Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2020 i Australian Photography

For better or worse, the eyes of Australians will be turned stateside this November as the unique spectacle that is the US election comes to town, gripping us with round-the-clock coverage and endless analysis in the lead up to election day. But with all the noise around the election, a new documentary has passed by with barely a whisper – The Way I See It – which takes a close look at the work and legacy of White House photographer Pete Souza. As an official photographer for both President Ronald Reagan and President Barack Obama (for who he was the chief official photographer), Souza was witness to countless moments in history. What is most impressive about his work is he managed to document it while uniquely humanising his subjects and…

PANASONIC has announced the Lumix DCS5, a compact full-frame mirrorless camera that looks to take many of the video capture features of the flagship Lumix S1 and S1H, but packages them in a smaller, more compact body. The S5 features a 24MP BSI CMOS sensor, the same as that in the S1, but it’s packaged in a body that is just smaller and lighter than Panasonic’s Micro Four Thirds GH5. Inside, there’s a 5-axis image stabiliser capable of reducing camera shake by up to 6.5 stops, and Panasonic says the autofocus has seen improvements, although it still uses the same depth-from-defocus (DFD) system found on the S1. The company says it should feature less hunting when focusing and there’s a new “head detection” function as well. Build-wise, the S5 features…

IMAGES of the Milky Way, a southern-sky nebula and Andromeda galaxy are among the winners of the Insight Investment Astronomy Photographer of the Year award. Run by the Royal Observatory Greenwich, more than 5000 entries from photographers across six continents were entered in the competition. The overall winner of the annual competition was French photographer Nicolas Lefaudeu, for his image Andromeda Galaxy at Arm’s Length? The image also won him first place in the Galaxies category of the competition, and the £10,000 prize. To obtain the tilt-shift effect in the image, Lefadau 3D printed a special part to hold the camera at an angle at the focus of the telescope. The blur created by the defocus at the edges of the sensor gives this illusion of closeness to Andromeda. In…

1. GET THE RIGHT FLIGHT Firstly, take into account the time of day in which the flight will be traveling over areas you wish to photograph. I choose flight times that will give me the chance of getting the best images. Flights during the early morning for a glowing light or the late afternoon for the warm tones and dramatic light are ideal. 2. GET THE RIGHT SEAT The first step is to research the flight path using an app. With this information, you will be able to choose which side of the aircraft your window seat should be for photographing a particular landmark or scene. For example, I used the Flight Tracker app on my smartphone to study the flight path and was then able to take photographs of…

Adobe Lightroom Classic CC is a powerful tool for editing, and understanding how it works is vital if you want to make your wildlife images really sparkle. Perhaps Lightroom’s most important feature is that it is non-destructive. This means any changes you make to an image can easily be reversed. In this step-by-step guide, we will learn a variety of techniques that will help to improve the quality of your images and the speed of your workflow. I’ve also used the methods mentioned in this article to significantly reduce my image post-processing time. We’ll do all our editing in the Develop module, and we will post-process our images in the following order – global or overall adjustments, and then local or targeted adjustments. Let’s dive right into it with global…

ABSTRACT Abstract photography is about telling your story through shape, form and elements of composition more so than through a subject. In a way, it’s also about stripping back your image, removing every distraction until all that’s left is a blank canvas waiting to be interpreted. This month, we saw a record number of entries that really put our shortlisting skills to the test – here are the best of the best. RALPH DOMINO Viral Bloom EDITOR’S COMMENT Ralph Domino’s image Viral Bloom is one of those images that first has you wondering, ‘What is it?” But even when you find out, it’s still hard to comprehend where it begins and ends, such is the level of abstraction created by his intentional camera movement. “To create this image, I placed the camera…

For most of us, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on our creativity. To be inspired is such a positive emotional experience that should be nurtured and remembered in order to be the best artist we can be. But how do you find inspiration in the first place? Is there some specific process to tap into inspiration, or is it a matter of chance? How can you stay motivated and focused on your passion? The advice in this article can be used as an inspiration or idea for the student; an exercise manual for the working professional; a reference for the teacher; a document of the contemporary photographic scene for the future historian; or just some food for thought. It’s an article to keep at hand because if…

9 May, 2020. I silence the 6am alarm and stumble out of bed to check the eastern sky. It’s almost clear. Almost. There’s a small cloud cluster over the ocean to the south. Nothing to the north, nothing out to sea, nothing above. Oh well, I think. I’m already up, let’s take a look. Soon I’m on the highway down to Kiama on the south coast of NSW. Looking out the car window, the cluster hasn’t moved. There’s no wind this morning and it seems to remain in place, suspended in the sky. This could be on. I drive a little faster, using all of the available speed limit. Although the clouds remain small, a rough mental PhotoPills calculation confirms the sunrise alignment could be just right for Cathedral Rocks.…

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past six months, you’ll be well aware of the enormous expectations swirling around Canon’s newest full-frame mirrorless camera, the EOS R5. First, there was the announcement that it would shoot 8K video, then there was confirmation it would be 8K at the full width of the sensor along with a 20fps drive speed and Animal Eye AF. The slow release of the headline specifications meant that by the time of its release in July, 2020, hype was at fever pitch. This noise has since gotten louder with tech reviewers and bloggers all over the world spending thousands of hours closely scrutinising the R5’s video capabilities (and shortcomings) in particular. However, we wanted to focus on the EOS R5 from a stills…

This image was made in 2006 when Australian Photography sent me to Hong Kong to attend the launch of Nokia’s new camera equipped smartphones. By chance, another magazine heard I was heading to the region and asked if I would shoot some portraits for them in Vietnam, and so two days after the Nokia launch I was in Ho Chi Minh City. With a day to spare before the assignment, I went exploring the city and as day turned to night I found myself at a martial arts school where dozens of young children were learning self-defence. A tutor gave me the nod to make photos, but rather than just grab a few and move on, I did what I normally do in these situations – wait. If you have patience and…

CANON AUSTRALIA has closed its online retail space, The Canon Store, citing the company’s desire to support local retailers. The move effectively ends the company’s more than decade-long direct sales model in Australia. In a statement on canon.com.au, the company said that the decision is based on a desire to “drive competition in the local market”. “The unprecedented challenges currently facing the Australian market has seen Canon Australia re-examine the best way to help consumers access our products, services and support,” says Canon. “As a result, we are proudly streamlining our efforts in supporting local retailers to drive competition in the local market and bring you the best value product offers, promotions, services and experiences possible.” The move comes following a busy quarter for the Japanese company, with the recent…

Thanks to Fujifilm, Daren Fawkes has won a brilliant Fujifilm XF10 camera valued at $799. A premium compact digital camera with a high quality FUJINON 18.5mm F2.8 fixed lens, it features an APS-C sized sensor which is 14 times larger than the sensor in a standard smartphone. The Fujifilm XF10 includes all the hallmarks of the X Series system, combining simple manual operation with superior image quality and versatile picture-taking options. Find out more at fujifilm.com.au HOW TO SUBMIT AN IMAGE • Email entries to: imagedoctor@australianphotography.com with “Image Doctor” in the subject line. • Include your name, image title and up to 150 words about how you created it. • Only one image per person per month. • Images must be saved in JPEG format. Maximum file size is 5MB.…