Innholdsfortegnelse for 7/15/25 i Amateur Photographer

There is a lot of received wisdom in photography, some helpful, some not so. Many self-appointed pundits will tell you it’s no longer possible to make a living from landscape or press photography, for example, but we’ve found three photographers who show that it can still be done. Get the full story on page 12. We strongly encourage all landscape fans to enter the Landscape round of our International APOY contest too – there’s plenty of inspiration on page 22. Hardware highlights include tests of the ultra-wide Sony FE 16mm F1.8 G and the far-reaching Sigma 16-300mm. Last but not least, don’t forget to sign up for our fascinating Festival of Photography: Documentary on 9 August (page 32). Tickets are selling fast so don’t miss the boat! Geoff Harris, Deputy…

LOOKING for fresh locations for your summer travel photography? Nottingham-based design studio Berlew has named what it claims are the most colourful cities in the world, with Burano in Italy and Chefchaouen in Morocco taking the top two spots. ‘Burano is arguably Europe’s ultimate colour story, with no two houses being painted the same,’ Berlew noted. Other destinations include Cinque Terre in Italy and Guatape in Colombia, along with more predictable choices such as Jodhpur and Havana. See the full list, along with helpful colour palettes, at bit.ly/citiesofcolour…

Steve D @PhotogSmd Lake District next week, Windermere, Ambleside and Keswick. Mark Cann Butterflies and other winged insects; the meadows are alive this time of year. Gill Prince Landscapes, sunrises, sunsets, architecture, travel. Caroline Webb Bears and wolverines in Finland. Jamie Bell Wildflowers and pollinators. LynDavid Hazleton Airshows. Paul Clark The coast of Cornwall. Hugh Maxwell Photography It has to be the beautiful wildflowers that have appeared in the countryside bringing colour to rural scenes. Alan Arnold Bees in the garden. Lycia Moore Critters around our pond. Natalie Wright @natsrambles More dramatic stormy skies! Ferry Widjaja Folk festivals. Oddy Barber Anything wildlife and nature, love it all. Matthew james Baker @cheryllove727 I’m off to the Royal International Air Tattoo in July. So, aviation photography. DAL - Photography. Fast-moving swallows over…

GEOFF HARRIS Deputy Editor Geoff talks to three people who make a living from their photos – and share how you can too HARRY BORDEN Top portrait pro Harry looks back on a shoot with acclaimed stage and screen actor Toby Jones ANDY WESTLAKE Technical Editor Our chief reviewer tests the versatile Sigma 16-300mm – find out why he’s so impressed ANGELA NICHOLSON The expert reviewer and former AP technical editor tests the Sony FE 16mm F1.8 G DAMIEN DEMOLDER Former AP editor Damien reviews the Neewer Q200, a flash that brings the studio outside PETER DENCH Acting Features Ed On page 8, Peter highlights a heartfelt book and Paz Errázuriz’s landmark exhibition…

For freelance photographers, there are inevitably quieter work periods where you can start feeling a bit morose and downbeat. Then suddenly an offer appears in your inbox and everything changes. That’s how it was for me in February 2019, when an email from the New Statesman arrived offering a commission to shoot the actor Toby Jones. I was relieved to get a job like that. Working for the New Statesman was always welcome, because the picture editor was really cool and said I could do whatever I wanted with the pictures afterwards. Photographing Jones would be a great addition to my body of work and within a few days I was on my way to London to meet him. He was then 52 years old. It was long before his…

A reader recently asked if I’d ever written about the Olympus 35RC, and as I don’t usually get requests, I’m happy to oblige. For decades Olympus has been a household name for photographers, both amateur and professional. The firm has a reputation for producing cameras that are noticeably smaller than the prevailing norm for a given camera type. The innovative OM1 SLR is a good example, coming in at around 80% of the weight of competitors such as the Pentax Spotmatic. Probably the best known, and certainly the commonest in terms of numbers made, is the Olympus Trip 35. Over five million were sold, and the product was famously endorsed by David Bailey in a series of TV and print advertisements. While the Trip is a fully automatic point-and-shoot using…

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 Backseat Drivers by Dominic Proctor Sony A6700, Sony FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G, at 600mm, 1/800sec at f/8, ISO 1250 ‘Last year, photos of great crested grebe chicks inspired me to photograph them firsthand. Luckily for me, a reservoir less than a mile from home hosts several mating pairs. I just…

Cameras Cameras come in three types: DSLRs with optical viewfinders, mirrorless models with electronic viewing, and compact cameras with non-interchangeable lenses Handgrip DSLRs traditionally have relatively large handgrips, while many mirrorless models have much smaller grips to keep the size down. However, some can accept accessory grips to improve handling with larger lenses. Lens mount Each camera brand uses its own lens mount, and mirrorless cameras use different lenses to DSLRs even from the same brand. However, mirrorless models can often use DSLR lenses via a mount adapter. Controls Entry-level cameras tend to have simple, easy-to-understand controls, while more expensive models add lots of buttons and dials to give quick access to settings. Viewfinder The biggest difference between DSLRs and mirrorless cameras is that the latter use electronic, rather than…

TAMRON has completed the trinity of its fast G2 zoom lens range with the addition of the 16-30mm F/2.8 Di III VXD G2 zoom for Sony E mount and full-frame Nikon Z mount. This new 16-30mm lens appears to replace the current 17-28mm f/2.8, with Tamron now offering 16-30mm, 28-75mm and 70-180mm zooms to cover a wide focal range. Key features of the new glass include 16 lens elements in 12 groups, along with ‘Broad Band Anti-Reflection G2’ technology and a fluorine coating/moisture-resistant construction to protect it against the elements. The new lens design not only extends the zoom range but also improves the handling, with a smoother zoom and focusing ring, Tamron claims. The minimum focusing distance is 19cm to help with close-up shots, and the lens measures 74.8mm…

NIKON has presented Grays of Westminster – a long-established Nikon dealership that won this year’s Amateur Photographer Platinum Good Service Award – with a silver bowl to mark the retailer’s 40th anniversary. The bowl was given to Grays of Westminster founder Gray Levett by Muneaki Tokunari, President and Chief Operating Officer of the Nikon Corporation, and Charlotte Kemsley, Regional Director Nikon Northern Europe. ‘To receive this magnificent award on our 40th anniversary is a singular and unexpected honour,’ said Gray. ‘Our relationship with Nikon is very special. Since the first day I picked up a Nikon F camera, I knew it was the brand for me.’ This award is the ninth that Grays of Westminster has received from Nikon over the years. A highlight was the presentation of a glass…

Ashley Fountain, Florida Canon EOS R5, 14-35mm at 23mm, 1/320sec at f/9, ISO 100 Ashley’s shot of The Wave, an extraordinary sandstone rock formation found in Arizona, near the border with Utah, came third in last year’s category. The judges said: ‘The intensity of the blue sky sets off the incredible richness and texture of the wind-carved sandstone, while the reflection of the cotton-wool cloud provides balance.’ Ashley says: ‘This trip to The Wave was my second experience of this incredible natural wonder. My first trip, while amazing, was a very dry one. The thing about The Wave is, you can’t really “plan” out visiting when there has been a recent rain, or any other event that might provide interesting photography opportunities. So, when we made it out this trip,…

LETTER OF THE WEEK Minolta A1 is a star too Your Digital Stars included some memorable cameras, and I agree that the Panasonic Lumix G1 was a game-changer. I still have mine and it still works, though it’s somewhat limited by modern standards. But, when compared with its DSLR contemporaries it was clear that mirrorless was the way forward. But surely the Minolta A1 bridge camera, with its sensor-based image stabilisation and effective 28-200mm lens, deserves to be on your Digital Stars list? Sadly, when Minolta joined with Konica the new company lost its way. But when Sony snapped up the tech, just look at what they have built. One part of the digital story that you haven’t mentioned is the incredible advances in post-processing software. In Lightroom 4 the…

This image by award-winning Irish photographer Rich Gilligan is from his recent survey show The First Draft which showed in early 2025 Draíocht Gallery, Dublin, and which is published in a new book of the same name in April 2025. The work is an artistic homecoming for Gilligan, who has worked in the USA for the past decade photographing for major fashion and sports brands and gaining a worldwide reputation for photographing skateboarders, urban landscapes, subcultures and iconic art and music figures. This image, along with many on show in the recent exhibition, brings his internationally influenced work back to the roots of his creative journey in Blanchardstown where he began his photography and where he grew up. Looking at the young lads in the local park in the era…