Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2019 i N-Photo: the Nikon magazine

When it comes to shooting landscapes, you’ll need a wide-angle lens affixed to the front of your Nikon, right? Well, not necessarily… Landscape pro Chris Rutter shows how you can get stunning shots of the great outdoors with any lens, including telephotos, primes, macro lenses and your standard zoom. Our Apprentice is served up a plethora of pro tips for shooting scrumptious shots of food that really do look good enough to eat! We also have a great selection of projects, and show you how to use the fabulous Aurora HDR software – free this issue! We put Nikon’s entire range of crop-sensor DX DSLRs through their paces, from the beginner (and budget) friendly D3500, to the pro-level D500. We also try out Nikon’s 500mm f/5.6 PF for (surprisingly compact)…

OVERALL WINNER AND BLACK & WHITE WINNER Contrails at Dawn Paul Colley, Coate Water Country Park, Wiltshire Ghostly contrails reveal the flight paths and wingbeats of Daubenton’s bats. An infrared camera, lighting system and high-speed camera trap, that were 14 months in development, overcame the challenge of photographing the high-speed flight of these small mammals in the dark. The in-camera double exposure captured the foreground bat milliseconds before it caught the insect. Nikon D750 modified to infrared, 12-24mm f/4, 4 secs, f/8, ISO400 ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR Pheasant Call Andy Harris, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire Wild pheasants treat our land as theirs and are welcomed as part of the landscape of home. This was shot on a spring evening with soft, golden-hour, light and a beautiful male bird calling to the wild. Getting low…

Once you’ve been seduced by the impact of using wide-angle or telephoto lenses for your landscapes, it’s easy to overlook the versatility and creativity offered by the humble standard zoom lens. But with a focal length ranging from moderate wide-angle to short telephoto, it’s a great lens for shooting many landscapes. At the widest setting of 24mm on FX (or 18mm on DX), these lenses offer a great focal length for capturing the wider view of a landscape, without the background elements of the scene becoming too small in the frame. Even so, they are wide enough to make use of foreground details in a similar way to ultra wide-angle lenses. At focal lengths around 50mm on FX or 35mm on DX you will be shooting at distances that give…

A macro lens won’t be the first one that you reach for when shooting landscapes, but they are a great way to add variety to your landscape shoots. First of all they will give you the option of shooting traditional macro subjects such as flowers, plants or insects that you encounter in the landscape. This can be especially useful when the light or cloud isn’t ideal for shooting the wider landscape, or you simply need to shoot something different to give yourself a creative ‘break’ from one subject. In addition to traditional macro subjects you can also use a macro lens to shoot landscapes in miniature. To achieve this you need to start looking at the details around you in the surrounding landscape, and imagine tiny plants as giant trees,…

The mission • Shoot creative cityscape images in low light Time • One evening Skill level • Beginner• Intermediate• Advanced Kit needed • Tripod• Remote shutter release (optional) We joined Nikon School UK at the Centre of Excellence in London to discover the secrets of capturing creative low-light cityscapes. We started by brushing up on our low-light theory and then headed out onto the busy streets of London’s West End to capture traffic trails, before ending the evening at the Embankment. The practical course had lots of hands-on tuition from trainer Neil Freeman to ensure we made the most of our trip out on the town. First, Neil discussed how camera settings and using a tripod are the two most crucial factors at play when shooting the city in low…

The mission • Use Photoshop’s Tilt-Shift filter to blur the foreground and background Time • 15 minutes Skill level • Beginner• Intermediate• Advanced Kit needed • Photoshop CC On a normal lens the plane of focus – or in other words, the sharp parts of the scene – remains parallel to the camera’s sensor, and we move the plane forwards or backwards in the scene by focusing the lens. But a tilt-shift lens offers a different view. By tilting the front element, it’s possible to angle the plane of focus diagonally across the scene. This results in interesting depth-of-field effects, where the dynamic between what’s sharp and what’s soft can be manipulated in creative ways. One such effect is the toy-town look. By using a high angle, tilting the lens…

YOUR PROJECTS CRITIQUED By trade, I am a lawyer residing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Six years ago, peering dimly into the future and realizing I was going to start winding down my law practice, I made a commitment to photography. It rapidly became a habit first of all, then a passion. Soon after that, it transformed into an obsession! I always travel with one of my cameras and some of my gear, even if I am travelling for work. My greatest interest is street photography, but I think some of these shots leach into architecture territory. I shot all of my submitted images on a D5100, which I had from 2012-2017, but I recently upgraded to the Nikon D7500. I feel most of my favourite street photography is based on luck.…

A few years ago, on these pages, I wrote about treating light as a commodity – as an almost tangible element in a photograph, one that in some way stands apart from even what’s supposed to be the subject. There’s no doubt that, in many areas of photography, the quality of light and your handling of it can make or break the shot. Never more so, in fact, than in a studio, where you actually have to construct lighting from scratch. This is why great studio photographers stand head and shoulders above the average. But let’s stick to the real, uncontrollable world, where, on occasion, light can take over the shoot – if you choose to allow it and know how to manage its more interesting quirks. You might wonder…

Profile • Duncan MacArthur was born and raised in Perthshire, Scotland, before moving to France in 1986.• After working as a travel photographer, he focused on landscapes, concentrating on the alpine scenery of the French Hautes-Alpes.• For the past 12 years Duncan has run his own gallery selling prints, calendars and postcards, as well as leading workshops in France and Scotland.• His photography has received numerous awards from across Europe and he is the author of the book Lumières sur le Queyras, featuring the landscape of his adopted home www.duncanmacarthur.com Duncan MacArthur lives “an away-from-it-all lifestyle” in a sheltered valley in the French Alps. “It’s really nice,” he enthuses as we begin our interview. “Five years ago, I opened a new gallery in Guillestre, by a river that comes through…

Sunday 17 March 15:30-16:45 £10 Brought to you by LUMIX ANNIE GRIFFITHS Best known for: Being one of the first women to work for National Geographic magazine Hired by National Geographic in 1978, Annie Griffiths has photographed in nearly 150 countries during her illustrious career. She has worked on dozens of magazine and book projects for National Geographic, including stories on Lawrence of Arabia, Galilee, Petra, Sydney and Jerusalem. In addition to her magazine work, Griffiths is deeply committed to photographing for aid organizations around the world. She is the Founder and Executive Director of Ripple Effect Images, a collective of photographers who document aid programs that are empowering women and girls in the developing world. In just six years, Ripple’s work has helped 26 non-profits raise over ten million…

Landscape photography is all about the best light, the right weather and stunning subject matter, but even when these all come together, you can still add drama, impact and depth by choosing the right lens for your Nikon. This doesn’t have to mean that you simply grab a wide-angle lens and try to capture as much of the landscape as possible. This may be a great way to capture the wider landscape, but the resulting images can often lack impact, as everything is very small in the frame. To avoid this, you need to think about how to use different lenses to make the most of the stunning scenery that you encounter. So, whether you’re shooting seascapes or mountains, rivers or lowlands, over the following pages you’ll find the inspiration…

You may not think of adding a telephoto lens to your kit for a landscape shoot, but they can add extra options to the look of your images. The key to using long lenses for landscapes is paying attention to the distant details that will work in isolation. This can be something as simple as a tree or mountain peak, but it can also be something more subtle, such as the recession of tones due to mist, or the aerial perspective that gives a moody, atmospheric image. These shots often work best when they include very few obvious elements. Enhancing the simplicity and minimalism of one or two objects in the landscape is a great way to use a telephoto lens to produce more abstract images than can be achieved…

The mission • Capture scenes with intentional camera movement motion blur Time • One hour Skill level • Beginner• Intermediate• Advanced Kit needed • Tripod• Tripod ball-head The technique of intentional camera movement, or ICM, is one that employs a long shutter speed while moving the camera during exposure, in order to introduce motion blur intentionally. This normally works best when moving in just one direction, and that makes a three-way head (aka pan-and-tilt heads) the obvious choice of tripod head to use. But we’re using a ball-head for this project. This technique employs a long shutter speed while moving the camera during exposure It sounds like we’ve gone mad, after all, three-way tripod heads make this so much easier; all you have to do is unlock one of the…

HDR (high dynamic range) photography can produce spectacular images. It’s a way of capturing scenes with a tonal range so wide that you can’t capture them with a single exposure. By merging a series of exposures, however, it’s possible to bring out extreme shadow and highlight detail in sunsets, night shots, interiors and other situations where you’re wrestling with wildly differing light levels in different areas of the scene. HDR image capture and processing can seem technically daunting, and it can be difficult to get satisfying images that don’t look over-processed – but Skylum Software changed all that with the introduction of Aurora HDR. Not only can it merge a series of exposures seamlessly, it can then apply a massive range of HDR ‘looks’ via its one-click presets and easy-to-use…

The mission • Shrink your subject by combining a full-size portrait with a mini scene Time • Two hours Skill level • Beginner• Intermediate• Advanced Kit needed • Tripod• Posing doll or toy action figure• Lamp• Photoshop CC One of the most magical things about Photoshop is the ability it gives you to transport your subject to a different place – or in this case, scale. With a few simple skills you can create all kinds of fantastical composites. But it’s not just about image-editing wizardry. Much of the hard work in this project is done in-camera, and it’s here that the effect comes to life. One of the things that makes a bad composite stand out is the mismatch of lighting or perspective – two things that have nothing…

EXPOSURE 1/60 sec, f/5, ISO320 LENS 50mm f/1. Shoot from up high Hannah hopped up onto a bench and took a shoot looking straight down at the food. She had to angle it to make sure the plane of her D850’s image sensor was perfectly parallel with table. She did this to ensure that the entire dish was flat-on to the camera to both avoid distortion and ensure that the depth of field was consistent throughout the shot. Check your focus Throughout the shoot, Victoria reminded Hannah to check the photos were in focus. The D850 has a touch-sensitive Live View screen, so she pinched to zoom and moved around the shot to check its sharpness. But for cameras without a touch screen, you can set up the OK button…

The huge growth in photography – the numbers of people, the numbers of shots, the quantity published – has had a remarkable impact on the way people judge imagery and on what they expect. The default way of shooting has long been ‘show and tell’. In other words, the camera has a great ability to capture instants, so that’s the way it has mainly been used. Art photography’s another thing, by definition out on the fringes somewhere, but most of us are out to show things, whether it’s a lovely or exciting landscape, or people – how they look, what they do. This may all sound a bit philosophical to start off with, so excuse me for that, but deep down there’s a basic difference between showing what’s there (elegantly,…

The winter months can be a challenge to capture well-exposed shots in due to dull overcast skies. With shorter days we have less time to shoot before the sun dips below the horizon and casts our subjects into shadow. To capture a subject in low light you could use a slower shutter speed and a wider aperture setting, but this can lead to shake-induced blur, unless you put the camera on a tripod. However, tripods aren’t always practical to set up, especially in busy public locations. You could try blasting the subject with a burst of on-camera flash, but this can create a flat-lit subject with harsh and unwanted shadows. To make your handheld camera more sensitive to low light you could set it to use a high ISO speed,…

VERDICT The Nikon gives you feel-good factor with its high-end handling, and it beats the Sigma for outright zoom range, both at the wide-angle and telephoto ends. The Sigma’s handling isn’t as refined, because the focus ring rotates during autofocus and doesn’t enable full-time override. Money no object, we’d go with the Nikon lens but the Sigma delivers ace image quality and is unbeatable value.…

Nikon’s AF-S 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR is designed to be significantly smaller and lighter than other lenses of the same focal length. It tips the scales at just 1460g, making it less than half the weight of Nikon’s existing AF-S 500mm f/4E FL ED VR. An equally portable 237mm length and 106mm maximum diameter makes this super-telephoto lens as compact as a 70-200mm f/2.8 optic. Consequently Nikon claims the AF-S 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR will be compact enough for easy handheld use in a variety of shooting scenarios; from capturing fast-moving sports subjects to unpredictable wildlife. The secret to this remarkable compactness is down to the inclusion of Nikon’s Phase Fresnel (PF) lens element: something we’ve already seen in the AF-S 300mm f/4E PF ED VR lens. The…

ZSYSTEM FULL-FRAME MIRRORLESS NIKON Z7 A DEEPLY IMPRESSIVE CAMERA, that combines the resolution, speed and build quality of a high-end pro DSLR in a compact body. It may be the company’s first-ever full-frame mirrorless, but it’s so polished and well designed that you’d think that Nikon had been making them for years. NIKON z6 IT MAY SEEM LIKE a lesser Z7, but the Z6 improves on its sibling with incredible high-ISO performance, insanely fast 12fps continuous shooting and the ability to shoot uncropped 4K video – at two-thirds of the price. Unless you need ludicrously large images, this is the mirrorless of choice for most of us. ENTRY-LEVEL DSLRS NIKON D3500 NIKON HAS REFRESHED AND rejuvenated one of its classic designs to keep it fresh, responsive and appealing to first-time…

The mission • Create fantastic shapes using LED lights Time • Two hours Skill level • Beginner• Intermediate• Advanced Kit needed • Tripod• LED lights• Remote shutter release (optional) During the cold winter months it can be hard to force yourself outside with the camera; it’s dark and dreary and the comfort of the sofa seems like a more convenient option. However, with the long nights comes a fantastic opportunity to create your own light paintings that you would otherwise have to stay up late for in the summer. All you need is a string of LED lights and a couple of batteries. With the camera on a tripod and set to a long exposure, you’ll need to simultaneously swing the lights around while triggering the camera to capture the…

LETTER OF THE MONTH The raw truth I have been an avid reader of your magazine for some time. Your tips and lessons have proved to be invaluable to me. Then I read your ‘Making cash with your Nikon’ feature in N-Photo 91 and thought I would try my luck. I had a few photos that I’d been playing around with and thought I would upload a couple to a stock library and see how things turned out. First problem was pixel size was too small; no problem, go back into Photoshop and increase the pixel size. Problem solved. Second problem was figuring out the description and keywords. My wife is a glass artist, and sells online, so she was able to help me with this – you do need…

Let’s extend the idea of raising questions, rather than always trying to answer them with the camera. It took me longer than most photographers, I think, to get used to this. This is because I grew up in the world of magazine reportage, where the typical assignment was telling a story with, what was basically, a focused photo essay that the editorial team would then spread out among the text essay across several pages. This probably doesn’t get as much thought as it should, largely because we’re all too busy when we’re out on assignment (including self-assignment) looking for the shot. Most of the photographers I know, most of the time, are looking for particular things that they already have in mind. It’s basic training, to actually have a purpose…

There was a point, not so long ago, where the good old card reader looked like it was becoming a niche product. Back in the day laptop and desktop computers almost always sported an SD slot, leaving only rarer card types requiring a separate reader. But in the last couple of years the drive towards super-slim laptops has meant the chop for the built-in SD slot on devices like the MacBook Pro and more stylish PCs. Thankfully there’s no shortage of USB card readers. From budget-friendly and highly-portable options that are so small they resemble a flash drive, through to the desktop-based solutions that connect via a USB cable. We’ve assembled six quality card readers that all boast a fast UHS-II SD slot. Many of our options also offer slots…

There are some fabulous full-frame cameras in Nikon’s current lineup, all of which we featured in last month’s Big Test, but bigger isn’t necessarily better. DX format DSLRs are based on a smaller APS-C type image sensor, measuring approximately 24x16mm, about the same size as a regular postage stamp. That’s a considerable downsize from the 36x24mm of a full-frame image sensor, the latter being 50 per cent larger in both its horizontal and vertical dimensions. That makes the surface area of a full-frame sensor more than twice the size, with the potential benefits that we covered last month. But that’s not the whole story… The smaller dimensions of an APS-C format image sensor enable the physical build of DX cameras to be more compact and lightweight. Indeed, half of the…

On Sale Thursday 14 March 2019 TOM MASON INTERVIEW British wildlife photographer Tom Mason talks about his stunning animal images LIONS AND TIGERS Learn how to shoot big cats in a wildlife park that look like they were taken while on safari… THANKS FOR THE MEMORY CARDS Which memory cards are the fastest and most reliable? We reveal all… *All content subject to change…

TOUTE SUITE & PIAZZA SUITES Our Masterclasses and Conferences are all held in the Toute Suite or Piazza Suites, which you’ll find in the Piazza entrance area just outside Hall 5 – the hall where the main Photography Show and Video Show exhibition is located. BEGINNERS’ MASTERCLASS: PHOTOGRAPHY Saturday 16 March or Sunday 17 March (repeated) Piazza Suites 1-4 £10 Start your photography journey by learning some essential lessons from the experts. There’s a charge of £10 for this four-part programme, in addition to the show entry fee – choose between Saturday or Sunday morning. The Toute Suites are located just outside Hall 5. (See the map on page 17.) 10:30-11:05 The right tools Understand common camera features to help you choose the right camera for you. Nina Bailey 11:05-11:40…

PRO NETWORKING LOUNGE Come along to the Pro Networking Lounge, where you can grab a drink, catch up with colleagues and exchange ideas with likeminded industry professionals in a tranquil environment. PRO HAPPY HOURS Our pro Happy Hours will give you the chance to relax after a day at the show, between 16:00 and 17:00 on Saturday and Sunday. PRO LOUNGE LIVE A series of sessions taking place at the weekend will focus on some of the more specific challenges faced by professional photographers in today’s market. PRO DRINKS RECEPTION Don’t miss our professionals’ drinks reception on Monday evening, featuring amusing anecdotes and advice from speakers. ENHANCE YOUR PHOTO SKILLS The Behind the Lens Theatre and the Portrait & Wedding Stage return, featuring free tutorials and practical demos that focus…

1. The Bullring The futuristic exterior of the Selfridges store is perfect for arty abstracts. 2. The canals Birmingham has more canals than Venice. Begin at Brindleyplace then start exploring… 3. The library Opened in 2013, the wrought ironwork on the outside is spectacular if shot in the right light, and the interior is breathtaking. 4. Spaghetti Junction The many elevated motorways at this landmark are a driver’s nightmare – but full of potential for urban photographers!…