Innholdsfortegnelse for August-September 2023 i Australian Photography

In this month’s AP we feature a story by wildlife photographers Steve and Ann Toon that lifts the lid on how they edit their award-winning wildlife images. I asked Steve and Ann to write it for us as I’ve always admired their approach to editing. For the Toons, edits should be subtle and enhance what’s already there, rather than making the edit itself the star of the show. For wildlife photography this is obviously important from an authenticity perspective, but it’s also valuable from a believability perspective as well. In the last few years, image editing has become much easier. For most photographers the days of creating intricate layers in Photoshop are largely gone, and while some of this is down to companies like Adobe targeting more casual users by…

COST of living crisis? What crisis!? The results of the latest Leitz Photographica Auction in June have been announced, once again confirming that there’s plenty of people out there with plenty of money to spend, and especially so when it comes to vintage camera gear. The standout of the auction was a Leica 250 GG Reporter which managed to fetch the highest price of the event – a whopping 900,000 Euros including buyer’s premium ($1.43 million AUD). Held twice a year, Leitz Photographica Auction bills itself as one of the world’s largest and most renowned auctions for vintage cameras and accessories. Among the 100 items up for auction this time around were photographs created by Harold Edgerton, Raoul Hausmann, Imogen Cunningham, Helmut Newton, Ansel Adams and Walker Evans. The Leica…

The digital darkroom isn’t the natural habitat of keen wildlife photographers - we’d rather be in the fresh air than in front of a computer screen, handling a camera rather than a keyboard. Yet post-processing is a vital part of the creative process, whether you’re an old-school advocate of wildlife photography as documentary, or prefer a more interpretative, expressive approach to your nature images. Clever editing can really make your subject sing while retaining the essential truthfulness of what you observed. And with a little more artistic licence you can deepen the drama and magnify the mood, to make your work stand out from the crowd. We believe in getting our images right in camera, rather than relying on post-processing to salvage mistakes. It saves time, preserves authenticity, and maximises…

Without doubt, the Z8 has been Nikon’s most anticipated camera in well over a decade. Yes, fans were excited when Nikon eventually launched their first full-frame mirrorless cameras back in 2018 (five years after Sony’s first full-frame mirrorless) but while the sensors on the Nikon Z6 and Z7 were excellent, the autofocus was mediocre. Then, in late 2021 Nikon released their first professional mirrorless camera, the Z9, but at $9000 it was beyond the reach of most budgets. In the back of many minds though, was the knowledge that Nikon occasionally release an enthusiast’s camera that shares some, but not all the best features of their pro cameras - the F100 shared the Nikon F5’s AF system and the D700 shared the Nikon D3’s full-frame sensor, although neither could outperform…

Recently, photographer Ben Kopilow made a great presentation at my local photography club. One of the topics he mentioned was the commonly heard expression “it’s not a photo until it’s printed”. Ben’s view was that while he understood and appreciated the point of view and personally enjoyed holding prints, he wondered whether it remains true in the digital day and age. Today it’s easy to view images on our phones and multiple other devices, and he argued that the need for prints is disappearing. This is an issue that has impacted the Australian Photographic Society, particularly its Print Group. There was a time when the Society had large print exhibitions every year at its APSCONs (conventions) - sometimes at the venue and other times at separate locations nearby. I exhibited…

Congratulations to John Huisman who has won a 12-month subscription to either Australian Photography or Capture magazine for taking out Image Doctor this month! AP has been celebrating the work of Australian photographers for more than 70 years. Published quarterly, Capture is Australia’s leading journal for emerging and professional photographers. Find out more about AP at australianphotography.com, and Capture at capturemag.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. Include your name in the filename of the image.• An Australian address is required in order to receive…

STEVE THOMAS Steve Thomas has been racing, shooting and writing about bikes and adventure travel for most of his life, and has earned his crust from it for 25-plus years. See more of his work at stevethomasimages.com STEVE AND ANN TOON Ann and Steve Toon are a UK-based, husband and wife team of award-winning, professional photographers with a specialist interest in the wildlife and wild places of southern Africa. See more of their work at toonwildlife.com MITCH GREEN Mitch Green is a Sydney-based travel and landscape photographer. He can be found at mitchgreenphotos.com, or down by the beach at 5am waiting for sunrise. You can also find him on Instagram @ mitchgreenphotos TIM LEVY Tim Levy is an award-winning Sydney based freelance photographer specialising in events and portraits, and also…

THIS MONTH’S WINNER JASMINE WESTERMAN Rain Man EDITOR’S COMMENT Jasmine’s winning image was taken at the base of Mt Coolum during a heavy inundation of rain around the time of all the flooding last year. “I went hunting for the base of the waterfall and found a few locals enjoying themselves in the pool that had formed below,” she explains. “It was sensational to watch how the water fell sending spray over its rocky surface, particularly with the slivers of light that reach the area. Finding a willing subject was the bonus.” “Unfortunately I didn’t know the subject. I asked him if I could take his image, said I was amateur photographer and joked he may end up on the internet!” Well, he hasn’t quite ended up on the internet,…

WHAT MAKES A GREAT LANDSCAPE PHOTO, GREAT? The topic of what makes a landscape scene compelling is one I’ve examined for many years. (And it’s one I’m still exploring). Technical considerations such as crisp focus and an even exposure are necessary, but not sufficient. Captivating scenes—the ones that hold our gaze as we scroll by on social media—often rely on considered composing by those who created them. Yet the art of composition is one of the most challenging topics to codify—not to mention apply. You’re likely familiar with common maxims, like align your horizon with the rule of thirds, include nearby elements to create foreground interest and position leading lines toward your subject. These tips are well-known for a reason. They tend to work. But have you taken time to…

When it comes to tripods, the ubiquitous devices are one part of photography that doesn’t seem like it’s seen much innovation in the last couple of decades. Sure, there are lighter models and designs that have more efficient leg locks, but most people continue to use big, overbuilt tripods that are a chore to unpack and extend and are often really heavy as well. Camera manufacturer Peak Design has taken the challenge of redesigning the tripod with its Travel Tripod, which on the surface appears like a regular, albeit compact, tripod, but is still optimised for a full-frame DSLR and telephoto lens while also being packed with smart features. THE BUILD First things first, this thing is small. PD says the TT is the same diameter as a drink bottle…

PERFECTING THE PAN “I was experimenting with long exposure and panning at the local ice rink during a recent evening session and was pleased with the effect created. The colours and hazy appearance give the image a surreal mood.” ANTHONY’S TIP: Hi John, and well done for exploring beyond the usual frozen moments in time. (Groan now!). To get the best results from panning with slow shutter speeds you need to have both a relatively smooth panning action, but also a few technical tricks too. The first thing I often do when panning images is to move back and use a slightly longer lens, like a 50mm or 70mm; this helps eliminate the curvature we can see in the motion, but with less arc in the lens travel you also…

This photo is one of a series called Sirens, photographs of monstrous storm waves named after mythological beings. I grew up sailing and would often pass long voyages by watching the waves and imagining strange creatures in the shapes, telling myself stories in the way children do. It isn’t so surprising, then, that I have made the ocean, and specifically waves, the focus of my photography. Sirens was born out of long winters revisiting a storm beach on England’s south coast. By the time I captured Medusa, I had already published much of the project but Storm Brian, in October 2017, brought particularly good light and added several of the most popular images in the series. This is probably my favourite because it most closely connects to a myth, that…

With just 20 minutes to go until sunrise, and the start of the Cappadocia Ultra Trail race just minutes away, I was stranded trying to find a ride for the day - things didn’t bode well for my first event gig in almost three years. And yet here I was, tasked with photographing some of the more than 2,000 runners who would be taking on the challenge of this intense and challenging course, while also trying to show some of the unique culture to be found in this special part of the world. So, how did I get here? THE BUILD-UP For many years, I’ve worked as a photographer for the organisers of Cappadocia Ultra Trail, part of the Ultra Trail World Tour running series (which is sadly now defunct).…

I’ve been lucky enough to photography plenty of interesting locations around the world - the Swiss Alps, Nevada, Japan, Poland, and the Australian desert, and I’ve also captured a ton of urban landscapes in my time. But what struck me the most about photographing Southwest Tasmania with the team from On Board is that it felt like nowhere else I’d ever been. I experienced a place with a sense of untouched solitude – peppered by grand landscapes that leave you feeling dwarfed in wild wilderness. Rocky coastlines, rolling button grass hills, and crystalline quartzite ridges are a reminder that this is a place that few get to experience, let alone photograph. It’s a giant unforgiving landscape that genuinely reminds you that you are in the middle of nowhere – and…

This is something of an “historic” shot for me, dating from May 2016. My wife Jane and I had only recently discovered the amateur photographic scene (in 2011) when we visited the Warragul National Exhibition and were blown away by the standard of the images. As part of our bootstrapping exercise in getting ourselves up to speed, the first photographic workshop we booked ourselves into was a PhaseOne workshop in Kununurra. As our guide said, we were really starting at the top! As something of a tech-head, I really enjoyed the challenge of shooting with the PhaseOne XF. However, it was somewhat daunting to be holding a $50,000 camera in a banking helicopter with the doors off! Shooting from the air was totally new to us, as were the astonishing…