Innholdsfortegnelse for 12/30/25 i Amateur Photographer

Goodbye 2025, and hello 2026! It’s traditional at this time of the year to make resolutions – and then break them by Easter. It’s also a time to look for ideas for things to do and places to go during the year – and that’s something we can help with this week. We’ve got 40 great ideas for free or cheap photo days out. Whatever your interests, there’ll be something here that you’re sure to enjoy, so take a look and start filling in that calendar. The first date that you should set aside is Saturday 31 January for our next Festival of Photography in Greenwich. We have a great lineup of speakers and workshops. See page 37 for details. Also this week John Wade looks back at Art Deco…

One of the biggest controversies this year has surrounded the true ‘authorship’ of the iconic Vietnam war photograph known as ‘Napalm Girl’, and it’s not dying down. A documentary movie called The Stringer claims that the harrowing image of burnt children fleeing a napalm attack in 1972 was taken by a Vietnamese freelance photographer, Thanh Nghe, rather than Nick Ut – who was then a staff photographer for the Associated Press (AP) in Saigon. This led to World Press Photo unilaterally suspending Ut’s attribution, although it was confirmed again by an AP investigation. The Stringer is now being shown on Netflix, reaching a huge audience, and prompting an angry rebuttal from David Burnett – another celebrated photojournalist who was there at the terrible scene with Ut. ‘I still believe that…

We finish 2025’s news with two coffee-related stories. Starbucks in China is selling retro-styled compact cameras with dual sensors for selfies and trendy filters for the equivalent of £21. The camera includes a second sensor, ingeniously placed where the viewfinder would usually sit, giving you a functional selfie camera. The front sensor is used for framing shots. Meanwhile Magnum Photos photographer Alex Webb has teamed up with Lavazza to produce its 2026 calendar, featuring Webb’s colourful take on Italy’s ‘dolce vita’ coffee lifestyle. See bit.ly/webbcalendar…

On Heaven’s Doorsill by Roxana Savin €42.00, dienacht Publishing, Hardcover, 120 pages, ISBN: 9783946099383 Roxana Savin’s On Heaven’s Doorsill is rooted in the life and death of Savin’s grandmother, Alexandra. The book blends personal remembrance with a wider cultural meditation on how the living remain bound to the dead. An intriguing, haunting and heartfelt visual journey into the spiritual and folkloric landscape of rural Romania. A place where myth, ritual and memory coexist as naturally as night and day. The story goes, Alexandra was widowed and later visited in a dream by her late husband. She was told he would return for her ‘at harvest time’. When that season arrived, so did her death. This simple yet profound narrative becomes a metaphor for the rhythms that guide Savin’s photography –…

Tracy Calder Tracy Calder is a writer, photographer and podcast host with more than 20 years of experience in the photo industry. In 2018 she co-founded Close-up Photographer of the Year. She has written numerous photography books and her work has appeared in The Saatchi Gallery, The Photographers’ Gallery and The National Portrait Gallery. To find out more visit tracycalder.com. Low-cost days out Go mad for orchids Many wealthy Victorians succumbed to orchidelirium – a feverish desire to discover and collect orchids. Looking at the horticultural displays at Kew’s orchid festival every year it’s easy to see why. The Princess of Wales Conservatory is full of flamboyant flowers, living sculptures and colourful arrangements. The 2026 festival celebrates China’s biodiversity. It can get busy and hot in the conservatory so remember…

Various manufacturers include ‘dynamic range extension’ modes on their cameras. This article discusses how these work, and what they might be good for. The modes discussed include Sony’s ‘Dynamic Range Optimizer’ (DRO), Nikon’s ‘Active D-Lighting’, Canon’s ‘Auto Lighting Optimizer’, and Panasonic’s ‘I.Dynamic’ modes. Other modes that work differently are excluded. One factor that complicates this topic is that the term ‘dynamic range’ is used in several different ways in photography, and accounts of how these modes work often confuse them. Broadly, the term refers to the range of values that can be distinguished. However, sometimes the term is used to mean the range that the sensor can capture, and other times the range that can be distinguished in the processed output. To confuse matters more, in the latter case the…

TRACY CALDER Tracy picks out 40 free or low-cost photo activities and resources to keep you inspired through all of 2026 PETER DENCH Acting Features Ed Peter interviews Jonathan Posner about his book on one small dog that changed his life JOHN WADE Our camera history expert looks at the Art Deco camera craze for fashion-conscious photographers JOSHUA WALLER Online Editor On page 6 Joshua shares his advice on photography, after 25 years of reviewing cameras DAMIEN DEMOLDER Former AP editor Damien tests the Sigma 20-200mm superzoom and gives his verdict ANGELA NICHOLSON AP’s former technical editor braves the elements to test Vallerret gloves…

I’ve been taking photos since before 2000, and reviewing digital cameras since 2004. Recently, I’ve been looking back through the hundreds of thousands of photos I’ve taken over the years – from film photos pre 1999, then early digital from 2000 to 2010, going onto DSLRs and then mirrorless, then later, on smartphones. I’ve always preferred smaller cameras, but there’s been a clear difference in image quality between a cheap compact camera, a cheap mobile phone, and a more premium, higher-quality camera. And it’s here, where I wish I had taken more photos with better cameras. ‘Best’ is relative here The cameras I’ve tested over the years, range from cheap ones to expensive high-end full-frame models. I tested them all as I would any other camera, so that means I…

£25, Ilex Press, Softback, 192 pages, ISBN: 9781840918878 Michael Freeman’s The Photographer’s Eye, first published in 2007, has long been a bestseller on the how-to book shelves. With a revised and updated edition of 30% new content, Freeman reasserts his claim as one of photography’s most influential educators. The strength of the book remains its clarity. Freeman has always excelled at breaking down the basics of composition into digestible lessons. His analysis of why one frame works over another continue to make sense to beginners and enthusiasts. For those of you new to thinking about photography in terms of line, shape, balance and perspective, this remains an accessible guide. For all its educational value, the book feels dated. Freeman undeniably writes with energy, dissecting optical dynamics and talks up a…

LETTER OF THE WEEK Phones as cameras I was fascinated to read Nigel Atherton’s suggestion in his Welcome (25 Nov) that almost all AP readers use a smartphone as their day to day camera. I have no doubt Nigel is correct. So at the risk of coming across as a dinosaur can I say that I have never taken a single photograph on a smartphone. I wonder how many other AP readers are in this category? I use my smartphone for communication whether by voice or text and for checking football scores. My day to day camera is a small Fujifilm with pancake lens tucked into my jacket. The universal attachment that people have to their phones of course makes a fascinating subject for photography. I took this photo very…

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…

Top Android smartphone maker Honor is giving you the chance to win great prizes with photos taken at night. The Honor Night Photographer of the Year competition is open until midnight on 18 January 2026; you can submit night images taken on any camera or phone. A shortlist will then be announced. The top prize is Honor’s latest smartphone, the Magic8 Pro, along with an all-expenses-paid trip to Barcelona from 28 February to 3 March – where the winner will get the chance to visit Honor’s stand at the Mobile World Congress show. The winner will also be invited to the glittering Amateur Photographer Awards in London in February to receive their prize. Full details and entry at bit.ly/honornightPOTY…

Peter Dench, acting features editor, chooses The Great Migration by Martin Bundy, Leslie, Fife Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, 100-400mm at 100mm, 1/1600sec at f/5, ISO 250 Peter says: ‘The great wildebeest migration is a well-documented destination on the wildlife photographer’s bucket list, but this frame still stops you in your tracks. It has the density and detail of a delirious charcoal sketch. A frantic mass of bodies rendered in looping lines, stripes and horns. Taken on the photographer’s very first safari, it captures the moment a vast column of wildebeest and zebra funnel down a steep embankment and into the Mara River. It’s so chaotic it drifts into abstraction. Stare at it long enough and Bridget Riley patterns emerge in the foreground and within the tangle of wildebeest on…

● €89.95 (approximately £78.10) ● photographygloves.com Vallerret launched its first photography-specific winter gloves on Kickstarter in 2015 and its range of has grown steadily since. The Saga Women’s Glove marks a welcome return of a women-specific model that’s been designed from scratch to give a better fit for female photographers. The Flip-Tech finger caps, which cover your thumbs and index fingers, fold back neatly and are held securely by small but strong magnets. This allows you to operate your camera without removing the gloves, which is ideal when you’re out in the cold, especially if there’s a dramatic windchill. Better still, the tips of both digits are touchscreen-compatible, which means you can use your phone or a camera touchscreen without needing to flip anything back. Despite the bulk of the…

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 A Robin’s Stare by Phil Bishop OM System OM-1 Mark II, 100-400mm at 342mm, 1/400sec at f/6.3, ISO 800 ‘I spent my morning photographing mushrooms, then stopped by a favourite New Forest spot to capture birds. This beautiful robin landed nearby, perhaps eyeing me or the tiny fly to the…

Bill Brandt could take the simplest of subjects – a cobbled alleyway, a meandering stream, a railway platform with passengers – and turn it into a picture that stuns you. And you think, I could have done that. And then you realise, no you couldn’t. Because you’re not Bill Brandt. You don’t have his way of seeing picture composition in places you would have missed. Neither do you see light the way he does. Remember the comedian Tony Hancock? In one of his shows he played the part of a photographer. ‘I don’t take snaps,’ he said, ‘I paint with light.’ That’s what Brandt did. He painted with light, exposing for the highlights in the subject and allowing everything else to fall into deep shadow, no doubt abetted by a…