Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2021 i Australian Photography

It was not a tree that would have stood out in a forest. Yet it was, nonetheless, a pretty outstanding tree. Its trunk, gnarled and bent, had been left dishevelled and with a distinct, quirky lean from years of coastal winds. Out on its own like a sentry with its many weathered branches twisting to the sky, the lone tree at the Bay of Fires gave a striking backdrop to the orange-tinged boulders that hug the shoreline on Tasmania’s Northeast Coast. And now, sadly, it’s no more. For visiting photographers, the tree was the kind of location you’d plan your trip around. I remember speaking to photographer Craig Crosthwaite about his image of it back when it graced our cover in August this year, and him telling me he’d been…

CANON ANNOUNCES 24.1 MEGAPIXEL EOS R3 CANON has officially (and finally!) announced the EOS R3, a new mirrrorless camera that combines the familiarity and speed of Canon’s professional-level EOS-1 DSLR cameras with the EOS R mirrorless full frame system. Body-wise, the EOS R3 has a newly designed, lightweight, dust and water-resistant magnesium body. It features a 5.76 million dot electronic viewfinder with low lag and a refresh rate of up to 120 fps at full resolution. The rear of the camera features a Vari-Angle 4.1-million dot touchscreen. Inside is a newly designed back illuminated stacked CMOS 24.1 megapixel sensor, which Canon says almost entirely eliminates rolling shutter distortion. In electronic shutter mode, the camera is capable of shooting up to 30fps with AE and AF tracking in RAW with no…

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I remember the first time I flicked through a photography magazine and saw a photo of silky water and an amazing fiery sky. At this point I was very new to using a camera, and the world of seascape photography seemed very daunting and complicated. But now, just three years on, I know I couldn’t have been more wrong. Not only are seascapes super easy to learn, but they’re also my favourite kind of photography. Here’s a few tips and tricks I’ve learnt along the way in my seascape photography journey. 1. SHOOT AT THE RIGHT TIME OF DAY The best times to shoot seascapes are dawn and dusk, where the light is at its softest. This is for a few reasons, the first being the low light allows for…

Let me get it out of the way first – there’s never been a camera quite like this. From its monster 50MP sensor, 30 fps second shooting, huge and high-res electronic viewfinder, 8K (10-bit 4:2:0) video capture that uses the full sensor and remarkably a body no bigger than any of the other Alpha series cameras, Sony has laid down the gauntlet by throwing everything including the kitchen sink at the Alpha 1 (I’ll call it the A1 from here on in). To put it simply, it’s a technical marvel, and the kind of camera that would have been the stuff of dreams just a few years ago. But then again as the saying goes, dreams are free, and when the cold light of day hits you can’t escape the…

SCORE 8.0 BUILD QUALITY Excellent and up to the standards you’d expect of ASUS ProArt. FEATURES The usual calibration settings and presets are all where you’d expect to find them, but although the integration with Adobe is a nice feature to have, it’s a shame you can’t use it with Apple Mac. IMAGE QUALITY Images look fantastic on the PA14, with wide dynamic range and good brightness even in bright light. Some users may be disappointed not to have greater coverage of AdobeRGB, but for a portable monitor its solid. VALUE FOR MONEY Nothing to fault here. $599 is a steal for this, especially if you have a small office setup or travel regularly, and ASUS even throw in a handy sleeve as well. FINAL WORD Small, compact, easy to…

Have you ever heard the expression ‘don’t let technique detract from the joy of capturing an image’? It’s something I’ve been thinking about lately while exploring the wealth of tools out there for improving my own photography. Don’t get me wrong, some technical skills are required to work the hardware. But photography is more than just mastering the tools. Unless you challenge yourself to achieve better results or to try new techniques, your journey into photography can become stale and boring. So how do you acquire this knowledge? Today, new skills can be acquired in very subtle ways, without special planning or preparation. And most importantly, we already carry the device that can do this with us all the time; not only the camera but also the method of accessing…

WILLIAM LONG Photographer, Speaker, Mentor, and Educator; William is arguably one of Australia’s most reputable, successful, and technically diverse professional photographers. See more at longshots.com.au. DOUG GIMESY Doug is a professional conservation and wildlife photojournalist who focuses on Australian issues. His clients include National Geographic, BBC Wildlife, bioGraphic and others. See more at gimesy.com. JAKE TRAYNOR Jake is a seascape and landscape photographer based in Canberra. You can follow his work on Instagram @traynorjake. ADRIAN RANKIN A landscape photographer based on the Mornington Peninsula, Adrian has a deep passion for capturing the Australian forests and high country. See more of his work at adrianrankin.com.au.…

I still remember as a young photographer some 40 years ago taking shots with my old manual camera. Just like the textbook suggested, I set it to 125th of a second, and, like magic, my travel snapshots were all sharp. Then I dropped in my second roll of film to photograph birds, and it was a totally different story. Boy, did I learn something fast! Today, I’m always conscious that if my subject or I am moving, I must get the shutter speed up to the highest numbers I can if I want sharp images. Let’s look at some of the things you can do to help keep your own images sharp. SHUTTER SPEED A textbook rule is that your shutter speed should be at least equivalent to the focal…

A sturdy tripod will let you shoot longer exposures while keeping everything steady and sharp. It may also pay to invest in a waterproof tripod, or one made of carbon fibre, to avoid rust damage from saltwater. Filters, while not essential, will make your shooting and editing a lot easier. Neutral density filters will allow you to shoot longer exposures without blowing out your highlights and losing detail. A polariser will increase vibrancy and water clarity. A memory card with a fast write speed (Class 10 or above) will allow you to capture more images in quick succession. Slower cards will lock up after a certain number of shots. A remote shutter release will allow for both rapid fire shooting and eliminate camera shake. A microfibre cloth or lens wipes…

To achieve accurate colours I recommend shooting in RAW so you can make creative decisions in post. Next, I’d recommend setting the white balance manually in Kelvin. This is very dependent on the scene and weather conditions, but if it’s overcast and wet a good starting place is 5200K. When the skies are clear and you have sun, I’d start at 6400K. Once you get home, you can adjust the mood of your image by making the image cooler or warmer depending on the emotion you’re after.…

SCORE 9.0 HANDLING Good, although I think other camera brands have nailed the form factor better than Sony. Still, most users will be more than happy with the hold and functionality of the A1. FEATURES It’s hard to find much more you’d need in a professional camera. Across the board, the A1 packs in class-leading technology. AUTOFOCUS A revelation. The bird eye AF works fantastically and with 30fps to work with you’ll catch everything that moves past your lens. IMAGE QUALITY Fantastic. It’s perhaps only bettered by the A7RIV in ultimate image quality, but this would be nitpicking. VALUE FOR MONEY I’d be hard-pressed to call any $10,000 camera value for money, but if you have the means, this has it all. FINAL WORD Sure, it costs a bomb, but…

They say that most people have only one epiphany in life, one moment where you experience instant clarity. That moment came to me as a young girl when I developed and printed off my first roll of film. I had set up a makeshift darkroom in the family bathroom (much to the chagrin of my parents) and after several attempts, printed off black and white enlargements. I had found my creative ‘niche’! Photography and all it encumbered has been a constant passion and interest ever since. It has led me to experience and photograph some of the most beautiful places in the world, gain a Diploma of Photography, compete internationally and at home, be involved with my local camera club and join the Australian Photographic Society. Every shoot and the…

PEERLESS PERFECTION Paul Hazel was on a three-day romantic trip to Melbourne when he took this shot. He said, “This Princes Pier shot has always been on my bucket list and I jostled for position with some enthusiastic fisherman just before sunrise. The shutter was open for 16 minutes, long enough for a cruise ship passing along the top of the frame to remain completely unseen!” This is quite surreal and spooky! It is hard to believe that there are so many piers in one location. The water looks frozen, like ice, and the colours work well. You could darken it just a little to give even more impact. The depth of field is good, and it is great to see sharp timber in those foreground piers. It is just…

My interest in shooting ceilings began over 40 years ago, with a realisation that while many visitors to buildings look around and appreciate the craftsmanship from centuries past, few ever take the time to appreciate just how accurate the design and construction of the ceilings are. Built over 500 years ago, conceived by King Henry VI and initiated by Master Mason Reginald Ely, Kings College Chapel took 69 years to build, with the roof alone taking three years. Today, it is considered one of the finest examples of late Perpendicular Gothic architecture and it is often described as one of the wonders of the world. I always seek and gain permission to do this style of shot, because lying down on the floor with my mini tripod and camera is…

PETS SHARON JONES Silky HOW I DID IT Silkie chickens are popular backyard pets, but I really wonder how they can see at all with those fur-like facial feathers. TECHNICAL DETAILS Canon 7D, Canon 17-55mm lens @ 55mm. 1/60s @ f4, ISO 40. THIS MONTH’S WINNER NAVIN CHANDRA Love Lettuce EDITOR’S COMMENT Navin Chandra’s image Love Lettuce was shot in his home studio and shows his guinea pig Ginger chowing down on (what else), a piece of lettuce. I think this image is all about the pose – getting small creatures to do what you want is far from easy, but even harder is showing a hint of their personality while you do it. Technically, it’s beautifully lit with a great catchlight in the eye, and it also displays lovely…

This is a useful technique to keep up your sleeve if you don’t want people in your shot, and it’s a great technique if, for example, you have tourists at a picturesque landscape location you don’t want in your frame. If you can’t wait for them all to go, and they are moving, go for a super long exposure. If your exposure is long enough – and I mean really long, say 30 seconds or more, they won’t be in the frame long enough to be fully captured, however the static parts of the frame will remain so. You may need an ND filter to make this work depending on the light.…

The competition which, despite the title, also allows images entered on traditional cameras, attracted tens of thousands of images in 2021, with the first-place shots in the eight categories to be exhibited in Siena, Italy, until December 5. If you’re not lucky enough to go yourself, you can see all the finalist images at droneawards.photo, and a selection of some of our favourites here. PINK-FOOTED GEESE MEETING THE WINTER TERJE KOLAAS 1ST PLACE, OVERALL WINNER Norway Kolaas’ image, Pink-Footed Geese Meeting the Winter, was shot in central Norway and portrays geese flying towards Svalbard, in the Arctic, with the landscape still covered with snow, with their early arrival likely linked to climate change. The animals follow a familiar path every year, making the set-up for the image possible. DJI Mavic…

To create a soft, painterly feel in your images, try using a little negative Clarity in post. Just be sure to look closely at the impact this has on tree trunks, as to maintain their texture you may need to slightly increase Clarity and/or add Texture. In Photoshop, add a very subtle Orton effect to the image. Using the Gaussian blur filter, then add a Brightness/Contrast layer with clipping to the layer below adjusting the opacity. Usually, I aim for around 11 - 14%. As this is final step, is important to pay attention and not overdo the effect as it will look unnatural.…

We’ve long been fans of ASUS’ desktop image-editing monitors, and while using a colour calibrated monitor for image editing is great at home, there are times that they’re just not practical to use – think travelling or if you have a temporary office arrangement like many of us probably do right now. So, when I heard that the Taiwan-based company had a more portable offering, the compact, 14-inch PA148CTV, I was intrigued. Small enough to fit inside a backpack, and yet still packing 1920 x 1080 Full HD resolution, the mini touchscreen offers a Calman verified 100% of the sRGB and Rec. 709 spectrums and a range of connectivity options, with a handy built-in stand that means you can set it up just about anywhere. Over the past month I’ve…

Membership with the Australian Photographic Society caters for enthusiasts, amateurs and professionals in photography. The APS can help you improve your photography, increase your level of satisfaction and achievement with your images, and make lasting friendships with other photographers throughout Australia. All that is required is that you take two steps; the first, joining the society; the second, becoming involved in what it has to offer. Find out more at a-p-s.org.au.…

WIN! Thanks to our great sponsors WD and SanDisk, Paul Hazel has won a WD 8TB My Cloud Home Hard Drive valued at $479 and a SanDisk 1TB Extreme Portable SSD Black valued at $254. This WD My Cloud Home Hard Drive makes it easy to create your own cloud based storage space using your existing WiFi network. It’s easy to setup by simply connecting the My Cloud Home straight into your WiFi router, then you’re ready to copy your files across, setup automatic backups of your Mac or PC, and access it all remotely via the free app. The Sandisk Extreme Portable SSD is an ideal storage solution that you can take with you on the go, whether you’re transferring files at school, or storing photos you take on…