Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2018 i N-Photo: the Nikon magazine

Documentary photojournalist Zed Nelson on shooting everything from war zones to the streets of Hackney See page 94 Most sane people spend the month of February tucked up at home under the duvet – but not us photographers. For the cold, dark depths of winter open up the opportunities for lowlight photography – and this issue our lead feature explores shooting scenarios from dull days, to sunrise and sunset, and long into the night. Meanwhile, our Apprentice heads to the Sussex coast to shoot the shoreline in the magical light of dusk and dawn under the expert instruction of the award-winning Benjamin Graham. And we reveal the results of the first round of our N-Photo Photographer of the Year 2018 contest, on the theme of Winter. Elsewhere, we have projects…

While photography is all about the light, this doesn’t mean that you have to wait for bright, sunny days to get out and shoot. Your Nikon is capable of capturing images in almost any lighting conditions, from cloudy overcast days and colourful sunsets, to the ethereal and beautiful world of night photography. Shooting in low light, and especially at night, presents some unique challenges to your camera skills. At night it can be difficult to simply operate your Nikon in the dark, so you need to be completely familiar with the layout of the buttons on your camera and how to access the main features you will need without relying on being able to see the Nikon’s controls. You’ll also need to plan shots according to the weather conditions, the…

Lens Nikon 20mm f/2.8 Exposure 15 secs, f/11, ISO100 Vibrant cityscapes The light pollution caused by street lights, houses and traffic are normally the bane of night photography, but these bright, colourful lights are the saviour of night cityscapes. It’s best to shoot around an hour or so after sunset, so there is still some colour in the sky, but on overcast nights the clouds can also be coloured by the light of the city deep into the night. The settings you need to capture these cityscapes will depend on the amount and brightness of the lighting, but start with a shutter speed of around 10 secs at f/8, with the ISO set to 200. Then adjust the exposure so that the brightest highlights are just correctly exposed. If you…

The mission • Pre-focus your lens and use the zone focus technique for sharper street shots Time • 1 hour Skill level • Beginner • Intermediate • Advanced Kit needed • Lens with a marked distance scale on it Switch to manual focus, set a lens to a predetermined distance and shoot subjects when they fall into this range of focus When you’re shooting on the streets, being subtle is everything. If you want true candid shots of people who are unaware of your presence, they will also need to be unaware of your big camera. Holding a DSLR right in front of your face shows subjects that you’re photographing them, but how else can you snap images? In this tutorial we’ll show you how to use zone focusing to…

The mission • Exploring the new Light panel in Lightroom CC Time • 30 minutes Skill level • Beginner • Intermediate • Advanced Kit needed • Lightroom WATCH THE VIDEO When importing photos into Lightroom CC, the first thing you’ll want to do is begin processing the images. On the right side, under the Edit panel, the first set of edit controls available reside in the Light panel – aptly named, for it allows you to control the light levels of the photograph. From here it’s possible to adjust overall Exposure (brightness) of your image, alter Contrast, control Highlights, lift or reduce Shadows, and adjust the Whites and Blacks sliders. If you have an underexposed image, it’s possible to increase the exposure and save an image that otherwise would be…

THE N Photo APPRENTICE THE APPRENTICE… NAME Bernie Evans CAMERA D750 Bernie joined Bognor Regis Camera Club (www.bognorregiscameraclub.org.uk) back in 1976, but lapsed a couple of years later. He took up his hobby again upon retirement, after selling his architectural supplies business, when he invested in a Nikon D3100, and rejoined the club nearly 40 years on, of which he has become an enthusiastic member. A D5000 followed, then he went full-frame with the D750. He enjoys all sorts of photography, but feels that his landscapes, in particular, needed attention, so he turned to N-Photo for help… THE PRO… NAME Benjamin Graham CAMERA D810 Benjamin received his first camera as a gift from his father as a ten-year-old back in the ’60s and has been bitten by the landscape photography…

EXPOSURE 1/60 sec, f/14, ISO100 LENS Nikon 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 Our Apprentice says… Towards the end of the our shoot the sun rose above the horizon and began to bathe the landscape in a wonderful golden glow, so Benjamin suggested that I turn around and shoot away from the sea and towards the beach instead. As the mirror-like wet sand was reflecting the wispy clouds beautifully, I composed with the horizon slap-bang in the centre of the frame. The pebbles that had been deposited by the tide litter the foreground pleasingly, while the layers of shingle beach, backed by dunes, add extra interest to the scene. Shots like this make me determined to set the alarm clock and get myself out of bed before sun up – well, during the winter…

YOUR PROJECTS CRITIQUED DIPTADEEP ADDY visits Holi, the ‘festival of colours’, to capture the celebrations with his Nikon D3200 Holi is a spring festival also known as the ‘festival of colours’. This festival is mainly known as the festival of Hindus, since it has long been associated with Lord Krishna, Radha and Vishnu, but with the passage of time this festival has seemingly spread over every religion irrespective of caste, creed and culture, throughout India and all over the wider world. I was inspired to photograph the festival in India with just one motive – to spread compassion with my images. People from all over the world gather in India during Holi to celebrate love and remove hatred, regardless of their language or culture, and I wanted to capture this…

Our globetrotting Contributor at Large, renowned photographer and prolific author Michael Freeman, presents a month-by-month masterclass that’s exclusive to N-Photo, in which he explores his tried-and-tested paths to more creative photography. Michael has published dozens of books on photography, including the bestselling Perfect Exposure. If you enjoy this article and want to learn more, there are 50 more paths to be discovered in Michael’s new book Fifty Paths to Creative Photography (NB: all 50 are different from those that will be featured here in the magazine) Showing things clearly is one of photography’s defaults, and at the 101 level most instruction is geared toward this idea of efficient capture – focus, framing, sharply frozen, moment, aspect, and lighting. When the subject dominates, as in a news photograph, there’s little dispute…

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’re new to digital photography, you may not be sure which software to use to get your photographs looking their best. Capture NX-D may not be as feature packed as programs such as Adobe Photoshop, but it is designed to work directly with your Nikon (and it won’t cost you a penny to download). It’s also great for organizing. Most photographers store their shots in folders organized by date. When browsing through a folder from within Capture NX-D you can add star ratings to specific shots. By…

Your monitor is the cornerstone of your whole digital photography workflow, yet too often it doesn’t get the attention it deserves. But what constitutes a good monitor? There are some big technical differences between an ‘average’ monitor and the kind of display needed for precise photographic work. For a start, budget PCs and laptops generally come with TN (Twisted Nematic) screens, which are inexpensive to manufacture and are ideal for basic tasks. However, poor colour and tonal accuracy, along with limited viewing angles, make them a poor choice for viewing photos. VA (Vertical Alignment) panels deliver improved colour and tonal performance but can lack colour accuracy. IPS (In Plane Switching) monitors are the best choice for digital photo viewing and editing, with good colour rendition, tonal range and uniformity across…

Lens Nikon 17-35mm f/2.8 at 22mm Exposure ½ sec, f/22, ISO50 Shoot long exposures On dark, overcast days the low light levels make it easy to achieve slow shutter speeds such as 1/15 sec to ½ sec, so they are perfect for experimenting with long exposures for blurring water or other moving elements. The technique is quite simple. With your Nikon on a tripod, set a low ISO, such as ISO100, and a narrow aperture, such as f/16. It’s a good idea to use a remote release to minimize camera shake, and either mirror lock-up, a self-timer or exposure delay mode, depending on which is available on your Nikon, to reduce any chance of mirror vibration. If you want to use a longer shutter speed to blur clouds or moving…

The mission • Learn camera techniques for shooting music events and gigs Time • Two hours Skill level • Beginner • Intermediate • Advanced Kit needed • Fast prime lens WATCH THE VIDEO When we think of music photography it usually conjures up images of famous faces strutting their stuff in front of thousands. But if you’re just getting started with gig photography it’s likely you’ll find yourself shooting in smaller venues like pubs, bars and clubs. While there’s less scope for those epic stadium shots we all aspire to, this is more than made up for by the intimacy, closeness, and access you can get in these kind of venues. Cramped conditions, less-than-perfect lighting, and cluttered backdrops all present a challenge, but with a few simple shooting skills and…

The mission • Cut out the sky behind complex objects and drop in a new one Time • 10 minutes Skill level • Beginner • Intermediate • Advanced Kit needed • Photoshop CC As far as cut-outs go, it doesn’t get much more daunting than this. The Eiffel tower is about as complex a shape as you can imagine. The iconic outline is simple enough, but it’s all the little gaps and spaces in between that pose a challenge for anyone wishing to make a selection. The bare tree branches on the right of the image make things even more difficult. So how can we cut out an object like this? Forget using the freehand or simple selection tools – it would take days! Even cleverer tools, like the Quick…

EXPOSURE 1/3 sec, f/11, ISO100 LENS Nikon 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 Our Apprentice says… Benjamin had selected Littlehampton beach as the location for our shoot as sunrise and sunset were close to low tide, meaning that the beach would be vast and full of interesting detail. This is my favourite shot of our evening shoot – I went as wide-angle as my lens would allow to capture the sweeping scene in front of me, and composed with the harbour entrance in silhouette on the lower third of the frame. The brisk wind whipped up the clouds into moody streaks, reflected in water pockets on the rippled sand. Expert insight Planning a shoot Benjamin makes a habit of preparing an at-a-glance shooting schedule detailing notable times, including when to set the alarm clock!…

EXPOSURE 10 secs, f/11, ISO100 Lens Nikon 50mm f/1.4 Our Apprentice says… Normally with landscape photography it’s vital to keep the camera stock still, so I was a little surprised when Benjamin suggested I deliberately move the camera during a long exposure shot – but the results were staggering! I borrowed his trusty 50mm lens and set a 10 second exposure, then walked slowly and steadily forward into the gently lapping tide towards the horizon, which had just started to be lit up by the rising sun. I was amazed at what then popped up on my rear LCD – the blues and purples of the ocean contrast with the golden orange glow of the sunlit clouds, and all transformed into painterly strokes as if created by an impressionist artist!…

LETTER OF THE MONTH Chocks away! Win a Manfrotto 290 Xtra tripod worth £105! Write our star letter and you’ll win a versatile Manfrotto 290 Xtra aluminium three-section tripod. The lightweight construction makes for a sturdy mount capable of carrying heavy equipment, while the 290’s durable aluminium leg locks and four adjustable leg angles enable photographers to capture creative compositions. The tripod comes complete with a comfortable shoulder bag for easy transportation. For more details visit www.manfrotto.co.uk I really enjoyed your enactment photo shoot article (N-Photo 79). I am lucky to live close to the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum near Hamilton, Ontario, where the other flying Lancaster resides. They had a night-time engine run-up and re-enactment with the Lancaster, its stablemate B-25 Mitchell, and a visiting B-17 Flying Fortress that…

Sarah Skinner’s passion for wildlife photography was sealed in 2004 when she went on Safari to Tanzania. In 2007, she qualified for her South African Field Guide Licence and she and husband Andy now lead photographic safaris. Sarah also leads groups to shoot the Aurora Borealis. For more information: www.imagesofwildlife.co.uk JULY 2016 • BOTSWANA • NIKON D500 Although Sarah Skinner has been photographing African wildlife on a semiprofessional basis since 2004, it was little more than two years ago that she took the plunge of giving up the day job to become a full-time wildlife photographer. So, the moment she regards as her big break is a very recent occurrence. In 2016, she and her husband Andy returned to one of their favourite locations in Botswana. “We were at a…

The nightcap Charl Senekal, South Africa ⋆ For Charl, nothing beats the excitement and anticipation of sitting in wait at a waterhole during the dry season, knowing that anything can appear out of the darkness. The herd of zebra in South Africa’s Zimanga Game Reserve surpassed his wildest wishes, and the still conditions resulted in a near-perfect reflection. Nikon D5, 24-70mm f/2.8, 1/400 sec, f/2.8, ISO5000 Kick back and chill Alan Chung, USA After more than two hours hiking with rangers in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda, Alan came across the ‘Hirwa’ family group (meaning ‘the lucky one’). This group of 16 mountain gorillas is led by a single strong silverback. They were feeding on young bamboo shoots and relaxing in a leafy open spot. Lucky for Alan indeed! Nikon D800E,…

Lens Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 at 28mm Exposure 3 secs, f/22, ISO50 The golden hour The warm, golden light from the sun low in the sky around an hour or so before sunset or after sunrise will help produce great looking shots. This low sun also produces strong side-lighting, which will bring out the shape and form of the subject, again enhancing the impact of shots taken during the golden hour. You can increase the warmth of your golden hour shots by setting the White Balance on your Nikon to Cloudy or even Shade, but you will get more natural looking results by choosing Daylight white balance. The main challenge, when shooting during the golden hour, is to find a location where the sun is in the right position to light…

Lens Nikon 17-35mm f/2.8 at 17mm Exposure 2 secs, f/2.8, ISO3200 Spectacular aurora The eerie glow of the aurora is one of the most amazing spectacles nature has to offer the night photographer. This phenomenon is most frequent and spectacular in the far north (or south) such as Iceland, Norway and Canada, but it is possible to capture it farther south in Scotland, northern USA, or sometimes even in England when the conditions are perfect. The lighting effects vary considerably, from an overall glow to sinuous strands of light moving across the sky. Because of this movement, you will get the best results by using a shutter speed of between 1 and 5 secs to avoid blurring the aurora too much. To achieve this in the low light conditions you’ll…

The mission • Use a tilt-shift lens to correct perspective in architectural photography Time • One hour Skill level • Beginner • Intermediate • Advanced Kit needed • Tilt-shift lens • Tripod Tilt-shift lenses are fantastic for perspectival correction, naturally making them the lenses of choice for architectural photography. When photographing a tall, straight object from afar (like shooting up at a cathedral) the top of the building appears as if it’s leaning away from us. This is called the keystone effect. To counteract this unwanted effect, we can use a tilt-shift lens. Tilt-shift lenses tilt the plane of focus and shift the perspective distortion. The tilt function allows us to change the direction of the plane of focus, while shift gives us the power to straighten lines. In this…

EXPOSURE 15 secs, f/11, ISO100 LENS Nikon 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 Evoking emotion People are often disappointed that the epic vista they see in front of them often just doesn’t have the same impact when reproduced as a photograph. Landscape photography isn’t so much about capturing the entire scene, but more about capturing mood, colour, texture, shape and form, to give the sense of the location. So as well as the ‘classic’ views, try shooting intimate close-ups along with more impressionistic images too. Our Apprentice says… At just gone 7am the sky looked almost pitch black to the naked eye, but your Nikon sensor can see so much more than you can during the blue hour! My 15 sec exposure revealed an incredible amount of detail, and the fast-flowing waters of the…

Mission: Capture the incredible starling murmurations that take place each evening from November to March in local reed beds Photographer: Alan Price Location : Pentrefelin, Wales Kit: Nikon D7100 Nikon 55-200mm Nikon 18-105mm Website: gatehousestudio.co.uk Wildlife and photography are my passion and I am so fortunate to live and work in Pentrefelin, Wales. It’s such an outstanding part of the UK. Since I was a child, nature and wildlife was very important to me and, in particular, birds and insects. Photography played a large part when I reached adulthood, because I worked as a graphic designer for 40 years. After I retired, 10 years ago, I entered a photo competition and won a Nikon D40X. After upgrading my kit a few times I won several national and international awards, which…

We experience shadows in two basic ways. One is as the background out of which lit things emerge, as in the photograph on the previous page. The other is as something with a shape that’s projected onto the brightly lit parts of the scene. In other words, light out of dark or dark out of light. In every case, we’re dealing with strong contrast, and as you’d expect, the strongest of the second kind of shadow comes from hard, point-source light – clear sunlight or a studio spot. Shadows that take up a smaller but distinct part of the image, as in the example here, are a different kind of experience from the others we’ve just looked at. Rather than being ‘containers’ for things to happen inside and objects to…

Profile ⚫ Zed Nelson is best known for his award-winning books Gun Nation, Love Me, In This Land and A Portrait of Hackney ⚫ His photo essays have received first prizes in World Press Photo, Pictures of the Year, Visa d’Or and the Alfred Eisenstaedt Award ⚫ Zed’s work is in the permanent collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum and had solo shows in London, New York and Stockholm. ⚫ A Portrait of Hackney by Zed Nelson is published by Hoxton Mini Press, £12.95, available from www.hoxtonminipress.com/products/aportrait-of-hackney-1 ⚫ For more of Zed’s work, see www.zednelson.com When I ask Zed Nelson to recall the moment when he knew he wanted to become a photographer, he describes the day when he was 10 years old and wandered into a field to…

Recently I was chosen by Nikon to be part of its European Wedding Collective – along with a team of wedding photographers from across Europe. For our first assignment, we were tasked to share wedding traditions from our local countries, so this image series showcases key traditions of English weddings; speeches, cake cutting and the first dance – all taken on the D850! I shot the series at the stunning Peckforton Castle in Cheshire. I treat all weddings the same, whether they’re shot in an exotic destination or in the UK. I adapt to the style, people and energy of the wedding to capture it authentically and always strive for creativity. Every shot I take is carefully considered. I turned professional in 2010 and this is my eighth year. The…

Features 01 A petal-shaped hood is supplied, while the lens has a 72mm filter thread. 02 The focus ring rotates during autofocus, and there’s no focus distance scale. 03 From 18-400mm zoom settings, the length extends from 124mm to 216mm (253mm with hood). 04 HLD autofocus is quiet and well-suited to stills and video. 05 Vibration Compensation is less effective than some of Tamron’s other recent lenses. 06 The mount enables USB-linked customization and firmware updates via Tamron’s optional console. 07 The zoom lock can only be used at the 18mm position. Specifications Full-frame compatible No Effective focal length 27-600mm Image Stabilizer Yes (2.5-stop) Minimum focus distance 0.45m Max magnification factor 0.34x Manual focus override No Focus limit switches No Internal zoom No Internal focus Yes Filter size 72mm Iris…

1 PROCESSOR Processing power is not just about speed, measured in GHz (GigaHertz), but also the number of ‘cores’ a computer has. These essentially act as multiple processors running in parallel, helping to power through complex tasks. Processors with four, six and eight cores are widely available. For multimedia tasks, we’d recommend a minimum of a quad-core Intel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen 5 processor, with the additional cores of a Core i7 or Ryzen 7 helping to greatly speed up video rendering. 2 RAM Random Access Memory is another key factor in computer performance. Most modern computer motherboards take DDR3 or DDR4 format memory, and have varying numbers of slots for accommodating multiple RAM modules. These usually come in 4GB or 8GB capacities and should ideally be installed in…