Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2017 i N-Photo: the Nikon magazine

WIN! GITZO GEAR WORTH OVER £1,000 Turn to page 102 for details I know, I know, this month’s head to head between Nikon’s entry-level D3400 and the top-of-the-range D5 (see page 84) isn’t exactly a fair contest, and it’s inevitably a bit tongue in cheek, but there is a serious point to it. The fact is that these days, even Nikon’s entry-level D-SLRs are staggeringly good. Thanks in part to massive improvements in sensor and processing technology over the last decade, the D3400 – which sits at the bottom of Nikon’s current line-up – is arguably a better camera than the pro-spec models that topped the range just 10 years ago, at least in terms of outright image quality. In other words, if you’re lucky enough to own a D3400…

Photographers from 38 countries entered close to 18,000 images into this year’s GDT European Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. Prepare to be impressed by our pick of this year’s winning photos taken on a Nikon Runner up, mammals Elephants on Cracked Soil Federico Veronesi, Italy Led by the matriarch, a herd of elephants crosses a dry Amboseli Lake on a cloudy morning, heading to the marshes to feed on the lush grass. There was an almost mystic silence as these gentle giants passed my vehicle. I pointed my wide-angle lens at the cracked soil of the lake and let the elephants fill the upper portion of the frame. Nikon D800, 24-70mm f/2.8, 1/500 sec, f/10, ISO400 Winner, Young photogr aphers up to 14 years Morning Run Carlos Perez Naval,…

Standard 18-55mm DX kit zooms are no-frills lenses that deliver the equivalent view to a focal length range of 27-80mm on a full-frame FX camera (when you take the 1.5x DX crop factor into account). Moderately wide to moderately long, it brings a natural look to pictures that, unlike ultra-wide and super-telephoto lenses, doesn’t draw attention to the lens that was used to take them. That being said, it’s easy to feel disheartened when faced with a sweeping landscape or a stunning interior and the lens doesn’t zoom wide enough to take it all in. It’s also easy to feel the lens doesn’t provide enough reach to make sports, wildlife and other distant subjects look anything other than pokey in the frame. Get creative The answer is to see this…

Walks in the woods offer plenty of opportunities for great portraits, of kids or adults. The landscape of the forest throws up a pleasing array of colours, organic shapes and varying light that can be used to the portrait photographer’s advantage. We went to Wistman’s Wood in Dartmoor for our shoot here. This atmospheric forest of stunted oak trees in the heart of the Devon countryside is a great place to shoot your portraits. But no matter what type of forest you choose for your shoot, they all share certain features that can make for a variety of interesting compositions in portraits. With shots of people in woods, there’s always a danger that the frame can get too busy. A wide expanse of trees may be pleasing to the eye,…

The Develop module’s Basic panel is designed to help you reveal an image’s missing tonal details by independently targeting and adjusting Highlights, Shadows, Whites and Blacks. This enables you to lighten or darken problematic areas without changing correctly exposed ones. Lightroom’s Tone Curve panel provides you with an additional and effective way to target and tweak specific tones, and you can combine the controls in the Basic and Tone Curve panels to solve any tone-related problems. These two sets of tone-editing tools can also be used in creative ways to mimic classic processing techniques. In traditional chemical darkrooms, photographers could produce striking and dramatic-looking results by altering the way they developed their negatives. The bleach bypass process created deliberately clipped blacks, blown-out highlights and desaturated colours, and we can use…

Nikon School photography workshops cater for every level of photographic ability, whether you are new to taking photographs, a keen amateur or a professional. Nikon School offers a wide range of workshops suited to individuals wanting to learn more about photography or expand their creative horizons. Courses will help you improve your skills, develop your eye for a photo and learn to take control of your camera. Workshops are a mix of easy-to-understand theory and practical assignments. They’re attended by small groups of up to 12 delegates to ensure that everyone can benefit from the expert knowledge of tutors. From understanding your Nikon D-SLR and lenses to image editing; from street shots to inspiring landscapes; the school’s workshops cover a variety of skills and subjects. Workshops take place at either…

EXPOSURE 1/6 sec, f/7.1, ISO320 LENS Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 Our Apprentice says… This bedroom shot took a lot of prep work. When I first went in I thought ‘Brilliant, it’s ready to shoot’, but Pete pointed out that there were rolled up towels on the bed and cables running along the floor. I hadn’t considered that I needed to tidy these bits up. After hiding the cables and moving the towels away, it was time to frame up. But even then there were small details I wasn’t aware of. Just when I was about to press the shutter release, Pete walked into shot and across the room to open the door leading to the ensuite. He explained that it’s often good to keep doors open to give a sense of…

EXPOSURE 1/6 sec, f/4.5, ISO200 LENS Nikon 24-120mm f/4 Expert insight Reflections Pete says… The living room had a beautiful fireplace that was clearly the most striking feature of the room, but the large mirror above and all of the reflective glassy surfaces around the room made it difficult to get a shot without too much glare or reflection. Tony had to be careful not to pop flash in certain areas, to avoid glare on the mirror, shiny picture frames, candle holders, flower pots and the glass coffee table. It took a few attempts to get this final shot in the bag for that very reason. Be our next Apprentice If you’d like a chance to be the next N-Photo Apprentice,please email mail@nphotomag.com with Apprentice as the subject line, or…

Letter of the month Runway success Thanks a million for producing such a wonderful magazine every month. In your November 2016 issue, I loved reading the Fill the Skies tutorial (Issue 65, page 46) because it’s something I had never done before. Trying it for myself came as a challenge, but it also filled me with regret. I used to live in Manchester – and as you mentioned, Manchester airport is a great place for plane-spotters – but I never took advantage of the fact that it was on my doorstep. I now live in a country with no easy access to airport runways – in fact, the term ‘plane-spotter’ isn’t even in the lexicon here! But I did try, and this is the picture I finally made. It’s just…

As scenarios for street photography go, finding an interesting frame that’s just waiting for an actor is one of the most common. And it has as much to do with what goes on in the photographer’s mind as it does with what happens in the real-life scene. Actually it probably has more to do with your mind, because it begins with imagining a completed picture from the point of seeing something that attracted your eye. Typically, there’s a partial scene with maybe one interesting or useful element, and it ‘needs’ a passer-by to complete it. To a large extent, street photographers have this sense of needing someone of the right type to walk by, partly because people do tend to walk by, and more so because the essence of this…

Profile Lorenzo’s landscape and travel photos are known to millions worldwide • Based near San Francisco, Lorenzo Montezemolo is a landscape and travel photographer who enjoys the photographic attractions of his home state, plus more far-flung locations abroad. • As well as shooting landscapes and seascapes around northern California, Lorenzo has spent several weeks of the past few winters chasing the Northern Lights in Iceland and Norway. ? He is very active on social media and photo-sharing sites Instagram, 500px and Flickr, where his images of fog-covered hills have been seen by millions. On 17 August last year, Lorenzo Montezemolo made a long-exposure image of wave-like fog creeping over the forested hills of Marin County in California. After he posted the image, Fog Fingers (previous page), on his Flickr page,…

There are many reasons why professional photographers fork out thousands for high-end D-SLRs like the D5, with benchmark speed, tank-like build and direct, intuitive controls topping the list. But, when it comes to the process of actually taking pictures, a beginner-friendly D-SLR such as the D3400 isn’t far behind. In manual mode, both pro Nikon and budget bodies offer control of the aperture, shutter speed and ISO. Both enable you to tap into Nikon’s range of pro-grade lenses, and both enable you to shoot RAW files to realise the best image quality possible. Entry-level cameras have some distinct advantages over pro models too. They’re much smaller and lighter, which means that you’re more likely to want to carry them around all day. And although a flagship FX camera will feature…

Kit lenses are limited by their maximum (largest) aperture. The 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 that typically comes bundled with the D3400 has a variable maximum aperture – f/3.5 at the wide, 18mm end of the zoom and f/5.6 when it’s at 55mm. Compare this with the maximum aperture of two classic kit lens upgrades: a ‘nifty fifty’ 50mm f/1.8, and an 85mm f/1.8. At 55mm, the kit zoom is more than three stops ‘slower’. This doesn’t mean it takes three times longer to focus, but when the kit lens is used at its maximum aperture, the smaller opening lets in less light, and consequently a much slower shutter speed is required for a correct exposure. Slower shutter speeds can lead to blurred images, whether that’s because the subject moved during the exposure…

It’s not always easy to arrive at a location at the right time – often the light isn’t right, or the angle of the sun too high, or the colours too dull. While there’s no substitute for nailing the shot in-camera, if you want to change the mood after the fact there are a few tools in Photoshop that can help. In this tutorial we’ll explain how to totally alter the atmosphere in our woodland scene here with a combination of brush skills, layer blending modes and adjustment layers. With these simple tools, you can change the colours to give the scene a dreamy atmosphere, add in spots of flare, and even suggest mist floating through the forest. We’ve suggested specific colours and settings for you to try out, but…

THE APPRENTICE... Name Tony Mottram Camera Nikon D800E After retiring a few years ago, Tony took up photography again, and he’s recently graduated with a BA in Photography from the University of Salford. He enjoys shooting sports and he’s getting into interior photography. He’s already done a few jobs shooting property interiors, but he wants some help with his exposure settings, and keeping things vertical. THE PRO... Name Pete Helme Camera Nikon D810 Pete Helme has been working as an interior and architectural photographer for over 10 years. His unique style has given him the opportunity to work across London and the South West of England. His regular clients include interior designers, architects, developers and hotels. Pete’s work is regularly published online and in print in newspapers, interior magazines and…

Mission: To capture geometric shapes in architecture Photographer: Graeme Quarrington-Page Age: 54 Location: Kent, UK Kit: Nikon D2x, Nikon D100, Nikon AF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G VR, Sigma 70-210mm f/4-5.6 UC AF Website: www.flickr.com/nikon_eye Photography has been a passion of mine all my life; it still seems magical, even with digital replacing the visceral experience of using chemicals to develop and print film. Then and now, my main interest is in motorsport photography, and a lucky break with some images taken at Brands Hatch racing track started me off on a three-year freelance photography stint, covering motorsports and other events. Now I just take photographs to please myself. Our family holiday to Menorca in 2008 was my first experience with using a digital camera. Although my family enjoys beach holidays, I get…

Whenever there’s movement and action, there’s always one moment that will be, for each photographer, the most special. And of course what that moment contains and looks like will depend on your taste. It will also depend on what you’re able to capture, not just in terms of how fast and reactive you are, but in terms of whether you get the sort of worthwhile moment that happens just once (as in our main image, right), or one that’s similar to multiple others. In any case, given that the main idea of this creative path is that you have an activity happening within a scene that you’ve already found and framed, you could think of it as a little like a cinemagraph – where you have a static scene containing…

Nikon D3400 kit Sensor 24.2Mp CMOS DX Shutter speeds 30-1/4000 sec, Bulb Autofocus 11-point (1 cross-type) Sensitivity ISO100-25,600 Max drive rate 5fps connectivity Bluetooth Dimensions 124x98x76mm Weight 445g Price £400/$500 Lens The D3400 kit includes a remarkable new-generation zoom lens: the AF-P 18-55mm VR boasts a space-saving design, smooth and silent stepping motor autofocus system, four-stop stabilisation and delivers impressive image quality – all in the price. Connectivity As well as USB 2.0 and HDMI ports, the D3400 comes with built-in Bluetooth, enabling wireless connectivity with your smartphone, tablet and other devices. When used in conjunction with Nikon’s SnapBridge software, this makes sharing your photos a doddle. Megapixels The 24.2-megapixel image sensor produces pictures of up to 6000x4000 pixels. As with most recent Nikon D-SLRs, the D3400 has no optical…

When you’re dealing with a heavy camera and a long lens, you need a tripod you can rely on to keep everything rock-solid while you take your shot. Systematic, the flagship tripod range from Gitzo, is the company’s strongest and most stable model, created for the most demanding shoots. What’s more, Systematic’s modular design means you can configure your tripod the way you want it, choosing from a wide range of Gitzo accessories. We’ve teamed up with Gitzo to offer you the chance to win a complete Systematic tripod system. The system comprises: Gitzo Systematic Tripod Series 3 GT3533LS (£699.95) Systematic is Gitzo’s strongest and most stable tripod. The GT3533LS is a three- section, carbon-fibre model with a maximum height of 152cm.  Gitzo Center Ball Head Series 3 GH3382QD (£379.95)…

Since the turn of the decade, Nikon’s line-up has included cameras for everyone, from complete beginners to the world’s most demanding professional photographers. DX (smaller APS-C sensor) cameras such as the D3000, D5000 and D7000 ranges are aimed squarely at the entry-level, mid-range and enthusiast markets respectively, while the D600 and D700 ranges make FX (full-frame) photography affordable for non-professionals. If you upgrade to a newer version of your current camera you’ll often find you get more megapixels, a greater ISO range, enhanced autofocus and metering systems, and perhaps built-in Wi-Fi. And it’s even more tempting to climb a rung or two up the ladder, and upgrade to a superior camera class of camera. Price aside, the tricky bit can be working out how improved specs and features translate into…

W hen it comes to picture quality, the difference in performance between a beginner D-SLR and a pro-spec model isn’t as cavernous as you might suppose. Even in terms of raw resolution, newcomer-friendly Nikons such as the D3400 and D5600 outstrip the pro-spec D500 and D5. But, of course, there are plenty of reasons why the D5 commands a price tag that’s around 13 times higher than that of the D3400. Chief of these are build quality and performance. High-end Nikons are equipped with bomb-proof bodies, and professional-grade autofocus and drive modes. The D5, for instance, boasts a total of 153 AF points, 99 of which are the more precise cross-type AF points; it can shoot at up to 14 frames per second (fps); and, when it’s fitted with a…

As highlighted on the previous page, the smaller maximum aperture of a kit lens can restrict your choice of shutter speed. Nowhere is this more evident than when you’re shooting in low light, where you might not be able to achieve a shutter speed fast enough to reduce the effects of camera shake, let alone freeze the motion of a moving subject. Of course, this doesn’t mean you have to stop taking pictures: you can simply increase the ISO on the camera. The ISO amplifies the signal from the sensor; the higher you push it, the less light is required for a correct exposure, so you can use faster shutter speeds. The trade-off for pumping up the ISO is an increase in noise, some shifts in colour and a loss…

Teach Yourself Flash We’ve covered a lot of ground so far in our Teach Yourself Flash series, but this issue we’re taking it back to basics with a cheap-as-chips lighting trick for great macro photos. You can lock away your light stand and flashgun for a well-deserved break; all you need for this fun tutorial are your camera’s pop-up flash, an empty crisps can and a bit of tissue paper. You’ll also need very basic DIY skills – we’ll be getting crafty with scissors and cutting the can down to size before fixing it to your camera with rubber bands – but the quality of light that’s funnelled onto the subject is worth the minimal effort involved. The quality of light that’s funnelled onto the subject is worth the minimal…

The mission •To learn to paint with light and enhance the effect with reflections Time •One hour Skill level •Beginner •Intermediate •Advanced Kit needed •Nikon D-SLR •Tripod •Remote shutter release •Torches •Coloured plastic cups Ever since pioneering photographer Georges Demeny attached light bulbs to an assistant and told him to jump, back in 1889, photographers have been ‘painting’ with light. So it’s time for a fresh approach to the popular technique – why not use reflective surfaces to enhance the effect? Whether you use water, glass, mirrors or even Photoshop image-flipping, a little reflected symmetry can take amazing light-painted patterns to a whole new level. If you’re new to light painting, you’re in for a treat. Less challenging than wire wool spinning (as featured in last issue’s Your Stories, page…

EXPOSURE 1/8 sec, f/7.1, ISO250 LENS Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 Our Apprentice says… We walked around the house first to see where the light was brightest. It was too harsh in the kitchen and living room, so we started in the bathroom where it wasn’t as glaring. The fixtures and fittings looked incredible, and the tiling brought the whole scene together, and drew the eye in and across the bath, showers and sinks. There were so many ways to shoot this bathroom, but I settled on a wide corner shot to show off the size of the space, and used manual mode to expose for the interior rather than the brighter window. Stay sharp When shooting with ambient light indoors, you’re at the mercy of the amount of light that’s coming…

EXPOSURE 1/60 sec, f/7.1, ISO640 LENS Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 Our Apprentice says… The huge kitchen dining table was stunning; I was impressed as soon as we went into the room, but because it was so long I struggled to get it all in the frame. Pete suggested I crop part of it out and focus instead on the length and breadth of the room. I used the table as a leading line towards the back of the room and included the kettle and toaster to tells us it’s a kitchen. Some of the wall lights didn’t work, so I chose to use only the lights over the table, because their décor was so intricate. Pete put a centrepiece on the table to break up the length of the wood and…

Your projects critiqued Want your portfolio reviewed? Email your shots to mail@nphotomag.com My honeymoon triggered my addiction to photography. It was the reason I bought a new camera about five years ago. The morning that my new gear arrived, I also picked up a magazine that featured a list of projects teaching you how to shoot in manual mode, and explaining aperture, shutter speed, ISO and so on. I was hooked. I chose Nikon because that’s what my dad always used, but my love for the system has only grown. The outstanding image quality and ease of use of the D810 make it an incredible tool, and I especially like the fact that Nikon has retained the same lens mount through the years, enabling me to find some really old…

When shooting fleeting or impatient subjects such as animals it can be a case of shoot first and worry about removing any distracting background objects in the composition later. As I shot the start image for this tutorial, for example, I wanted to capture the dog standing in the pumpkin patch, but I didn’t have time to worry about distracting objects such as the car passing in the background. If I was using Photoshop it would be a simple matter to spray over objects such as the car with the Content-Aware Spot Healing Brush and it would be replaced by nearby appropriate pixels. Capture NX-D’s equivalent of Photoshop’s Spot Healing Brush is the Auto Retouch Brush. When you spray this tool’s brush tip over an object such as a sensor…

February 2002 • Gulf of St Lawrence, Canada • Nikon F5 Working for National Geographic is something that most photographers can only dream of. But as Brian Skerry can testify, this is when the pressure really begins. Brian joined the legendary magazine in 1998, but three years later, he felt he had yet to prove himself. “Although I had done a few stories, until you hit a few home runs you’re never going to be fully accepted.” His first ‘home run’ was not an easy undertaking. He proposed a winter assignment to document the birth and early life of harp seal pups on the sea ice in Canada. “I chartered a 65-foot crab-fishing boat, I hired helicopters, I hired guides; I was doing all this stuff and probably biting off…

D-SLR • £800/$TBC (with AF-P 18-55mm VR) • www.nikon.co.uk Specifications Sensor 24.2-megapixel DX-format CMOS (EXPEED 4) Crop factor 1.5x Memory 1x SD/SDHC/SDXC Viewfinder Eye-level pentamirror viewfinder, 95% coverage Video resolution Full HD (1920x1080) at 60, 50, 30, 25 or 24p ISO range 100-25600 Autofocus points 39 (9 cross-type) Max burst rate 5fps LCD screen 3.2-inch, 1037k-dot LCD with 170-degree viewing angle, touch-sensitive, vari-angle Shutter speeds 1/4000 sec to 30 secs, Bulb Weight 465g (with battery and memory card) Dimensions 124 x 97 x 70mm Power supply Li-ion EN-EL14a battery, 820 shots The D5600 is the latest D-SLR in Nikon’s D5000-series camera range. It’s one step up from the new entry-level D3400 (which we reviewed in issue 65) and one step down from the enthusiast and pro-orientated D7200 and D500. In…