Innholdsfortegnelse for 12/2/25 i Amateur Photographer

I think most of us who use Instagram would agree that the app has gone rapidly downhill in recent years, with a huge increase in spammy videos, and that’s before you even factor in the evil ways of parent company Meta. Well, photographer Alan Schaller decided to do something about it and has created his own photo-centric alternative. Read all about Irys on page 18. Also this week we feature the inspirational winning images from this year’s Bird Photographer of the Year, and test impressive new lenses from Sigma and Laowa. Don’t forget to vote for your favourite kit, retailers and more in our Readers’ Choice Awards (see page 36); and save on tickets for our upcoming Festival of Photography – the Black Friday discount ends 4 December! (page 45).…

VOIGTLÄNDER has released the APO-Lanthar 28mm F2 Aspherical lens for full-frame Sony E mount and Nikon Z mount. The lens is said to reduce colour fringing thanks to its apochromatic design, and features 12 lens elements in 8 groups. Voigtländer claimed that the APO-Lanthar lens delivers consistent image quality from a minimum focusing distance of 0.28m to long distance, while the 12 diaphragm blades are nearly circular and render attractive bokeh. Furthermore, the new lens has a built-in distance encoder, making it compatible with cameras that feature 5-axis in-body image stabilisation. It is also possible to magnify the viewfinder by operating the focus ring. Both the Nikon Z and Sony E mount versions of the APO-Lanthar 28mm F2 Aspherical lens cost £819. See www.robertwhite.co.uk…

KODAK has announced that its Snapic A1 35mm film camera is available to order. The new camera features a fixed 25mm lens with three elements, along with a range of automatic functions, including auto wind, rewind, and automatic flash. The two-zone focus allows for quick adjustment between portrait and landscape shots, and there is also a double exposure function. Shutter speed is fixed at 1/100th sec, and the camera is powered by two AAA batteries. The price is $99 (£75). See bit.ly/kodaksnapic…

Rachel Domleo, Bristol Bus: Canon PowerShot G3X, 220mm, 1/640sec at f/7.1, ISO 125. Background: Canon PowerShot G3X, 122mm, 1/2000sec at f/7.1, ISO 125 Rachel was awarded second spot for her skilled composite shot in last year’s category. The judges said: ‘Rachel has created an impressive and extremely sensitive composite here, with the bus and the backdrop working in perfect harmony, and combining to make an atmospheric whole. The monochrome conversion is also skilfully achieved.’ Rachel says: ‘As with many of my photos, this image was not really planned but evolved in post processing. ‘I set off early one January morning as there was a promise of frost and mist in the weather forecast. There is a great viewpoint over the city of Bristol within walking distance so I headed off…

● Approx £73 inc postage ● otexoutdoors.com.au If you shoot outdoors a lot in the winter, then a pair of photography gloves is a godsend. They’re designed with specialist features such as flip-back fingertips, to aid with operating your camera in cold weather. These gloves from Australian maker OTEX are an upgrade to its previous XT-801 design, with some neat extra features. In terms of their basic construction, these gloves employ the same layered structure as before. The outer shell is made of waterproof and windproof ripstop nylon, and there’s a second waterproof liner too. Inside, you get insulation courtesy of 3M Thinsulate, rounded off by a fleece inner lining. A Velcro cuff secures the gloves snugly on your hands. I used the 801s a great deal last winter, and…

I think we all recognise that making photographs can be an act of love. When we are emotionally invested in our subject-matter we behave in a way we don’t when we care little about the things we are shooting. We might be soft for the fluffy birds that visit our gardens, and want others to fall in love too when they see our pictures of the cute little avian antics. Our children, girlfriends/boyfriends and grandchildren might also get the same attention, and we’ll work hard to present them at their best through complimentary lenses and gracious colour tones. And there are people we are not quite so careful of, and some for whom we actively seek opportunities to show at their worst. Had Hamlet a camera he’d surely have photographed…

BENEDICT BRAIN Photographer and AP regular Ben talks to Alan Schaller about his Irys photo app for photographers JADE BURRELL The journalist and photographer brings you the winners of Bird Photographer of the Year PETER DENCH Acting Features Ed In our Books pages Peter looks at Paris by Night by Brassaï, a landmark book, reborn ANDY WESTLAKE Technical Editor Our resident chief tester reviews Laowa’s 180mm f/4.5, a unique telephoto lens DAMIEN DEMOLDER Former AP editor Damien assesses the Sigma 35mm F1.2 DG ll Art prime lens MICHAEL TOPHAM In Second-hand Classic, the former AP reviews editor looks at Nikon’s D850 DSLR…

Flammarion, £35, hardback, 96 pages, ISBN: 9782080482396 When Paris de Nuit was first published in 1933, it was nothing short of alchemy. Using long exposures, fog and the falling shafts of streetlight, Brassaï transformed the modern city into a stage of mystery and seduction. Nearly a century later, this new Flammarion edition comes beautifully bound with gilt-edged pages and duotone reproductions. The book reminds us why the Hungarian-born photographer was hailed as ‘the eye of Paris’. Born Gyula Halász, by day Brassaï was a hack. During the night, he stalked the city with his camera, seeking its other life. His subjects are as varied as they are revealing: revellers spill from dancehalls, lovers probe around the shadow, policemen plod on patrol and the lone figures of workers and prostitutes who…

LETTER OF THE WEEK In with the old I’ve noticed several recent AP articles that advocate using retro lenses. I’m not knowledgeable enough to use older lenses on my current cameras, but I do remember how much I loved my first camera, a Sony A330, which I used for several years before moving on to an RX10 IV. So I thought that before I hand it over to a young granddaughter, I’d use it and the 2.8/30 Macro SAM lens on our local heath. It brought back many memories! Surprisingly light to use and yes, with limited functionality, as well as being the noisiest lens I’ve used, but very liberating, feeling free from the need to achieve ‘technically perfect’ images – and I came home with plenty of photos I…

REGULAR readers will need no introduction to the Royal Photographic Society (RPS) – it’s the oldest such photography society in the world, set up in Queen Victoria’s time, and the patron is now Catherine, Princess of Wales. The RPS recently announced the recipients of its annual awards, and some very innovative photographers have been honoured. First up is Susan Derges, who received the RPS Centenary Medal in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the art of photography. Go with the flow Often, Susan doesn’t even use a camera – for her image ‘Shoreline’, Susan submerged a large sheet of colour photographic paper in a fast-flowing river near a waterfall at night. As the water flowed over it she fired a flash from above and the paper was returned to the…

A LEICA M-A camera and Noctilux 50mm lens belonging to the late Pope Francis recently sold for an eye-watering €6,500,000 (about £5,711,875) at the Leitz Photographica Auction in Vienna. The money raised will go to charity, as per the late Pope’s wishes, and the auction house also waived its premium. Meanwhile a Leica M3 produced for the late Queen Elizabeth II went for €156,000 (£137,178), easily beating the estimate of €90,000-€120,000.…

Men’s Matters by Ian Longthorne The Old Court, St Leonard’s Road, Windsor, SL4 3BL, until the end of December Celebrating ten years of community and companionship, Men’s Matters is a photographic exhibition that captures the spirit of older men living in Windsor and Maidenhead. The exhibition was conceived by Berkshire-based photographer Ian Longthorne who developed the concept to profile older men connected to the Men’s Matters charity group with trustee Paul Samuels. The first showing of the exhibition took place in Maidenhead in July 2025. The series, now showing at The Old Court Artspace in Windsor throughout December, presents 42 black & white portraits alongside personal reflections from the subjects, each a member of the Men’s Matters groups that meet weekly for conversation, quizzes, and camaraderie over tea and biscuits.…

Very few ‘bad’ or even average cameras come out from the big makers these days, but there are not many cameras you would describe as genuinely unique and consistently fun to use. I’ve found Fujifilm’s ground-breaking X Half to be one such camera, though, as it combines the simple joys of film photography with the conveniences of digital. In essence, the X Half is a digital half-frame camera, based on the idea of shooting everything in vertical format with a 3:4 aspect-ratio. This is also an ideal ratio for sharing your images on social media. Furthermore, not only does the X Half include Fujifilm’s unique and much-loved film simulations, there is also a Film Camera Mode that enables you to shoot a ‘digital roll’ of up to 72 exposures. When…

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 Gulp! By Laura Peyton Canon EOS 80D, Sigma 150-600mm, 1/640sec at f/6.3, ISO 2500 ‘I love watching the birds eating the natural food resources this time of year, like berries. I spotted this female blackbird through dense woodland. It was very tricky to focus directly on her through all of…