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

FOR YOUR FREE LANDSCAPE PHOTO GRAPHY BOOK, TURN TO PAGE 15 At first glance, it might not seem like this issue’s main feature (on taking your landscapes to the next level) and this issue’s interview (with battle-hardened photojournalist Ami Vitale) have that much in common. But they are linked by a definite theme: namely, that great photography takes time. When Ami gets to a new location, she doesn’t even take her camera out of her bag for the first day or two; instead, she takes time – that word again – to meet with local leaders, to talk with them and gain their trust. In a similar vein, landscape ace Jeremy Walker discusses taking one of his favourite images in our main feature (see page 24). He went back to…

While anyone can whip out their camera or phone on a clear day, only a photographer knows the difference that a change in the weather can bring to pictures. Whether it’s a brooding sky that’s on the edge of rain, wind that’s strong enough to push tears from your eyes or some lingering fog and mist, weather has the potential to add interest and atmosphere to your landscapes. Take this shot of a colourful sunrise over a snowcaked Belstone Tor on Dartmoor, in Devon. Adam Burton had been revisiting this composition for eight years, photographing the tor throughout the seasons. But although he’d captured the shot many times in winter, he had always hoped to photograph it blanketed in snow. “The trouble is, snow is all too fickle in Southern…

D amian Shields lives a couple of hours’ drive from one of the highlights of the Scottish Highlands, Glen Affric, and in the spring of 2015 he and a couple of friends headed down the mythic glen. However, due to snow-melt and 48 hours of non-stop rain, they were evacuated to a B&B on high ground as the area recorded some of the highest flooding on record. Damian never made it to the glen and the depressing decision was made to return home. “Initially I had determined to return at a time of year that would see a good dusting of snow on the peaks, with some of the earthy tones of autumn lingering in the foliage at lower levels,” reveals Damian. “I began my research on Google, looking at…

The mission • To capture light trails from a waterfall Time • An evening Skill level • Beginner • Intermediate • Advanced Kit needed • D-SLR • Wide-angle lens • Tripod • Glow sticks • Head torch • Waterproofs • Remote release (optional) Waterfalls are the most common subject that people choose when experimenting with long shutter speeds for the first time. Little waterfalls take on a tantalising silky, smooth texture when we use a long exposure to shoot them, giving them an ethereal feel. There are countless amazing waterfall photos out there already. But this technique gives you an unusual twist to liven up your waterfall shots by enhancing their magical feel. By taking a few glow sticks and setting them loose in the evening from the top of…

EXPOSURE 1/320 sec, f/3.2, ISO5000 LENS Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 Our Apprentice says… The first stage was wide and well-lit. Kevin told me that I should concentrate on getting a classic wide shot of the band rockin’ out. With Kevin’s 14-24mm f/2.8 lens on my D750, I had plenty of space around the musicians to let the image breathe. To start with I held my camera level, but Kevin suggested twisting and turning it a little to add dynamism to the photos. As I was doing this the two guitarists started jamming together right in front of me. I loved their expressions and I had a pretty clear view of the action. Follow pit etiquette The first thing you should learn about gig photography is pit etiquette. The photography pit is…

WATCH THE VIDEO WHERE TO GET CAPTURE NX-D It’s made for Nikons, and it’s free! Capture NX-D is available as a free download from Nikon at http://nikonimglib.com/ncnxd/ As new Nikons are introduced, Capture NX-D should be the first software to support them. When you want an affordable yet effective way to process your images, it’s worth taking a look at Nikon’s free photo-fixing software, Capture NX-D. We’re taking a fresh look at the software over the next few months, by showing you how to use the program’s tools to correct common problems and improve your images. Because Capture NX-D is created by Nikon itself, it should be more compatible with your camera than third-party photo-fixing apps. For example, you can access the same White Balance presets that your camera contains…

Cokin P Series Gradual ND filter kit SMALLEST FITMENT 48mm LARGEST FITMENT 82mm Filter material CR-39 organic glass MOUNTING RING Black anodised aluminium HOLDER MATERIAL Plastic PROFILE Standard and wide-angle holders LARGER SIZES AVAILABLE Z-Pro (100mm), X-Pro (130mm) PRICE £50/$95 (kit with holder) Fit Square and rectangular filters typically come in width options of 67mm, 85mm and 100mm, with larger sizes available. This 85mm kit contains three ND (Neutral Density) graduated filters of varying strengths, and a plastic holder. Adaptor rings are sold separately. Range The Cokin P Series range includes over 100 filters, including many solid and graduated neutral density and coloured filters which are ideal for landscape photography. A polariser is also available, which can be used with standard and wide-angle filter holders. Stacking With Cokin’s standard P…

The contenders Like optical shoehorns, wide-angle lenses help you to squeeze more in. When taking great landscape photographs (using the advice in our main feature, page 16) they enable you to include huge, sweeping vistas in the frame, and exaggerate the perspective between the foreground and background for creative effect. They’re not just for the great outdoors, either. When you’re photographing interiors of buildings and have your back against the wall, a wide-angle lens enables you to pack everything in – including, if needed, the kitchen sink. Apart from specialist fisheye lenses that give a specific creative effect, there are very few wide-angle prime lenses available for DX-format (cropped-sensor) cameras. It’s a great shame because, while ultra-wide zoom lenses like the Nikon DX 10-24mm provide versatility in terms of focal…

R ewarding landscape photography isn’t always a case of rocking up with a tripod at a location and waiting for the golden hour. Sometimes you have to work a bit harder. Of course, luck does play its part, whether it’s a finger of light highlighting a hill or a shapely cloud drifting into just the right spot. But although it’s perfectly possible to get lucky, and be in the right place at the right time, the best landscape images are more likely to come from having the nous to put yourself in the right place at the right time to get lucky – as well as learning from the occasional failed attempt at doing so. Landscape photography can be fraught with frustration; after all, you don’t have any control over…

The mission • To capture shots of swooping flocks of birds at dusk Time • One hour Skill level • Beginner • Intermediate • Advanced Kit needed • Nikon D-SLR • Long lens From time to time, many of us flit into bird photography, whether it’s while looking out of the window into the garden or on a more deliberate trip, such as a falconry experience day. But rarely do most people plan ahead for more than a few shots; often getting what they can on the day after playing around with settings. Bird photography might sound difficult, but with a plan and the right camera settings you can get great photos. If you find a popular location and arrive a little early to set up, you can nail fantastic…

The mission • To reduce unwanted noise while retaining important details Time • 15 minutes Skill level • Beginner • Intermediate • Advanced Kit needed • Lightroom 5 or later WATCH THE VIDEO Last issue we demonstrated how the Detail panel can enable you to sharpen a photo while keeping noise at bay. Noise is added to a photo when using a high ISO sensitivity setting on your camera, or when shooting at night with a slow shutter speed. There are two types of noise – luminance (greyscale) and chroma colour). Luminance noise appears throughout the image’s tonal range as tiny dots. Chroma noise manifests itself as tiny patches of distracting rainbow colours, which are especially noticeable in detail-free sections of a JPEG image, such as a sky. Luminance noise…

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 1/320 sec, f/2.8, ISO5000 LENS Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 Our Apprentice says… Up until this point in the night all of the bands had been front lit, making it easy to see the musicians’ faces. But just for a moment in this set the front lights went off and only some spotlights backlighting the band were searching around the stage. I seized the opportunity to capture a striking silhouette and got this shot. I love the way that the head of the bass guitar is sharply cutting into the red background, and the rim light on the bassist’s hair outlines the back of his head. Without these two shapes, the bassist would have been indistinguishable from the background. Expert insight Meter for the band Kevin says… A lot of people…

1 Madeira Sunrise Nikon D810, 20mm f/1.8, 1/100 sec, f/16, ISO100 Mission: To capture a moment in nature’s ever-changing landscape Photographer: Mikael Svensson Age: 45 Location: Mölndal, Sweden Kit: Nikon D810, Nikon D800E, Nikon D750, Nikon 16-35mm, Nikon 20mm, Nikon 24-70mm, Nikon 28-300mm, Nikon 80-400mm, Nisi filters Website: www.mikaelsvensson.com My photographic journey began during my years working in a hotel in Grövelsjön, Dalarna, which is a mountainous area in southern Sweden. There I felt inspired often by the fleeting moments in nature’s ever-changing landscapes and light. I wanted to capture these moments whenever I had free time outdoors, trekking or skiing. I started my photography business part-time in 1999, and five years later I’m doing it for a living. Working full-time has its ups and downs. It’s maybe not the…

Win a Manfrotto Advanced Rear backpack! Write our Star Letter and you’ll win a versatile Manfrotto Advanced Rear backpack, which is brilliant for photographers on the go. It meets most airline carry-on baggage limits, and has room for your D-SLR and three lenses, plus a laptop. It’s even got space to carry a travel tripod securely. For more details visit www.manfrotto.co.uk LETTER OF THE MONTH Lost in transit I have just got back from Iceland with my family. All of our checked-in bags, including all of my camera gear, got sent to France by mistake, and they were then sent back to our home rather than to our accommodation in Iceland! These photos were taken with my smartphone, along with all of the other photos from the trip. We’re planning…

Most people using selective focus simply concentrate on throwing the background out of focus. This is easy to imagine and to control, as you have a clear view of the subject that you want sharp when they’re closest to the camera. More unpredictable, and for that reason more interesting, is focusing behind and choosing your camera position so that the foreground is defocused. It goes against the way most people think about seeing, so it’s counter-intuitive – with all the creative possibilities that suggests. To me, this is particularly a colour technique. For one, the colour gives extra definition to these images, and separation from the background. In black and white it’s harder to tell the layers apart. There’s also the simple visual pleasure of a colour wash (think of…

1 STRAIGHTEN THINGS UP In the Folders window, browse to our start file exposure_ start.NEF. Click on the Straighten tool icon in the toolbar. Click and drag to draw a line that follows the shot’s tilted horizon. The tool will measure the angle of the horizon and rotate the shot to counteract the tilt. 2 ADJUST THE EXPOSURE In the Edit panel, click on the Exposure Compensation drop-down and choose the +1/2 EV preset. This performs the same job as opening the lens’s aperture by half an f-stop. You can manually fine-tune the EV value by using the Exposure Compensation slider too. 3 BRIGHTEN THE SHADOWS Click on the Edit panel’s Tone icon and boost the image’s Saturation to 40 for more vibrant landscape colours. Click on the adjacent Tone/Detail…

17 MARCH 2012 • WHITE SEA, RUSSIA • NIKON D700 March might be the first month of spring, but near the Arctic Circle on the Russian coast, winter maintains an icy grip on both land and sea at this time of year. Five years ago, underwater photographer George Karbus and his girlfriend Kate, an expert free diver, caught a train due north from Moscow. Their destination was the White Sea, the stretch of ocean adjacent to Russian Lapland and the Kola Peninsula. “It was a spectacular trip,” remembers George. “We took a sleeper train straight up to the Arctic from Moscow. We just went through the wilderness, stopping at those crazy train stations where grannies were selling cans of beer and fish.” Two days on the train was followed by…

Winner, International Landscape Photograph of the Year Ruacana Falls, Namibia Hougaard Malan, South Africa Nikon D810, 70-200mm f/4, 3 secs, f/8, ISO100 N-Photo says: It’s the dramatic lighting in this image that makes it so striking, and so original. Waterfalls are usually shot in shade, but by shooting into the light, Hougaard has managed to render the drama and power of the falls as something serene and other-worldly. Technically, he’s nailed what must have been a tricky exposure, and the threesecond shutter speed provides just the right amount of blur in the tumbling tendrils of water. TOP 101 Land Marks Peta North Nikon D4s, 200mm f/2, 1/2000 sec, f/11, ISO1000 N-Photo says: Carefully ploughed lines run perfectly vertically in Peta’s graphic aerial shot, crossing over the smaller horizontal ridges to…

Just like comedy and baking a cake, successful landscape photography is all about timing. You’ll have fuller, more interesting waterfall shots after a period of heavy rainfall, for instance, and timing a visit to the coast to coincide with the rise or fall of the tide is a key consideration for seascapes. Choosing the right season to capture a view is obviously crucial; although some places will look good year round, the colours of spring or autumn can add interest to many landscapes. Even coastal photography can benefit from being planned with seasonal details in mind, as Ross Hoddinott’s shot of The Rumps, near Polzeath, in Cornwall, proves. “This is a viewpoint I’ve known about for years and that I’ve photographed before, but I’d always wanted to capture it in…

Not all of us are lucky enough to live a short car trip from a prime landscape location, and that means persistence is key when it comes to capturing it at its most interesting. It might take several seasons, numerous B&B stopovers and disheartening return journeys before you get close to photographing it in the conditions you had in mind. Persistence is a trait shared by all of this issue’s featured landscape photographers, but Jeremy Walker takes the prize: he’d been making the long trip from his West Country base to Dolwyddelan Castle in Snowdonia National Park for over 30 years before he finally got the misty scene he’d been waiting for. “I first saw this castle in 1982 when I was in my first term in college,” explain Jeremy.…

The mission • To capture dramatic action shots of rally racing Time • Half a day Skill level • Beginner • Intermediate • Advanced Kit needed • Nikon D-SLR • Wide-angle lens • Telephoto zoom lens • Monopod Taking clear action shots of fast-paced sports, such as rally racing, may sound hard, especially with everything zipping by so quickly, but it is possible. Breathe, take time to enjoy it and to plan your shots, and you’ll get a selection of photographs to be proud of. You’ll need to keep your Nikon steady and smooth. Panning is also an important technique to master, and the right shutter speed is key to achieving an image that is not only sharp, but that also gives a sense of speed. We went to leg…

THE PRO... NAME Kevin Nixon CAMERA Nikon D4 Kevin’s professional photography career spans over 25 years, and during this time he’s photographed most of the world’s biggest rock stars – at both intimate venues and arena-sized stadiums. A regular contributor to UK music magazines, his work has been published internationally, too. He also shoots promotional band portraits, both on location and in the studio. See his work at www.knixon.co.uk THE APPRENTICE... NAME Kate Lee CAMERA Nikon D750 Kate is an aspiring photographer who works in retail, selling technology. Since working with cameras and all things tech, she has rekindled her passion for photography and started shooting families, couples and newborns. She loves live music and, having shot a few local pub gigs before, wants to learn how to photograph live…

EXPOSURE 1/400 sec, f/3.2, ISO5000 LENS Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 Our Apprentice says… For this shot, the stage burst into life and was swamped with dry ice and multiple powerful lights. It was hard to get a shot of the lead singer lit, and the pit was cramped, so with limited options available I zoomed out and got in close. The entire frame filled with colour – I love the way the split lights push out behind the singer mid-action. I borrowed Kevin’s 24-70mm f/2.8 for this shot, and shot at 50mm. My 50mm f/1.4 wouldn’t have given me the option of pushing in close or zooming wide, which I needed because the pit was small and full of people. Expert insight Keep your eyes open Kevin says… Keep both eyes…

YOUR PROJECTS CRITIQUED 1 O2 at Midnight Nikon D300, 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5, 13 secs, f/11, ISO200 When I was younger I was in a band, gigging around London. I wanted to get signed and become successful, and it almost happened when I had a track played on London’s Kiss FM, but sadly it wasn’t meant to be. My late father had always wanted me to get into photography as he was a film photographer, so after my musical journey ended, the photography quickly took over. When I decided to upgrade to a D-SLR from my compact Nikon Coolpix 995, I held both a Nikon D70 and a Canon EOS 300D to compare them, and the Nikon just felt better in my hand. Most reviews slightly pointed towards the Nikon, too, so…

Layering in photography can’t escape the idea of depth; there’s no such thing as a flat-yet-layered picture. Nevertheless, you can choose to make more of the depth by using selective focus in a certain way. Unlike the previous image of the Bulang minority ceremony, where the sharp focus was backstopped on the furthest part of the scene, using selective focus for its maximum depth effect means keeping the narrow band of sharpness somewhere around halfway in, beyond which the focus slides back into a blur. What these two different types of layering have in common, however, is that in both kinds of image the transparent edge of the foreground blur helps to progress the sense of depth. In the picture above, taken in a Taiwanese temple, the foreground shades to…

Profile ORIGINALLY FROM FLORIDA, AMI VITALE HAS BEEN DOCUMENTING THE WORLD WITH HER CAMERA SINCE SHE WAS 21 • Ami’s photographs have been commissioned by many leading international publications, and exhibited in museums and galleries all over the world • A Nikon ambassador and contract photographer with National Geographic magazine, Ami also gives workshops throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia • Ami is also on the Photojournalism Advisory Council for the Alexia Foundation, a charity that promotes the power of photojournalism to highlight social injustice. For the past 20 years, Ami Vitale has photographed conflict, cultures and environmental issues. Her photo stories are the culmination of multiple visits and painstaking research, as typified by her recent feature for National Geographic, documenting the efforts of Chinese scientists to breed and release…

Tamron 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 Di II VC HLD £TBA/$499 www.tamron.eu Tamron’s latest ultra-wide lens replaces the SP AF 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 Di II LD launched back in 2008, and while core specs remain unchanged, there are plenty of tweaks under the hood. The first notable new addition is Vibration Compensation (VC), which Tamron claims will provide a four-stop advantage. This may not be essential at short focal lengths, but it does offer improved usability in low light, and a crucial edge over Nikon’s own AF-S DX 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED. Tamron has also equipped the lens with a new HLD (High/Low Torque Modulated Drive) autofocus motor, which is designed to increase autofocus smoothness. Full-time manual focus override is also available. And it’s not just AF that’s been given a precision boost, as aperture…