Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2022 i N-Photo: the Nikon magazine

Cathedral in the Desert JAY HUANG Cathedral in the Desert is a stunning monument located in the heart of Glen Canyon. Named for its resemblance to a cathedral, it has been submerged by nearly 100 feet with flood water from Lake Powell reservoir since 1963. David Brower, then head of the Sierra Club, referred to this event as “America’s most regretted environmental mistake.” Nine vertical images were merged to create this 274MB-size shot. Camera: Nikon D850 Lens: 20mm f/1.8 Exposure: 1/250 sec, f/11, ISO100 Nemo’s Garden GIACOMO D’ORLANDO The Nemo’s Garden represents an alternative system of agriculture especially dedicated to those areas where environmental conditions or geo-morphological reasons make plant growth extremely difficult. This completely self-sustainable project aims to make underwater farming a viable eco-friendly solution to counteract the increasing…

The Mission – Check and clean your camera’s sensor Time – 15 minutes Skill level – Intermediate Kit needed – Sensor cleaning kit – Air blower VIEW THE PROJECT VIDEOS ONLINE www.bit.ly/NPhoto133 If you use an interchangeable camera for long enough, it’s inevitable that something unwanted is going to settle on the sensor at some point. Some Nikon cameras feature a built-in Clean Image Sensor function, which causes the sensor to vibrate in an attempt to remove particles of dirt, and while this is somewhat handy in a pinch, sooner or later a more invasive solution will be required. The easiest way to clean your sensor is by using an air blower to shift unwanted build-ups – don’t be tempted to blow into the camera yourself as this could cause…

The Mission – Learn how to use a ring light for pet photos and portraits Time – One hour Skill level – Intermediate Kit needed – Ring light – Stand – Tape – Blanket VIEW THE PROJECT VIDEOS ONLINE www.bit.ly/NPhoto133 Ring lights have been used for distinctive photos for a long time, but in the past couple of years – thanks to the pandemic and endless video meetings – they’ve become increasingly popular. A ring light eliminates shadows, resulting in simple, flattering lighting over a face. The 360 degrees of illumination helps to give skin a flawless look, it fills out bags under eyes and reduces wrinkles. As such it’s a popular choice, not only for Zoom meetings but also among YouTube vloggers and for fashion photography. Besides the characteristic…

Camera: Nikon D7000 Lens: 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Exposure: 1/50 sec, f/8, ISO250 MISSION: Transform misty forest photographs into ethereal dreamscapes in post-production. PHOTOGRAPHER: Adrian Limani LOCATION: Zurich, Switzerland KIT USED: Nikon D7000, Nikon AF-S DX 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR, Tamron AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD INSTAGRAM: @adrianlimani FACEBOOK: @adrianlimaniphotography WEBSITE: www.adrianlimani.com I am Albanian but now live in Switzerland, and am a selftaught photographer. I was introduced to photography when I received my first digital camera at 17 years old. A couple of years later I received my first DSLR, the Nikon D7000 I still use today. The arts – whether it be photography, music or painting – have been my fascination since my childhood. I usually like to create series and always enjoy editing. My favourite genres are…

Autofocus analyses the image and then adjusts the lens using a motor. It utilizes the fact that a sharp image has higher contrast than an out-of-focus one. A pair of sensors correspond to each AF point shown in the viewfinder. By assessing the signal from the AF sensors, your camera can adjust the lens to achieve the highest-contrast image. If more than one AF point is used, the system normally assumes you want to focus on the point giving the closest focusing distance. LOW CONTRAST Lens focused too close, giving a low-contrast image on the sensor. HIGH CONTRAST Precise focus, giving a high-contrast image on the sensor. LOW CONTRAST Lens focused too far, giving a low-contrast image on the sensor.…

1 Focusing screen Hidden below a DSLR’s pentaprism or pentamirror, the focusing screen is what you see when you look through the viewfinder. On a Z-series, it’s a mini-screen. 2 Manual focusing To control the focusing yourself, rather than using the AF system, you turn the focus ring on the lens barrel. 3 Lens elements To adjust the focus, groups of lens elements physically move within the lens. 4 Viewfinder An eye-level viewfinder gives a visual guide to what’s in focus, and indicates when, and on what, the AF is focusing. 5 Mirror In a DSLR, the main mirror reflects the image created by the lens so it appears on the focusing screen. It flips out of the way when the shutter is fired. 6 Sub-mirror A DSLR’s main mirror…

With every lesson in Nikon Know-how, you get some homework to do – this will help you put everything that you’ve learned into practice! To check you now have complete control over focus, find two subjects (two people, say, or even two cans from your kitchen cupboard) and place them at different distances from you. Set up a shot that frames both subjects tightly. Use Aperture Priority (A) mode, and set a wide aperture of, say, f/4 or f/5.6. Use Manual AF point selection (see page 81) to take two shots, first with the nearer subject in focus, then with the further subject in focus. Repeat the exercise, but this time take the pictures using manual focus. Check all four images on your computer, so you can zoom in to…

Nikon Z 28-75mm f/2.8 £1099/$1200 www.nikon.co.uk Nikon’s Z 28-75mm f/2.8 boasts a versatile wide-angle to telephoto zoom range and a fast constant f/2.8 aperture, making it a great workhorse lens suitable for everyday shooting situations, from street to landscapes to portraits. The 28-75mm focal length range is a little less wide-angle and a little more telephoto than Nikon’s Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S, but is just as fast with a matching f/2.8 aperture yet costs roughly half as much. What it doesn’t have is an ‘S-Line’ tag, suggesting that it’s not built to the same exacting standards as in the most upmarket Z lenses, so while Nikon claims that the lens offers sharp optics and fast focusing, we’re looking forward to getting the lens into our labs. The versatile zoom range…

A lot of things have changed since Photoshop first came to dominate the photo-editing market. We’ve all got much larger more complicated photo libraries now and we need software that can organize, search and share these growing collections. There’s also a growing interest in more evocative ‘looks’ that can be applied quickly and simply. And most of all, we want to be able to change our minds – hence the rise of non-destructive or ‘parametric’ photo-editing, as used by Lightroom, Capture One and a whole host of other photo editors. Often you’ll come back to an image and see a better way of adjusting it, or see how to tweak the settings for better results. There’s also a general mistrust amongst many of subscription software. Adobe’s Photography Plans are terrific…

Adobe is in a unique position in this roundup. It has two (three, if you count both versions of Lightroom) very different programs in the test that each deserve to be here on their own merits – yet you get both for a single subscription fee via the Adobe Photography Plan. However cheap Adobe’s rivals might be, this still has to be just about the best value of all. But Adobe’s Raw processing is not the best. It’s likely to be fine for most users, but Capture One and DxO PhotoLab are better, and DxO’s DeepPRIME high-ISO image processing is extraordinary. Neither is cheap, but the best rarely is. The story doesn’t end here, though. ON1 Photo RAW 2022 and Exposure X7 are intriguing all-in-one programs that can catalogue your…

As we embark on a new year, we look forward to the photographic challenges that await us through the coming seasons, so this issue Edyta Rice shares her sage advice for amazing landscapes all year round. In the interview hot seat we have Isabelle Bacher, who shares the story of how she spent five years shooting the serene snowy landscapes of Arctic Norway, and is still a regular visitor to the ice-clad country. We often get requests from readers for reviews of photo-editing software, so we oblige with a round-up of 12 software packages designed to make your shots shine in our Big Test. Also in our Gear section we review the Nikon Z DX 18-140mm – a superzoom for APS-C-sensor Z-series Nikons. Plus we weigh up 10 photo book…

The Mission – Capture foreground subjects against a pin-sharp starry sky Time – 1.5 hours Skill level – Intermediate Kit needed – Wide-angle lens – Sturdy tripod – Head torch – Torch VIEW THE PROJECT VIDEOS ONLINE www.bit.ly/NPhoto133 The long nights make winter a great time of year to shoot astro, if you don’t mind the brisk weather… In this project we’ll run through our top tips for capturing bold foreground subjects beneath stunning starry skies. The trick is to shoot at least two exposures; one for the foreground and one for the background before merging the images in post-production. This allows you to focus on the subject in the foreground and the starry sky in the background separately. However, foreground subjects can often come out looking very dark, so…

1. An elephant never forgets A stunning photographic collection of images by photographer Alwyn Coates will feature in a new photo book Saving Elephants. The book has been 15 years in the making, capturing an honest image of the soul and personality of one of the most loved animals. We see elephants in the book playing, tussling, fighting, feeding and lovingly caring for each other. https://bit.ly/3GK8zYs 2. 25 new additions to global Hundred Heroines list Hundred Heroines is a charitable organization promoting and celebrating the diversity of women in photography today, an additional 25 inspiring photographers are to join its ever-growing list honouring the significant contributions that women are making globally to the practice of photography. https://bit.ly/3EQ65r3 3. The 20 most colourful photo locations around the world Uswitch has certainly…

Focus preview The focusing screen on a DSLR has an etched surface that helps clarify which parts of the image are in sharp focus and which aren’t (as with the church, here). It also gives an idea of how much depth of field you’ll get with the widest aperture. Focusing screen The image you can see in the viewfinder is projected by the lens onto the DSLR’s focusing screen. On a Z-series camera, the image is displayed on a very high-resolution electronic screen. Focus confirmation When using Single-servo AF mode (AF-S) on a DSLR, a circular LED lights up when autofocus has locked onto a subject. It will blink if the AF can’t lock on to the subject. The LED doesn’t light up if you’re using Continuous-servo AF mode (AF-C).…

Set shooting mode Set the AF-S shooting mode. Some cameras have a button used in conjunction with a command dial; on others, you need to select it on-screen. Pick the area mode Set the AF-area mode to Single-point AF. Again, the method varies – some use the button/dial combination, while others use on-screen selection. Select the AF point You now need to half-press the shutter release button to ready the camera for shooting, and then press OK on the rear. This selects the central focus point. Frame your shot Aim the camera so that the central point is lined up precisely with the point in the picture you want to focus on. Here, it’s our subject’s left eye. Focus the subject Now lightly press the shutter release button to activate…

Q I took some photos of my kids waving sparklers around on New Year’s Eve with my Z 50, but the results were poor. Can you suggest what settings to use? Emma Dowling A Sorry to hear things didn’t work out. Hopefully you can recreate the festive spirit with another pack of sparklers and try again. That type of shot often goes beyond the limits of what a camera’s autofocus and metering systems can cope with. I’d suggest switching to Manual. First up, select the Manual mode and dial in an aperture of f/5.6 or f/8 with a shutter speed of around 4 secs. That should give enough time to capture trails left by the sparklers if your kids are waving them around, or sparks flying about them if they’re…

OVERALL WINNER! 1. Winter Wandering BY ELENA PARASKEVA The 12 photographers listed here deserve to be applauded for winning their respective rounds in a competition that received over 10,000 entries. But there can only be one N-Photo Photographer of the Year 2021, and we’re pleased to announce that it’s Elena Paraskeva! The winning image topped the Winter round (N-Photo 132), where we praised its technical excellence and strong narrative. Elena tells us: “My entry is a portrait of my beloved godson. I specialize in portraiture and even though a contest about winter often brings images of grand landscapes, I thought a simple portrait of a child in the midst of a dark snowy night could evoke a different sentiment and really stand out.” Camera: Nikon D810 Lens: 85mm f/1.4 Exposure:…

Back in the days of film, our most treasured photographs would often end up in photo albums, but in these digital days, it’s far easier – not to mention more professional-looking – to have your best images printed directly into a photo book. Freed from the constraints of 5x7insized prints, you can crop and resize images at will, and decide on a bespoke number of pages to suit the particular project or occasion. Whether you want to create a wonderful round-up of your friend or family member’s favourite memories, celebrate a specific event, or show a loved one how much you care, photo books make an excellent gift, without breaking the bank. Just book it With all of the customizable features and stylish templates available, you can make your photo…

Cataloguing tools Some folk can get by with a simple folder system to keep their photos organized, but most of us need something a little more powerful. By the time your photo collection hits the tens of thousands, you’ll really benefit from a tool that can bring them all together into a single searchable database. With cataloguing tools you can also create albums/collections to bring images together without having to move them from one folder to another. With cataloguing software you can also use keywords to find images quickly and even filter photos by the camera used, the date they were taken and more. One-click presets Photo-editors like Photoshop are designed for people who already know what they want to do and don’t mind spending a little time doing it.…

As I write this, I’ve just returned to work after the festive break and you know what? I haven’t taken a single photo during the past 11 days… It’s been absolute bliss. Now, I understand that’s probably not the inspiring passage you were hoping to read at the end of the first issue of N-Photo published in 2022, but if you can bear with me for a few more paragraphs I can promise you it’s coming… Recharge your batteries Rest assured, I haven’t had an epiphany over the holidays only to return for a final hurrah before setting down my DSLR for good. Instead, I’ve spent the past couple of weeks engaging in a creative detox, a chance to wind down and free my mind. That’s not to say I’ve…

The four seasons can be a rich source of inspiration for landscape photographers. Each season is commonly known for familiar landscape themes, which define its very essence – just think about the bold colours of autumn foliage, spring wildflowers, blankets of deep snow covering the mountains and endless summer days. There is something wonderful about getting out there, witnessing and documenting the various transitions between the ever-changing seasons through the camera lens. Approaching seasonal landscapes can be both challenging and hugely rewarding. The challenge can be twofold. Firstly, it is about learning how to unlock opportunities arising from changing light, tones and textures; and secondly it is about telling the story and being able to capture the differing charms and characters of each season. Learning to overcome challenges is crucial all…

The Mission – Use motion blur to create awesome abstract portraits at home Time – 30 minutes Skill level – Beginner Kit needed – Standard or short telephoto lens – Tripod VIEW THE PROJECT VIDEOS ONLINE www.bit.ly/NPhoto133 When you think of portraits, long exposures and movement are probably the last thing that come to mind. But in this tutorial we’re going to show you how you can use motion blur to create a series of incredible abstract portraits in the comfort of your own home. While our photographs might look like they were shot using artificial lighting in a studio, they were actually captured in a spare bedroom. The key is setting up next to a large window or patio doors to allow indirect light to illuminate your subject. You…

The Mission – Use Photoshop’s updated neural filters to throw everything but your subject out of focus Time – 10 minutes Skill level – Beginner Kit needed – Photoshop CC VIEW THE PROJECT VIDEOS ONLINE www.bit.ly/NPhoto133 Photoshop offers a box of tricks for all sorts of effects. There are those that can transform your image into something completely unreal. Then there are those that let you make more realistic changes. The Depth Blur filter falls into the latter category. As the name suggests, it lets you mimic the effects of in-camera blur by throwing a background out of focus. If your image has a foreground in front of your subject, this is blurred too. The result is realistic fall-off either side of your point of focus. Of course, we’ve been…

Austrian by birth and with Norwegian roots, Isabelle Bacher’s formative years to her growth as a landscape photographer sound nothing less than idyllic. It was during childhood summers in Norway that she first appreciated the beauty of nature. “My heart beats north of the Arctic Circle,” she answers when I ask how her love affair with Norway and the Arctic began. “The Scandinavian midsummer is a paradise for children. The days are endless and it never gets truly dark at night. What I remember best is the clear air and the sound of the waves crashing against the small boat moored on the shore right in front of our house. My parents took my little sister and me fishing every morning. During these summers, I not only learnt to fish,…

These images are all taken of the shipwreck of hospital ship Britannic. This ship’s main claim to fame is that she was the sister ship of the Titanic; in fact, she was bigger and was originally launched just before World War I. Her destiny as a luxury liner never came to fruition, as she was requisitioned by the British government for conversion into a hospital ship. Luxury fittings and interiors made way for a utilitarian hospital, and she was used to evacuate casualties from the Gallipoli campaign. Hospital ships were painted white with a red cross on the side so that they could be allowed to go about their business freely, but unfortunately mines were indiscriminate and Britannic was lost when she struck one close to the island of Kea…

Camera: Nikon D3S Lens: 28-200mm f/3.5-5.6 Exposure: 1/1000 sec, f/5.6, ISO500 MISSION: Capture and celebrate the harmony of tradition and modernity in Japan PHOTOGRAPHER: Catherine Bohemier LOCATION: Montreal, Canada KIT USED: Nikon D3S, AF 28-200mm f/3.5-5.6D IF INSTAGRAM: @catherinebohemierphoto WEBSITE: www.photolator.com I received my first camera when I was about eight. In high school, photography was part of the curriculum, so I was taught the basics and learned to develop rolls of film in the darkroom. Photography became second nature when I commenced my journey to travel the world. I have lived abroad for about eight years and visited more than 55 countries to date. These photos were captured during my third trip to Japan; I had decided to create a series of photos depicting women in traditional attire. In…

The only camera manual you’ll ever need… Pictures where the main subject isn’t sharp are rarely welcome, which puts focusing among the most crucial controls on your camera. A lens can only focus precisely at one distance at a time, so it needs to lock on to the correct point in the frame or your subject might appear blurred. Depth of field (a phenomenon we’ll explore next issue) often creates some margin for error, as it may make nearer or more distant objects also appear to be in focus. Still, it’s best to ensure that the key point of your image is in focus, and your Nikon provides a range of systems to help you achieve this. Nikon’s first autofocus (AF) SLR was the F3AF, produced in 1983. Since then…

To get the clearest possible viewfinder image, so you can clearly see the AF points and easily assess what’s sharp, you might have to adjust the viewfinder eyepiece lens to suit your eyesight. All Nikon mirrorless cameras and DSLRs offer this ‘dioptric correction’ – you turn a small knurled knob by the top-right corner of the eyepiece. Lightly press the shutter release button to activate the viewfinder display, then turn the dioptric correction knob until the icons and numbers look as crisp as possible.…

Q In issue 130’s Big Test, you said corner-sharpness was a little lacking from the Nikon AF-S 50mm f/1.8G. Is there a better secondhand alternative? Kevin Hyatt A Matthew recommends… If you’re looking to stay sharp on a budget, the older Nikon AF 50mm f/1.8D is still one of my favourites. Nikon AF 50mm f/1.8D LAUNCHED 20 YEARS AGO, THIS ICONIC NIFTY FIFTY STILL HAS A LOT TO OFFER RELEASED: 2002 PRICE NEW: £135/$132 SECONDHAND PRICE: ‘Excellent’ £67/$79 ‘Good’ £59/$69 Originally launched for 35mm film cameras, the AF 50mm f/1.8D is a cracking little lens. As with other AF-D lenses, it enables light metering and auto exposure control with any and every Nikon DSLR. However, it lacks an internal autofocus motor, so only manual focus is available with entry-level DSLRs…

Lab tests explained Sharpness A chart with multiple sharp boundaries is photographed, the extent of blur at the centre, mid and edges showing how many line widths per picture height the lens can resolve. Simply put, the bigger the numbers the sharper the lens. Fringing Chromatic aberration is visible as purple or green fringing around high-contrast boundaries, caused by different wavelengths being focused on different areas of the sensor. The larger the number, the worse the score. Distortion A lens that bulges towards the edges of the frame produces barrel distortion, shown as a negative score. Pincushion distortion produces a positive score. A score of zero indicates no distortion. Our awards in a nutshell The best performance, design and value A product that gives you more for your money The…

Nikon’s AF-S DX 18-140mm VR zoom was launched back in 2013 and became a popular kit lens option with mid-range DSLRs. Still in production, its optical highlights include one aspherical and one ED (Extra-low Dispersion) element, along with four-stop VR (Vibration Reduction). Unlike its more up-market F-mount siblings, its ‘Silent Wave’ AF system lacks a focus distance scale but the lens features VR on/off and auto/manual focus switches, and is solidly built with a weather-sealed metal mounting plate. By contrast, the new Z DX edition for APS-C format mirrorless cameras like the Z 50 and Z fc is more compact and weighs in at just 315g, compared with 490g for the older lens. It shares the same optical layout of 17 elements in 13 groups but doubles the aspherical and…