Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2021 i Australian Photography

A week before I started writing this editorial, news services on Facebook were switched off. The decision, a response to the Federal Government’s laws forcing tech giants to pay publishers for news content, seemed a pretty heavy handed one – after all, many publishers weren’t even involved in the negotiations around the proposed Media Bargaining Code, while others had spent years building up a following on Facebook, often at considerable expense, to promote their work through the platform. It wasn’t just something that affected big players such as the ABC or Nine Network, either, but small publishers and local community newspapers as well. Bizarrely, members of the photographic community you might not immediately class as “news” were swept up in the ban, with the hundreds of thousands of followers on…

SONY ANNOUNCES $6699 FX3 CINE CAMERA SONY has announced the FX3, the newest in the company’s Cinema Line of film-ready cameras. The new camera borrows a number of features from last year’s A7S III, but combines them with a smaller, lighter body that’s aimed atusers who don’t need the stills capabilities of the A7S III, but still desire solid video specs. Inside, there’s a 10.2 megapixel (12.1 effective megapixels for stills) backside-illuminated full-frame sensor that offers 15+ stops of dynamic range and can shoot to a maximum ISO of 409,600 in video modes. The camera is powered by a BIONZ XR image processing engine. THE BODY The FX3 is the most compact Cinema Line camera from Sony − with the top of the camera completely flat with no viewfinder or…

UPCOMING COMPETITION THEMES YOUR ENTRY 1. Email your entry to yourbestshot@australianphotography.com with the name of the competition theme in the email subject line, for example: Weather, Abstract, Landscape, etc.2. The image file must be the same as your name, for example Jane Smith.jpg. If you enter multiple images, each new image file name should be appended with a unique number, eg Jane Smith2.jpg3. A maximum of three images can be entered per person.4. Images must be in JPEG format.5. Email file size must not exceed 7MB.6. Please include the following information about your entry in the body of your email: Name, image title and up to 200 words explaining how you created your image. Please also include technical details including camera, lens, focal length, shutter speed, aperture, ISO, tripod (if…

One of the things we’ve realised during the past few years of writing and reading camera reviews is that for many photographers, the aim in choosing a new camera is simply to find a tool that stays out of your way, doesn’t intrude upon your creativity and just allows you to get on with it. The more experienced you become, the more you may look for a specific characteristic or feature within a camera–which is why we always try to give each model a thorough inspection – but it’s worth remembering that, at a basic level, usability is still key. Which brings us to the Nikon Z 6 II, the latest revision of Nikon’s full-frame mirrorless platform and a camera that not only improves on its predecessor, but also does…

NICK RAINS Nick Rains has been a professional photographer for over 30 years. He runs the Leica Akademie in Australia which instructs other photographers in the finer points of camera use and image making. See more at nickrains.com DYLAN GOLDBY Dylan Goldby is an Australian photographer based in Seoul, South Korea. His passion lies in documenting the ancient cultures of the region he now calls home. See more of his work at welkinlight.com DYLAN GIANNAKOPOULOS Melbourne-based commercial, travel and landscape photographer Dylan Giannakopoulos has set out to capture all that inspires him. He is a Sony Imaging Advocate for Australia. See more at dylangiannaphotography.com.au SHREYAS YADAV Shreyas Yadav is an engineer, and a wildlife and nature photographer from India. He is also a writer and lifelong adventure explorer. See more…

As a young photographer, I discovered the complexities of depth of field (DOF) back in 1980 when I bought a Tamron 75-250mm SP lens. It offered an excellent close focus feature, but boy was it hard to get everything in focus. I soon decided that instead of trying to get everything sharp, I would just photograph certain subjects.It started with a crab spider eating an insect. After taking a few shots, I realised the images with lots of distractions in the frame (such as plants or leaves around the spider) were too busy, while images of the spider with a clear gap to the background looked fantastic. I probably didn’t realise it at the time, but I had discovered how DOF worked, and that it could both help my photography…

Our modern cameras are technical marvels that can do much of the hard work when it comes to taking a photograph. In most cases, you can take any new camera out of the box, point it at something, and get a “good” exposure in most situations with no defects due to choosing the “wrong” settings. However, there’s so much more to photography than simply choosing the “right” settings and pointing the camera at things. Each setting we have at our disposal can be used to creatively enhance our images. In this article, we’re going to look at shutter speed and how it can be used for more than just letting in the desired amount of light. To begin, let’s consider what shutter speed is. Simply by doing that, we can…

For those who have never shot astrophotography before, it can be hard to understand why anyone would willingly want to stand outside in the cold for hours just to take photos of stars. But once you see the Milky Way light up your LCD screen for the first time, it becomes very clear. Astrophotography in many ways is about telling the story of the lost night sky. Through our photography, we can share these natural marvels with the world that are above us every night but, for most, are hidden by light pollution. In this tutorial, I'm going to take you through my five tips for better astrophotography shots. We’ll start with some field work first, and then move into the editing suite in Lightroom Classic. 1. FOCUSING ON STARS…

Fujifilm’s newest X-series camera is pretty unique – it’s not only a break in the trend of “retro” style cameras from the Japanese company, but also a potentially clever move by Fujifilm to repackage the X-T4 for a new and likely non-professional audience who don’t need some of that camera’s bells and whistles. At the same time, with its subtle yet distinctive design differences from previous X-series models, the X-S10 is not only classy looking, it’s also quite reasonably priced, with a RRP of $1749. This makes it an affordable option for those looking at switching to a mirrorless system for the first time, or photographers wanting to downsize without sacrificing functionality. THE BODY One thing I’ve always loved about Fujifilm cameras is their retro look and ergonomically laid out…

Recently I decided to try for APS Honours. Achieving this is likely the goal of many APS members and requires not only considerable ability with a camera, but also some serious record-keeping skills, as I’ve been discovering. The first step was to sign up for a Zoom meeting run by the APS Honours (Skill) coordinator, who stressed to me the importance of keeping good records. If you look up the APS website, it gives all the information you need. With the help of a friend, I set up a spreadsheet with the recommended parameters. Back in 2015, a local judge had recommended entering International Salons for feedback. I tried a few, but then my life became so busy I soon stopped. However, I realised these images qualified as seven acceptances.…

Death Valley, situated in the Mojave Desert in Eastern California, possesses one of the most dramatic and extreme environments in the world. The valley descends below sea level and holds the hottest recorded temperatures on earth. The local winds have scooped sands from the surrounding canyons and washes and sculpted them into numerous dune fields, with the most famous and accessible being the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes featured here. I'd been dreaming for years about this region as an aerial photography destination and these dunes were one of the features I most wanted to capture. It’s a long way to go so when I was invited to be an official judge at the WPPI Awards in nearby Las Vegas, I knew I was finally in with a chance and set…

PEOPLE ALAN SAIDMAN Man on a Bus EDITOR’S COMMENT We had some great entries this month, but our pick had to be Alan Saidman’s striking portrait from Udaipur, India, of a man gazing at him intently from a bus window. This is just a fantastic portrait – it’s beautifully composed, pin sharp, the lighting is lovely and the processing has been done with a deft hand, especially the editing of the reds against the grey tones in the frame. But what can make (or break) a portrait is the eyes, and it’s those that really hold our attention here. Well done on a lovely shot, Alan. TECHNICAL DETAILS Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 lens @ 145mm. 1/160s @ f3.5, ISO 100. ROBYN WRIGHT Phone Addiction HOW I DID…

CATALOGUING TIPS FOR SMARTER STORAGE “Yes, I’m paranoid, but am I paranoid enough?”. David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest, 1996. OK, perhaps “paranoid” is too strong a word. How about substituting the words meticulous, diligent, careful or deliberate into the above quote? These are all words that relate very strongly to any sort of image cataloguing system that you might set up – and a small dose of paranoia doesn’t hurt! We shoot a lot of images these days, but what are those photos but a series of zeroes and ones stored on some thin magnetic film (hard drives) or in a vast array of semiconductors (flash memory)? They are not tangible in any sense. You can’t put them in a box or a filing cabinet, and you can’t touch them.…

Do you want to create a dramatic effect in your images? Are you looking for more precise colour control in the bright, dark, and midtone areas of your work? Well you are in the right place! The Colour Grading Tool (CGT) is a new addition to Adobe Lightroom, and to use it you’ll need the latest version of LR 2020. To put it simply, the CGT is a much more advanced version of the Split Toning tool as found in earlier versions of Lightroom. The new tool brings with it additional functionality such as a Midtone section, Blending sliders, Global adjustments, Luminance, and Colour Wheels. If you’re still wondering what all this is about, think of it this way–you can use the CGT to precisely control colours or add creative…

I have been lucky enough to have visited a number of countries, however Africa is a big favourite of mine. Growing up in the suburbs of London, a visit to London Zoo was my only experience of African wildlife, so to visit the continent and see the animals in the wild has always been a huge thrill. In 2019, my wife and I visited Zimanga Game Reserve, 300km north of Durban in South Africa. As well as taking part in safari style drives, we were also given the opportunity to use the purpose-built hides on the reserve several times at night. A visit to a night hide actually starts around 3.30pm, with the hides providing some comforts for a long night stay, and occupants being collected around 9am the next…

SWELL IMAGE While Terry Charles was holidaying in NSW he went scouting the beaches at Newport for potential sunrise shots and came across the local rock pool. “I committed to an early morning rise,” he says. “Weather conditions were against me – very cloudy and little change of the sun peeking through. However, within 30 minutes of setting up, a couple of locals turned up for their morning ritual swim. As I had already set the camera for long exposures, it was just a case of altering my viewpoint to capture the swimmers. The one submitted was chosen because of the colours, action and the fact I was lucky enough for the swimmer to turn and I caught her face in focus and with light.” This is a lovely, painterly…