Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2021 i N-Photo: the Nikon magazine

OVEREXPOSED Ben says… My go-to shooting mode is Aperture Priority, but if I’m not happy with the exposure, I prefer to use Manual mode rather than exposure compensation. When this happens my default setting is to overexpose my images by about 1/3 of a stop, but this is entirely a creative decision. IMAGE QUALITY Ben says… I always shoot Raw, but I also like to set my image quality to ‘NEF (RAW) + JPEG fine.’ This allows you to wirelessly download images from the camera via Nikon’s SnapBridge app, and then edit and share those images while you’re out in the field using a smart device. FILM THROWBACK Ben says… I always try to shoot using the lowest ISO possible – it’s a habit that harks back to when I…

Ben says… Creative fine art photography can be captured with any camera and lens combination. Today was about embracing boundaries and lens choice is a great way to do this. Despite having a bag full of lenses, Rod only used his excellent Nikon Z 24-70mm f/4 S. This single zoom lens still afforded him an extremely versatile range of focal lengths, but for the ultimate challenge you can always head out with a single prime.…

From its earliest beginnings, photography has been used to help visualize the ‘unseen’ world; events that are too slow or too fast for the human eye to perceive, to record subjects that are visible only in areas of the electromagnetic spectrum outside the human range of sensitivity, or even capture subject detail that is too minute for the human eye to see. Different photographic techniques, some little used nowadays, can be used as a window into this invisible world. They can reveal how a bee might see a flower, how a drop of water disintegrates when it strikes a surface, or even the stress patterns created by the manufacturing process of plastic objects. This article will look at some of the techniques used to do this, mostly readily available to photographers…

Motor sport photography is often regarded as one of the most technical and challenging genres, but it’s also one of the most accessible. Circuits with low fencing like Thruxton, Snetterton and Brands Hatch allow spectators to capture pro-grade images that are virtually indistinguishable from pro shots taken in front of the fence. A race weekend comprises practice and qualifying sessions, and when you include supporting classes, the on-track action barely lets up throughout the day. This provides photographers with ample opportunity to capture stunning shots and allows newcomers to rack up hours of practice in no time at all. The key to motor sport photography isn’t just about camera settings and technique though. To up your game you need to anticipate what might happen on track and identify the best…

The recently introduced Color Grading panel is available in Photoshop’s Camera Raw plugin and Lightroom, and it’s one of the most powerful toning tools on offer. Several of the other colour tools in Camera Raw are geared towards correcting unwanted colour shifts, but Color Grading is different. Rather than correcting, it instead invites you to add colour shifts of your own in order to give an image a certain look or mood. As such, Color Grading is one of the best tools for boosting the atmosphere of a scene. Color Grading is a replacement for the old Split Toning panel and, like its predecessor, it lets you add individual colour tints to different parts of the tonal range of your image based on brightness values. But while the Split Toning…

As I walked along the Grand Canal in Venice, I was amazed that I could walk in a straight line instead of zig-zagging through the hoards of tourists. It was a pleasure compared to the numerous past visits and a positive consequence of the delightful COVID-19 pandemic. I always spend a few days here before and after my annual October workshop in the Dolomites. Venice is just such a unique place and I always enjoy exploring different parts of the city, as well as the more classic views. However, I do always try to come up with something a little bit different when I’m there. It had been a stormy afternoon with dark clouds and even a brilliant rainbow, – a welcome change to the bright blue skies I’ve had…

Star Letter Beasts of burden Kudos to N-Photo for publishing the works of two photographers in the July 2021 issue (N-Photo 125) illuminating attention worldwide to the growing abuse of animals held captive or are part of the illegal wildlife trade. As a bagpiper who owns a set of 1968 ivory bagpipes, I find them more of a burden than a source of pride when I look at the ivory. Thank goodness the work of Adam Oswell and Amy Jones bring to light the sadness of animal cruelty that still continues and hopefully will one day be completely abolished. Thank you N-Photo for not shying away from articles of substance that truly connect your audience to the people who do use their cameras and talent to highlight issues that need…

Bracketing exposures is the most common approach to creating high dynamic range (HDR) images. You shoot a range of different exposures of the same scene, which then you combine using post-processing software to achieve a wider dynamic range than the camera sensor can capture. You can use the in-camera HDR function to blend two exposures together, however sometimes you may need five or more exposures to capture the full dynamic range in an image. To do this, set your camera to Aperture Priority or Manual mode and set the ISO, aperture and shutter speed so you have a balanced exposure. Now use the exposure compensation button (if you are in Aperture Priority mode) or change the shutter speed (in Manual mode) to shoot a range of images at different exposures,…

Using the Crop, Straighten and Perspective Control tools allow us to create new images, correct minor flaws and explore new ways of presenting photos. These tools can be found under the Adjustments tab, then under the Adjust Composition sub-menu. There are three main sections to the Adjust Composition menu, Crop, Straighten and Perspective Control. They all feature a dropdown option that displays Original Value. This is the setting used for NEF files imported from most cameras and gives you the option to Record Adjustments or Edit Recorded Adjustments, enabling you to create a ‘profile’ for a specific camera that you could apply to images in future. When you have selected an image to crop, you will see that a sub-menu showing Free Crop will activate. Click the crop symbol in…

1. The Olympian BY HEINZORAIS This portrait is of weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, who made headlines at Tokyo 2020 as the Philippines’ first ever Olympic gold medalist. The mono conversion has helped to mute the busy surroundings, while the lighting pulls the subject from the background. However, it’s the moment captured that really elevates this image as Hidilyn composes herself before lifting the barbell. 2. Skating Rink BY ANDRIY BLOKHIN Capturing a fast-moving subject is no mean feat, but this image of a skater is tack-sharp. A fast 1/2000 sec shutter speed was used to freeze the motion and the focus is spot on. The harsh sunlight has cast an almost perfect shadow, while also highlighting the subject’s muscular frame. The arched positioning of the arms works well, as they don’t…

£69.99/$79.99 PaintShop Pro 2022 is an all-in-one solution for beginners to more advanced users, with different workspaces aimed at different levels of editing ability and for accessing different types of functionality. This approach to image-editing software allows users to grow as they move from beginner to more advanced levels of post-production. PaintShop Pro is, for this reason, like having Photoshop Elements, Photoshop CC and a touch-controlled image editor in a single program. Plus, with the Ultimate version, you get additional software that brings a huge amount of creative potential to your photography and video. Key features With software that’s updated annually, new features can sometimes be lacking but this is far from the case with PaintShop Pro 2022, with the inclusion of MultiCam Capture Lite and The Corel Creative Collection,…

It’s no secret Nikon missed themirrorless revolution party – and was a little late to the after-party – but when it did arrive it brought the best gift: the mighty Z mount. Launching an alternative to the now 62-year-old F mount was a bold move and one that was always going to ruffle a few feathers. But three years on from the release of the Z 6/7, it’s abundantly clear that Z mount is more than a worthy successor. Better than all the rest The Z mount’s open secret is its oversized diameter. Internally, it’s 17% bigger than the F mount and larger than any full-frame mount on the market. This is advantageous for a number of technical reasons, but the keynotes are increased light gathering, better image quality and…

When we take a photo, we are usually attempting to record the scene we see in front of us, but this issue’s lead feature is dedicated to capturing things we can’t see with the naked eye: freezing an instant of time with a flash or compressing a much longer passage of time into a single image; or revealing what’s beyond the observable colour spectrum, delving into the realms of infrared and ultraviolet light. Our Apprentice also learns to see the world around him differently, as fine art pro Ben Brain sets him a range of challenges designed to hone his picture-taking skills and see things with his mind’s eye. Sticking to the ‘capturing things you don’t ordinarily see’ theme, our Big Test this issue is all about macro – lenses…

Ben says… As an amusement and in line with today’s pursuit of creativity, I packed a box of cards in my kit bag called Oblique Strategies. They were developed by musician/composer Brian Eno and artist Peter Schmidt. Each card contains a creative prompt such as, ‘work at a different speed’, or ‘not building a wall but making a brick.’ The idea is that by interpreting these phrases you can encourage creative thinking and I’ve occasionally found them useful when stuck in a rut.…

Ben says… Rod was a bit bemused by a few of the exercises! The goal was never to capture a conventional landscape, but to equip him with the tools to further his skills. By setting boundaries and pushing Rod’s creativity he learned techniques and camera functions he wasn’t aware of. If you spend five minutes every morning shooting a sheet of paper on your kitchen table, playing with light, experimenting with different focal lengths and trying techniques out, you will improve as a photographer. Boundaries make us work harder and help us discover more.…

Blocked ALEJANDRO PRIETO The 3000km-long US-Mexico border traverses some of the continent’s most biologically diverse regions. It is home to uniquely adapted mammals, reptiles, birds and plants, some of which are found nowhere else on the planet. In this photo, a roadrunner approaches the border wall at Naco, Arizona. Yellow-Billed Oxpecker with Cape Buffalo BARBARA FLEMING Yellow-billed oxpeckers spend almost all their lives around large mammals, to the point where even courtship and mating take place in their company. In this image both oxpecker and buffalo were in motion, moving in different directions and at different distances from the lens. Growing Up RAYMOND HENNESSY Great northern divers (known as common loons in North America) and their chicks take to the water soon after the chicks hatch. The size difference between…

We spend much of our time trying to avoid lens distortions, either by purchasing lenses that boast the latest advancements in imaging tech or by using editing software to fix optical imperfections. And yet – when used intentionally – extreme distortion can be a great way to capture creative images. Fisheye lenses are so called because they replicate the ultra-wide vision possessed by fish. These stylized lenses are often used to photograph street scenes, architecture, skateboarding and portraits. The latter is particularly effective, since the extreme barrel distortion emphasizes your subject’s features, much like a caricature. In this article we’re going to show you how to capture a fisheye pet portrait of a dog. Since a dog’s snout is often one of its most poignant features, artists often choose to…

If photography is – as is often said – painting with light, then a projector is like a full set of spray cans. It lets us spray colours and shapes onto any surface. Typically the surface is flat and white, but a projector can be put to more creative uses as well… In this project we’ll take our projector into the great outdoors after dark to create some otherworldly photos. Inspired by the work of Spanish installation artist Javier Riera, we’ll project bold shapes and geometric patterns onto both natural and man-made forms for very surreal photographic results. There are several challenges to overcome. The first is setting up a projector for outdoor use, which requires fixing it to a tripod and arranging a source of power. Then there’s the…

David Doubilet Profile ● Born and raised in New York City, David Doubilet began taking underwater photos aged 12, using a Brownie Hawkeye camera in a rubber anaesthetist’s bag, provided by his father.● After graduating from Boston University in 1970, he shot his first assignment for National Geographic the following year.● Fifty years on, David has completed nearly 80 underwater shoots for the magazine, working alongside his wife, marine biologist and photographer, Jennifer Hayes.● He and Jennifer co-own the studio and stock photography company Undersea Images Inc, which they run from their home on the St Lawrence River, North America.● His photography has been honoured by Pictures of the Year, Wildlife Photographer of the Year, World Press and the Lennart Nilsson Award for scientific photography. www.underseaimagesinc.com They say you shouldn’t meet your…

MISSION: Photograph one of my biggest passions in life, the great outdoors PHOTOGRAPHER: Colin Hamilton LOCATION: North Yorkshire, England KIT USED: Nikon D500, D7200, AF-P DX 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR, Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM WEBSITE: www.chphotography.co.uk INSTAGRAM: @colh2002 I love the great outdoors, whether it’s closer to home like the Yorkshire Moors or further afield in places such as Southern Africa or Nepal. I used to own a bridge camera to capture memories of the places I visited, but I found myself yearning to capture the beauty and essence of those locations. The solution was to upgrade to a Nikon DSLR (D3200) and attend a couple of workshops. You can always learn and improve in search of the perfect photograph, but years – and hours of practice – later…

82 Nikon Academy Understand dynamic range for detail-packed images 86 Nikon Software Crop, straighten and control the perspective of your shots 88 Ask Matthew You think you’ve got problems? Luckily, we’ve got solutions Edit dynamic range By making adjustments to highlights, shadows and black and white levels, you can maximize the tones in NEF Raw files. [1] Highlights: Moving this slider to the left recovers highlight details that may have been lost if your scene was very bright. Depending on your camera, you have a tolerance of one or two stops of highlight exposure to potentially recover. [2] Shadows: To uncover shadow detail, move this slider to the right. You will have two to four stops of shadow detail to work with, depending on your camera. Lifting shadows can also increase…

Digital images are created from millions of individual pixels, created by sophisticated processing by the EXPEED processor within your Nikon camera. Turning the image you want to shoot into a digital version is a complex process and understanding a little bit about this process will help you set up your camera to record a wider dynamic range and tonality in your shots. The camera’s sensor is made up of light-sensitive cells, known as photosites. Each photosite is tiny; approximately 0.004mm across. They create an electrical signal in proportion to brightness that they receive through the lens from a given part of a shot. Photosites only see luminance, not colour. To produce a colour image, each photo site has a mini coloured filter across it, either red, green or blue. This…

Q I’m having trouble autofocusing on birds with my Z 6II and AF-S 200-500mm lens via an FTZ adapter. Any tips? Graeme Hogg A Autofocus performance of F-mount lenses with an FTZ adapter isn’t limited in any way, compared with using them on an F-mount DSLR. And the impressive autofocus tracking of the Z 6II is improved over that of the original Z 6. Even so, small birds can be problematic. For stationary birds, try switching to Single-point AF or even Pinpoint AF autofocus mode, and adjusting the position of the AF point, if necessary, using the joystick-like sub-selector on the rear panel. For tracking birds in flight, Dynamic-area AF works well. If the bird leaves the selected point of focus, the camera will use surrounding points to track it.…

Most macro prime lenses have a maximum magnification ratio of 1x or 1:1. As such, at their shortest focus distance they can reproduce objects at full life-size on your camera’s image sensor. An area measuring just 36x24mm would completely fill the image sensor of a full-frame camera, and it’s a mere 24x16mm if you happen to be shooting with a Nikon DX format body. That might not sound particularly impressive, but the thing to bear in mind is how much larger the resulting photograph is when you view it on screen or in print. The scope for enlargement is, therefore, pretty incredible when you consider the options. Tiny garden bugs can become giant, alien creatures and you’ll see levels of fine detail that are usually invisible to the naked eye.…

“If you only go to the gym once a month you aren’t going to build any muscle, and it’s the same with photography,” said Ben as he and Rod stood at the foot of the sloping hills on Cherhill Down. “If you get out there with your camera three times a week, you will improve. And today we’re going to be trying a few exercises that will help you develop your ‘photography muscles’.” “Lead the way,” said Rod with a smile as he shouldered his bag and gestured towards the hills. “We’ll be heading up in a minute,” said the pro, “just as soon as I’ve set up your first challenge.” He produced a mobile phone from his pocket and set a three-minute alarm. “As soon as the alarm goes off, you’ve got to…

Ben says… I use rope, string and paper to form challenges and impose boundaries when leading workshops, but I’m not suggesting you carry these around with you all the time. They’re tools to help photographers broaden their horizons and learn to channel their creativity. The hope is that by practising such exercises they become second nature. Instead of physically pulling a piece of paper with a word written on it from a hat, you’ll be able to call upon that exercise in your head, when the situation calls for it.…

MULTIPLE MENUS Ben says… Head to the Photo Shooting Menu and select Multiple Exposure. You’ll be presented with two options, ‘On (series)’ and ‘On (single photo)’. The former keeps Multiple Exposure mode active until manually turned off, the latter only keeps the mode active for one multiple exposure. BALANCE EXPOSURES Ben says… You can then choose the number of shots you want to include in your multiple exposure and the Overlay Mode. I recommend using Average. This tells the camera to automatically balance the exposure of the final image depending on the number of images used to create the multiple exposure. PICK A PREVIEW Ben says… Overlay Shooting makes full use of the Z cameras’ electronic viewfinder by displaying a preview of the next exposure in your sequence overlaid onto…

Great reasons to subscribe now! Vanguard Veo Range 32 messenger bag The Vanguard Veo Range 32 messenger bag will fit your camera with lens attached, 1-2 additional lenses, a flash and accessories along with a 13-inch tablet and a travel tripod Great savings Subscribe for 12 months and get your issues delivered to your door, plus this great Vanguard messenger bag worth £70! Free online videos Each issue, you’ll receive access to our fantastic photo project videos Option 1 Quarterly digital subscription (no gift) £50 • 13 issues of N-Photo digital edition• Apple Newsstand edition for iOS devices• Pocketmags edition for Android users• Receive the same videos, project files and ebook editions that come with the print mag Option 2 Annual print subscription £54 • 13 issues of N-Photo print…

Shutter speed controls how long a camera’s shutter is open and therefore the length of time the sensor is exposed to light. But similar to aperture and ISO, there’s more to shutter speed than just exposure. The faster the shutter speed the more likely movement will be frozen, but the slower the shutter speed the more likely you’ll encounter motion blur. Both effects can be used to enhance your images, but the latter can cause camera shake if your shutter speed isn’t fast enough when shooting handheld. In this article we’re going to look at how slower shutter speeds can be used to add a sense of motion to your landscape photos. It might initially seem like movement is a rather redundant element when shooting landscapes, but when you consider…

If you sometimes find it hard to choose your favourite shot from a sequence of similar images, then consider how this was even more of a challenge in the days of film. One of the methods used to check and compare shots was a contact sheet. This was a handy way of displaying an entire roll of film on a single sheet of paper. Today we’d probably call them thumbnails, but in times gone by the contact sheet was an important part of the creative process for photographers. While it might be obsolete in practical terms, it’s still an interesting effect to try out. In this project we’ll pay homage to the contact sheet and show you how to recreate the look on a sequence of photos in Affinity. We’ve…

Imagine the scene… you’ve meticulously planned an outdoor shoot at a favourite location, but when you’re in position on the day, one vital element doesn’t turn up – the weather. Flat, dull light means that you’re just not getting the best out of that pleasing perspective and careful composition, so it’s looking like you’ll have to come back another day and try shooting it all again. But it doesn’t have to be this way – not when adding a different and better sky to a photograph is easier than it has ever been. Skylum Luminar AI software features pioneering sky replacement technology that makes the process so simple it can take a matter of minutes, instead of much longer. Together with the other powerful features of the software, you can…

I was only diagnosed with autism in 2009, when I was 11, so I missed out on the early intervention that might have eased my suffering later on, yet the traits were visible from an early age. My love of photography began in my teens, as another way to satisfy my obsession with the natural world, but I quickly realized that when I was out in the field with a camera in my hand, I forgot about the stresses and sadness of life. Taking pictures of animals was the only time I felt relaxed and myself. Animals never laughed at me like people have done, so I’ve always connected with and trusted them more than I do people. People tell me that I notice things others wouldn’t, which makes sense,…

MISSION: Convey the sense of disorientation and confusion a single shot is unable to convey PHOTOGRAPHER: Sara Jazbar LOCATION: Trieste, Italy KIT USED: Nikon D500, D5200, D700, AF-S 24-120mm f/4G ED VR, AF-P DX 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR, Tokina 11-20mm f/2.8 AT-X PRO DX INSTAGRAM: @jazart72 FACEBOOK: facebook.com/jazartvisualarts Airbrushing was my first love. I started taking photos because I wanted to have my own references and avoid having to always ask permission to reproduce images. Very soon, though, my main interest shifted to photography and I started experimenting in various genres. I don’t like to be bound to one genre. My artistic background causes me to question the way I sometimes feel and I can’t always convey this through a conventional image. I started to experiment with post-production techniques and achieved…

Playback time Press the Menu button and navigate to the Playback menu, which is the first menu on most cameras. On older DSLRs this may be in the Custom Settings. Assess the options Navigate to ‘Playback Display Options’ (or ‘Playback Options’) and press OK. Use the multiselector to scroll up and down within this menu. Overview on Select ‘Overview’ – on most cameras this is on the second page. Press right on the multi-selector to tick its box, then OK to confirm your choice. Review the shot Exit from the menu system and now take a photograph of any scene, then press the Playback button to review the image on the LCD monitor. Cycle to Overview Now press up or down on the multi-selector to cycle through to the Overview…

Joggers, cyclists and commuters are passing by as the gates open and we swing into the car park. A few last sips of coffee and we’re out of the car, bags on, and myself and my good friend Luke set out looking for deer, on our annual pilgrimage to a place I’ve grown to love: Richmond Park. Autumn is my favourite time of year. There is something about pulling on a jumper, the mist rising from the landscape, and that first frost… Along with the pleasure of a ‘lie-in’, whilst still being able to make those dawn shoots! It’s a time of year I’ve always been drawn to, providing me with great motivation to get out with the camera. Maybe it’s because I was born in the third season, but…

When you’re deciding on the best cloud storage for photos, there are a few different aspects that you need to consider. Are you simply looking to store your holiday snaps in a central location that you’ll always be able to find? Or are you a serious photographer that will need to be able to both store Raw files and quickly share images with clients? Depending on your needs, deciding on the best cloud storage for photos will be different for each person. Head in the clouds Some users will be very happy with a free service that provides limited amounts of storage. However, upgrading to a paid cloud storage service will be a better option for many, as this will give you access to not only more storage, but more…