Innholdsfortegnelse for 8/26/25 i Amateur Photographer

Much of this issue is dedicated to macro photography, and with good reason. It’s a perennially popular genre that is endlessly fascinating and can be enjoyed all year round, with an inexhaustible range of subjects, from bugs to bolts. Award-winning macro photographer David Joseph shares his insights on page 72, and we’ve also got lots of gear advice, including the best lenses and phones for macro magic. Don’t miss the winners of the macro round of our International APOY competition too. Beyond closeups, we also reveal the winners of the RPS’s print exhibition and look back on 40 years of protest photography. Given what’s kicking off at home and abroad at the moment, this is very timely… Our cover shot was taken by award-winning macro photographer David Joseph (visit Instagram…

Just one look at the camera accessories market and you’d think we have every shape and size of camera bag available to suit every occasion. Since I began testing photography equipment for magazines professionally back in 2012 I’ve used pretty much every style and brand you could imagine including Manfrotto, Lowepro, Vanguard, Benro, Tenba, Peak Design, Billingham and Think Tank to name a few. Not only does my amassed cornucopia of shoulder bags, backpacks, slings, holsters, hard cases and even roller bags act as a secure home in which I can organise and protect my best camera kit when it’s not in use, they’re each suitable for different shooting scenarios and speaking from experience – you need to have the right tool for the job. Not painfully hip I love…

Let’s be clear: America’s Cup. Marc Newson Art Edition is not a book, it’s a broadside. A glorified trophy disguised as a publication. Yours for £12,500 – that’s a year’s rent, a used van, or about 3,000 issues of AP. Full disclosure – I didn’t receive a press review copy. Published by TASCHEN, a house not unfamiliar with artistic audacity, the 7.65kg book comes sheathed in cotton sailcloth, fastened by a custom Louis Vuitton clasp, and hoisted onto a 9.8kg carbon-fibre stand designed by Newson that resembles the keel of a sailboat. Limited to 175 signed copies, it’s less coffee-table book and more ode to privilege with a press release – ideal for displaying somewhere between the wine cellar and helipad. Inside, though, it charts a genuinely compelling visual history…

Chris Saywood Tried DX mirrorless for a couple of years, but went back to FX DSLR because I missed the ‘character’ of the results. Pony Moore DSLR and compact. Never with a phone, that’s not photography in my eyes. Chris Landon Photography @PhotosLandon After eight years, when I first started, still using my Nikon D3500. (I have been fortunate to have several of my photos nationally published.) Would maybe like to upgrade but the costs are prohibitive, i.e. I’d like a new D850 with new lenses. Jo Everton Mirrorless Micro Four Thirds. Though my bridge camera returns better results. Cara Riley Until recently, a DSLT (Sony A77 Mk I) And if I could get a new battery for her, I still would be. But they stopped making them for her…

While you don’t absolutely need a dedicated lens for macro photography, there’s no doubt that they are the best solution. They let you get right up-close to your subject, while producing super-sharp images. Most mirrorless systems now have a good choice of macro lenses to choose from, and you’ll find our top recommendations over the next few pages. On the other hand, many macro lenses for DSLRs have disappeared from the market, so we’ve rooted out the best of those you can still buy new. Of course, plenty are available second-hand, too. Macro lenses for mirrorless Canon RF 85mm F2 Macro IS STM ● £669 ● canon.co.uk Canon EOS R system owners have an unusually large number of lenses labelled ‘Macro’ to choose from, with prices ranging from the £529…

In my previous article I talked about the creation of the CIE XYZ colour space, and its position as one of the reference points for all other colour spaces. This article is all about the other one, the CIE Lab colour space, which was released in 1976, 35 years after XYZ. As we learned, XYZ was based on the assumption that human colour perception could be described using the mathematics of linear geometry. At that time little was known about the physiology of the human visual cortex, or indeed the working of neurons, the building blocks of the brain. In that regard it’s astounding that XYZ works as well as it does. But by 1976 much more research had been done, and the CIELAB space took advantage of its results…

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…

TRACY CALDER CUPOTY co-founder Tracy talks to David Joseph; and also shares 27 prize-winners’ macro kit picks ANDY WESTLAKE Technical Editor In our round-up, we reveal the best macro lenses that are currently available new AILSA MCWHINNIE Our APOY project manager reveals the winners from Round 3: Close-ups and Details DAVID CLARK AP regular David finds out about the stunning award winners in the RPS IPE 166th Print Exhibition PETER DENCH Acting Features Ed Peter interviews David Hoffman about his new book documenting 50 years of protest JESSICA MILLER Dep Online Editor Manager of our social media channels, Jessica selects your best shots on page 16…

KODAK has strongly denied it’s about to cease operations or go bankrupt. The robust response came after Kodak issued a statement to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in mid-August, where it stated its current financial situation ‘raise substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.’ Kodak’s share price nose-dived but has since recovered. The company claimed media reports that it is going to the wall ‘are inaccurate and reflect a fundamental misunderstanding of a recent technical disclosure the Company made to the SEC in its recently filed second quarter earnings report.’…

26 August 1989 With this year’s EISA award-winning cameras and lenses just announced on our website, and appearing in the 9 September issue, it seems timely to revisit the early days of these awards (which began in 1982) when it was just called ‘European Camera of the Year’. Judged by 14 photo magazine editors, including AP’s Keith Wilson, the 1989 winner was the Nikon F4, an absolute beast of a pro camera which was my weapon of choice for over ten years. At the time it cost £1,210, which is equivalent to £4,388 in today’s money. By contrast this year’s winner (sorry, no spoilers!) costs quite a bit more. Who now remembers the other winners: the Konica A4 compact, or the Panasonic NV-MS 50 camcorder? Or the Canon Xapshot, which…

IN ASSOCIATION WITH... Round Three Close-ups and Details The beauty of macro and close-up photography is its ability to reveal detail to us that would otherwise be hidden, and give us an insight into nature that wouldn’t be possible either with the naked eye or, often, without a macro lens of some sort. It’s a highly contemplative practice, too, requiring patience and time as well as knowledge of the subject and its environment. Of course, macro doesn’t only have to be close-ups of insects on a leaf – it can be a constructed still-life or an inanimate abstract, too. However tiny the subject, it has a story to tell, and we are always full of admiration for the entrants to this category who are skilled in revealing those tales to us.…

When software engineer and photographer Chris Fregly set off on a nomadic journey across North America in his self-converted camper van, he captured more than just landscapes – he collected memories. After two years of van life and countless images, he decided to create Two Years in a Van, a beautifully produced photo book that charts his adventures. Here, Chris shares how he brought the project to life using Bob Books, what he learned along the way, and why the final result means so much. Tell us about the photography project that features in your new book Two Years in a Van is a compilation of photos and ramblings from two years of travelling around North America in my self-converted camper van. After completing my trip, I wanted to create…

With the current parliamentary debates, and acres of news coverage about child welfare benefits, I was attracted to a new book Poverty for Sale (MuseumsEtc) on the documentary work of Edith Tudor Hart (1908-1973), edited by Shirley Read. I met Edith’s brother, Wolfgang Suschitzky, the renowned photographer and film cameraman, in the 1970s who showed me some photographs, mostly of children, by Edith. I do not think I had ever heard of her, and I must admit that I was more determined to find out about his role as director of photography on the film Get Carter (1971) than his sister’s images. Children’s health Coincidentally, I recently came across Moving and Growing (1952), a government publication on primary school education wonderfully illustrated by Tudor Hart. In the 1950s, Britain was…

THE FINALISTS of the Ocean Photographer of the Year 2025 competition have been revealed, with the winners to be announced in September. Photographers were invited to submit images in a variety of categories including wildlife, fine-art and conservation, celebrating the ocean’s beauty and the urgent need to protect it. This year’s shortlist includes such oceanic curiosities as a marine iguana ‘mid-sneeze,’ a troupe of skeleton shrimps that colonised a gorgonian coral, and a spaceship-like jellyfish that appears to be departing the atmosphere (see image above). Visit bit.ly/oceanshortlist…

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 Yellow Simplicity by Diane Langford Olympus OM-1, 30mm macro lens, 10mm extension tube, 1/125sec at f/2.8, ISO 250 ‘I have always been interested in the small details of images, so flowers, especially their petals, provide me with the perfect subject to focus on.’ Instagram: @cameracaptrephotography Finding Lunch by Helen Cherry…

LETTER OF THE WEEK Elizabeth and Mary Imagine my surprise to find on the cover of the 5 August issue that the Cunard Photographic Archive was being featured, for it was the first AP through my door since my return home from a cruise on the Queen Mary 2! I had never thought of cruising before, but my mother had sailed from Southampton to New York on the Queen Mary in 1952 aged 20 and did not return to Scotland for 50 years. My trip was an homage and I sprinkled her ashes from the rear deck just outside Southampton docks. I shot a roll of b&w film in an old Leica while on my week’s cruise, again as something of an homage to her. But, most amazingly, you managed…

Tracy Calder Tracy Calder is a photographer, writer and former magazine editor. In 2018 she co-founded Close-up Photographer of the Year (CUPOTY) – a competition celebrating close-up, macro and micro photography. To find out more visit www.tracycalder.com and www.cupoty.com. OM System OM-1 with Olympus 60mm macro lens ‘I like to team my OM System OM-1 with a 60mm macro lens. This camera has incredible in-body image stabilisation and excellent in-built focus stacking. The lens is super-sharp and works brilliantly for close-up pictures.’ Tip: Go to your favourite butterfly location in the rain. Chances are you’ll have the place to yourself, and you might find a roosting butterfly, providing a great opportunity for a focus stack. Andrew Fusek Peters, Insta: @andrewfusekpeters, www.fusekphotos.com Apple iPhone 15 Pro ‘My favourite go-to piece of…