and emerging photographers worldwide. As a photographer and long-time admirer…

Back in February, Panasonic launched the S1RII – a pro-spec full-frame mirrorless camera with a 44MP sensor. Less than three months later, it followed up with not just one, but two new 24MP models that share the same body design. The difference between them is that the S1II has a ‘partially stacked’ sensor that enables high-speed shooting, while the S1IIE (E for ‘essentials’) uses a more conventional BSI-CMOS sensor. At £2,299 body-only, the S1IIE is about 80% of the S1II’s price. However, the differences between the two aren’t necessarily huge. For stills, the S1II can shoot at an impressive 70 frames per second using its electronic shutter, whereas the S1IIE can ‘only’ manage 30fps. For video, the S1II again offers faster frame rates at many resolutions, along with higher specified…

One of the problems with explaining scientific concepts is that scientists will often play fast and loose with the definition of words. At the start of a scientific paper, there will often be found a precise definition of the usage of particular words. What the lay reader often does not realise is that the scope of these definitions is solely the paper in question. I came across an example of the errors such a mistake can cause in a YouTube video, in which the presenter declared that the only operation that happened in raw processing was demosaicing, being under the mistaken impression that the terms ‘red’, ‘green’ and ‘blue’ had the same meaning when applied to camera colour filters, human vision, and the channels in an output colour space. In…

Jeff Spitzer@JeffSpitzer2025 Folders: Place/Event, with Month & Year. We’re pretty simple folk out here in Oklahoma. Lycia Moore iMac photo libraries – family, general photos, then voluntary events. In year then subject order. Glyn Harri Lightroom, in year, month, day, then place. Similar on iCloud. iPhotos are in date order anyway but have additional albums for type or place. Mhairi Chambers Named folders-main subject, e.g. Sports,Wildlife etc then subfolders for each sport...football, rugby, basketball etc and a separate one for motorsports.Usually named and dated in a way that I can find things easily! RCTPhoto marathon We use SmugMug.com. T Lloyd Gallman@PhotogLloyd Organise??? Duncan van der Velden My organisation lies in Explorer on my NAS. Folders with years, subfolders with months. Then the photo folders, named by the date reversed and…

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 a fixed 3in…

If you can remember the 1960s, you weren’t really there. It’s an old joke that referred to the way illegal substances popular at that time could lead to confusion over what was real and what was not. Well, I was 14 in 1960, too young to partake of such substances, but old enough to understand I was on the cusp of the best ever decade in which to come of age. The 1960s were a time when young people developed their own voice, no longer taking the lead from parents when it came to fashions, music and general way of life. It was the age of The Beatles, miniskirts, mods and rockers, Mini Coopers, Blow-Up, winning the World Cup, the moon landing, James Bond, hippies, flower power, Christine Keeler, Alf…

ROUNDING off this week’s celebration of all things Leica is news of the second-most expensive camera ever sold. At the 46th Leitz Photographica Auction in Wetzlar, a prototype ‘0-series’ Leica with serial number 112 sold for €7,200,000, which equates to about £6,200,000. According to the firm’s records, this camera was originally delivered to its inventor, Oskar Barnack. The overall record remains with Barnack’s personal 0-series camera, No. 105, which sold for €14,400,000 in 2022.…

£50 (€60), L’Artiere Edizioni, hardcover, 72 pages: ISBN: 979-12-80978-14-1 Photographer Scott Offen’s Grace is a quiet stunner. Set against a majestic woodland backdrop, this book is less about landscape and more about the emotional terrain between artist and subject – who, in this case, happens to be his wife. Grace is no passive muse. She’s a partner in crime, co-conspirator, and creative catalyst. Together, Scott and Grace craft a series of photographs that are at once mythical and deeply personal. One moment, she’s a sylvan goddess who’s lost in a fairytale forest; the next, a wisp of a presence marked only by a hat on a hook or a shadow on a wall. It’s part Cindy Sherman, part Scandinavian folklore, with a sprinkle of dandelion fluff for good measure. Shot…

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 Pink Echoes on the Atacama by Grant Sloane Fujifilm X-T4, XF 55-200mm, 1/2700sec at f/6.4, ISO 320, 77.9mm ‘Andean flamingos slice the crystalline dawn above Laguna Chaxa, their rose wings mirrored in the salt-flat glass. Shallow mineral pools shimmer. At 2,400m, the Atacama’s icy volcanoes guard this hush of color;…