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

It’s summertime, and many of us are planning to jet off to foreign climes for a well-deserved break, Nikons safely stashed in our carry-on luggage. But don’t just take holiday snaps – Benedict Brain encourages you to use your summer hols to spark your creative mojo and return with a travel portfolio that truly gives a sense of place. Our apprentice goes beneath the waves to photograph the wrecks and reefs of the Red Sea, under the instruction of divemaster Alex Mustard. Our interview is with another underwater photographer, Nikon #Zcreator Alex Dawson, who tells why he prefers diving in mineshafts to the Maldives. And fashion photographer Marie Bärsch takes a break from the glamour to document the tea-pickers of India. In our Gear section, we bring you the N-Photo…

Great reasons to subscribe now! ✔ Lowepro Nova 160 AW II bag This timeless camera shoulder bag provides premium protection from the elements for a DSLR or mirrorless with attached standard lens, plus 1-2 additional lenses and flash ✔ Free online videos Each issue, you’ll receive access to our fantastic photo project videos ✔ Great savings Get a rolling six-monthly subscription at the discounted prices below – you just pay every six months. Choose from these three options… Option 1 Digital subscription £27.50 every six months (no gift) • 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 Print subscription £28 every…

If you’ve been lucky enough to try out the Z 9, Nikon’s swanky new flagship mirrorless camera, you’ll have no doubt been bowled over by the speed and accuracy of its incredible autofocus system. Its advanced AI algorithms can automatically detect between nine subjects, including humans, birds, cars and planes. In fact, all of Nikon’s Z cameras feature lightning-fast AF – and DSLRs such as the D6, the D850 and the D500 aren’t too shabby either. Nowadays, we take autofocus systems for granted. They’ve become so good that manual focus often seems like something from a bygone era; and that’s because it kind of is… However, there are still a few isolated situations where many photographers refuse to rely on AF systems – and when that happens, they revert back…

The right dimensions As you did in the postcard border Step 3, open a new postcard document, then set Orientation to Landscape and Background Contents to white. Select the Rectangle tool and draw a blue rectangle in the centre of the canvas. Leave a wider gap at the bottom if you want to add text. Irregular quads Select the Line tool. Input a Weight of 24px and set the Stroke and Fill boxes to white. Draw two intersecting diagonal lines. Ensure rulers are enabled (Ctrl/Cmd+R). Click the horizontal ruler and drag it so it sits right on the top edge of the rectangle. Repeat this for all remaining sides. Build a border On the top layer, select the Rectangle tool and draw a rectangle over the white border on one…

Affinity Photo is a great tool for photo editing, but it’s also brilliant for making abstract images and incorporating elements of graphic design into your photography. In this project we’ll explain how to combine your photos with triangle shapes, for an inventive effect that would look great as a wallpaper for your computer or phone. The technique for this project encompasses lots of fundamental Affinity Photo skills, from shifting images and shapes around to using shadows and adjustment layers. It’s also a good example of how you can make use of keyboard shortcuts to speed up your editing. While the build-up of shapes here might look complicated, it really only takes a few minutes to create. We begin by making a handful of triangle shapes and a few lines to…

1 Garden bag softbox Our key light here is a secondhand Godox flashgun, bought for £30 on eBay. We’ve crafted a softbox using an old garden waste bag, with the front covered in a white bin liner bag. There is no TTL mode on this model of flash, only manual power, but that’s all we need. We set it to ¼ power. 2 Old umbrella Our fill light here is a secondhand Yongnuo flashgun (costing £40 on eBay), fired into an old umbrella covered in tin foil and bin liners. It’s placed directly above the subject and set to ⅛ power to provide a gentle fill light. As the shoestring budget couldn’t stretch to a light stand, we tied it to the ceiling. 3 Green screen Green screens – or…

Nikon’s latest cameras boast astounding high-ISO image performance that has come on leaps and bounds over the years, but that doesn’t mean that image noise can’t be a problem. When you shoot at very high ISOs, a degree of image noise is inevitable, but DeNoise Projects 2 can clean up images in an instant. As a rule, the higher the ISO or the longer the exposure, the more of an issue noise becomes. There are many types of noise: DeNoise Projects 2 is adept at handling chroma noise, luminance noise, hot pixels, ‘salt and pepper’ artefacts, gaps, banding and colour clouds. While identifying and reducing all these types of noise is a complex task, using DeNoise Projects 2 couldn’t be simpler. Drag an image into the program and it is…

Nikon’s third mirrorless Z-series camera with a DX (APS-C) sensor has arrived in the guise of the Z 30. It joins the original Z 50 – launched over two years ago – and the more recent Z fc, which is essentially the same camera with retro-themed, direct-access controls. The Z 30 feels very much like the same camera again – this time sans-viewfinder to appeal to vloggers, and perhaps a generation of photographers brought up on smartphones. It’s also Nikon’s cheapest Z-series mirrorless to date, largely made possible due to hardware hand-me-downs and an absent viewfinder. Electronic viewfinders are complex and expensive components. They typically squeeze many more pixels than a rear LCD into a very high-resolution screen that’s the size of a thumbnail, with precision optics to make for…

Think of portrait primes and you’re probably thinking fast 85mm lenses. They’re undeniably ideal for fairly tight head-and-shoulders shots, but that’s not the whole story. Often, you might prefer to go for half-length or three quarter length shots, or even environmental portraits that show a person in their surroundings. Then there’s the matter of photographing couples and families. A focal length of around 50mm, still with a fairly fast aperture, can be a better fit. The equation changes if you’re shooting with a DX rather than FX format camera: fitting a 50mm lens will bring you back to an effective focal length of 75mm, which is great for shooting those classic, more tightly framed portraits. Bearing all this in mind, we’ve picked out a smart selection of primes that are…

It was a warm summer morning when Whirlwind cast off from the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh. Valerie and 19 fellow diving enthusiasts would call the live-aboard yacht home for the next week, as the chartered vessel sailed to some of the most breathtaking reefs and wrecks in the northern Red Sea. The cohort would complete multiple dives per day alongside one of the world’s leading underwater photographers, Dr Alex Mustard, who was on hand to provide a wealth of aquatic advice. “Communicating underwater isn’t easy, so most of the teaching will be done between dives,” Alex told the guests who had piled into the boat’s saloon for their first lecture. “On one trip I used my hand to gesture to a student that there was beautiful evening sunlight to shoot,…

Being on holiday and away from home can be a great way to invigorate your photography. Have you ever noticed that, when you’re on vacation, there suddenly seem to be photographic opportunities everywhere you look? The same subjects that might feel dull and ordinary at home can take on an exotic and exciting photographic allure when you’re on holiday. Going on a summer break is also a time when you escape the tyranny of everyday existence and the day-to-day grind of work, and this too can feed the creative process. It’s certainly true that a lot of people make their most interesting work when they’re away from home. However, being away doesn’t on its own make you a better photographer – so in this feature we’re going to explore ways to…

Back in the film days of yore, you’d hastily finish off your roll, send it off to be developed and feverishly await its return in the post. Once the physical copies were in hand, you’d set about showing off your precious prints to family and friends, adding them to photo albums and occasionally even framing the odd keeper. Nowadays, many of us have got stacks of memory cards and external hard drives that are full of image files that have never been edited, let alone shared. And even the ones you do like don’t make it any further than your Instagram wall. Well, this month we’ve come up with a practical use for a few images, and a fun way to share them with friends and family that’s a bit…

Global edits In Camera Raw’s Edit panel, select the Monochrome profile. Boost Contrast, Whites and Clarity. Select the Masking tab and choose Radial Gradient. Draw the bounding box to the edges, invert it (press X) and reduce Exposure to create a vignette. Open the image in Photoshop. Radial blur Duplicate the ‘Background’ layer. Right-click the new layer and select Convert to Smart Object. Go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur. Set Radius to 2.5px, select the Gradient tool and choose a black-to-white radial gradient. Select the Smart Filter and drag the gradient over the subject. Create a frame Export your black-and-white image as a JPEG and open a new postcard document. Select the Frame tool. Draw a rectangular frame on the document, leaving a little bit of space for text at the top.…

21 FREE PHOTOSHOP ACTIONS Whenever you take a shot, the image you capture in-camera can be regarded in two ways. The first is to treat it as an accurate rendition – a ‘record’ of whatever was presented to you at the time. The second is to see the recorded picture as a starting point for further creative exploration. In a sense, you’ve already put your stamp on the picture with your choice of focal length, composition, depth of field, point of focus and timing, but there may be more you want to convey. This might be a certain mood or atmosphere that perhaps isn’t apparent in the straight capture, or it might be a particular visual style you want to apply. A great way to explore the creative potential within…

Craft a flashgun holder To make the softbox, we began by wrapping a small piece of cardboard around the end of the flashgun, leaving an overhang. We taped it in place, then cut down each bend and spread out the sides. Next we took a larger sheet of cardboard, made a hole for our flashgun tube, and taped it to the sheet. Prepare the bag We used an old garden bag for our DIY softbox. We made a slit in the bottom centre to feed our flashgun tube through, then we fitted the sheet of cardboard to the base of the bag. For extra reinforcement, we ran some thick wire around the rim of the bag to keep the structure reasonably solid. Line with foil We covered the slides and…

Alex Dawson Profile ● Based in Stockholm, Sweden, Alex Dawson has over 20 years of experience in commercial and underwater photography. ● During the past 15 years, his primary focus has been on deep-water wreck diving all over the world. ● The most recent of his numerous award-winning images include the wreck of the Tyrifjord in Norway – a category winner in the 2022 Underwater Photographer of the Year awards. ● In 2010, Alex helped salvage the world’s oldest champagne from a wreck in Finland’s Åland archipelago. ● Alex is a Nikon #Zcreator and ambassador of many underwater brands, including Reel Diving, Divesoft and Mares scuba diving equipment. When I ask Alex Dawson how his week has been so far, he says “busy”, which is a fairly stock reply when two strangers…

MISSION: Create surreal composites that open up surprising new perspectives PHOTOGRAPHER: Marcus Hennen LOCATION: Iserlohn, Germany KIT USED: D800, D700, AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR, AF-S DX 18-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR INSTAGRAM: @maperick_photography WEBSITE: www.maperick.com Photography is an escape from my work as a software developer. It allows me to explore the unusual and seek out new places. I try to capture surreal moments that reflect the peculiarities of nature via everyday moments. Artistic freedom is very important to me; often enough a simple photo becomes a small work of art. Creativity is key if you want to grab the viewer’s attention. Being creative is all about getting inspired. I do this by admiring the work of others on social media, but then I try to make my own thing…

1 Tool list (left to right) Start project; save project; postprocess image; save image; transfer image to another Projects program; export image; bracket exposures; create restore point; open the Timeline panel; view a histogram. 2 Main image window Drag an image into the program and it is automatically analyzed. The main window displays a processed version of the image determined by the selected preset. Right-click for an instant before/after view. 3 Expert mode After automatic noise removal, you can fine-tune the results in Expert mode, with a number of post-processing effects. You can also select parts of the image so that effects are only applied to that area. 4 Presets There are 89 presets divided into six categories. The program processes the image using the selected presets, and highlights the one…

1. Cosmic Clouds BY DONALDHYIP With two volcanoes (Mount Bromo in the foreground and Mount Semeru beyond), a cloud inversion and the Milky Way core, it’s difficult to imagine how this view of Indonesia’s Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park could look any better. The image comprises two exposures – taken from exactly the same position – that have been blended together seamlessly. Camera: Nikon D750 Lens: 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 Exposure: 133 secs, f/7.1, ISO64 2. Starry Eyed BY AHMED WADDAH A total of 99 three-minute exposures were captured over two nights to create this incredibly detailed section of the Milky Way – that’s a combined exposure of nearly five hours! Star trails appear beyond exposures of 30 secs, so a star tracker was used to mitigate the Earth’s rotation. Methods to…

Jousting with the Dragon Swarm ERIC SEIDNER In the jungles of Nepal, honey hunters seek honey produced by the world’s largest honeybee. It is a perilous task. Nests, nearly as large as the men that hunt them, are shingled with thousands of irascible bees high on sheer cliff walls. Camera: Nikon D70 Lens: 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5 Exposure: 1/400 sec, f/11, ISO1000 Secret Garden FENQIANG FRANK LIU In Winter Park, Florida, the oak tree in this photo was cut down later due to its unhealthy condition. I was so lucky to have captured it before it was removed! The branches and hanging moss framed the egret while I waited for it to take off. My patience was rewarded: I was able to capture an exquisite moment. Camera: Nikon D850 Lens: 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6…

Draw a line Create a custom 100 by 100px document at 300ppi, and set the Background Contents dropdown menu to Transparent. Select the Line tool, then set the stroke to black and the stroke width to 30px. Hold Shift as you drag the Line tool from corner to corner to lock it to a 45-degree angle. Offset the duplicates Duplicate the line layer (Ctrl/Cmd+J) and select Filter>Other>Offset and select Rasterize when prompted. Set both sliders to +50, tick Repeat Edge Pixels and click OK. Duplicate the original line layer again and repeat the process, but set both sliders to -50. Select Edit>Define Pattern. Paste your pattern Name your pattern, then go to Select File> New and click the Art & Illustration panel. Choose Postcard, then set Orientation to Landscape and…

Festivals offer loads of great opportunities to cut your teeth as a music photographer. Bill-topping headliners share the stage with smaller acts, and there are bound to be all sorts of weird and wonderful goings-on that are worthy of capturing with your camera. But as well as offering such opportunities, there are concerns too. You really don’t want to be carrying a bagful of lenses around with you all day – let alone change them in the chaos of the mosh pit – and security-wise you don’t want to leave your valuable kit unattended in your tent. So if you want to shoot a festival, a compact camera with a single lens is the way to go. But which? A standard zoom lens, like a 24-70mm, enables you to take…

With a cost-of-living crisis, spiralling inflation, eye-watering fuel prices and an unprecedented fall in living standards to consider, for many of us, spending money on photography kit or a trip to a professional portrait studio just isn’t a priority at the moment. But there are ways to create outstanding photos without incurring outstanding payments. In this project we set ourselves a challenge: to craft high-end studio portraits on a shoestring budget of £75. This was basically enough to buy two cheap second-hand flashguns and a green sheet for the backdrop. A green screen might seem like a bit of a luxury for our shoestring studio, but a chroma key sheet costs as little as £5 on eBay, and we can transform the green into any colour, or drop in an…

During a commercial shoot last year, I came across these women, who pick leaves in the tea fields of Munnar, India. I couldn’t stop thinking about them. I was amazed by their work, conducted in such a physically intense environment. From a visual perspective, the pattern of the women among the rich, neatly harvested tea fields captured my attention. My belief is that many of us live in a society where we’re always striving to achieve something new or have the latest thing – we can find ourselves in our own bubble, with limited capacity to look beyond this. I felt it was important to show a glimpse of another way of life; that there are women, for better or worse, who carry out this type of hard labour and…

NIKON KNOW-HOW What is white balance? Get perfect colour rendition from your Nikon in different lighting conditions White balance, or WB, is necessary because light doesn’t just vary in brightness, but also in colour. Each light source has its own individual ‘colour temperature’, which varies from red to blue as you move through the visible spectrum. Human vision is very good at compensating for this, so a sheet of white paper will look white whether it’s viewed in daylight or by candlelight. It’s the job of the camera’s white balance system to do the same thing, and compensate for colour differences in the lighting, so the colours in a scene look exactly as we would expect. Your Nikon has a wide range of options for controlling the white balance to…

Rogue Round Flash Kit From £96/$100 www.rogueflash.com Flash modifiers are a great way to add creative lighting to your shots, and long-established modifier maker Rogue has just released a new range of magnetic modifiers compatible with popular flashguns. Rogue Round Flash Magnetic Modifiers have been designed to attach directly to the metal ring mount found on Godox, Geekoto, Westcott and Profoto A-series round flashes. Alternatively, modifiers can be attached to a rectangular-head flashgun via the Rogue Flash Adapter (£34/$35). Available in small or standard sizes, this stretchy silicone mount enables quick attachment to flashes, using a metal ring mount to attach other Magnetic Modifier components. Each modifier incorporates six neodymium magnets to provide a strong attachment force to the flash, while the modifiers themselves are made from impact-resistant materials to withstand…

Benro makes two versions of the MeFoto RoadTrip Pro tripod; one has carbon-fibre legs (reviewed here), while the other has aluminium legs, and costs less at around £180/$250. Each variety is available in three colour variants: black, silver and blue. It’s only the colour of the metal locks and the canopy that changes. When the five-section legs and two section centre column are extended fully, this tripod is 152.5cm tall, which puts it in the full-height tripod category. The lowest shooting level, 39.5cm, is achieved by setting the legs to the widest of their three angles and extending the centre column up until its base clears the ground. There are a couple of options if you want to shoot at a lower level than this. The first is to unscrew…

I’ve lost count how many times smartphones have cropped up over the past month. You’ve no doubt flicked through our Z 30 review (page 98) and seen George Yarmoluk’s two-shot smartphone panorama and accompanying letter (page 73); and while I was out and about with my Nikon D800, a passerby proudly showed me the scene I was shooting on his iPhone and chuckled: “Not bad, eh?” This left me pondering the not-so-eternal question: will smartphones supersede cameras one day? I’ve come to a very resolute conclusion – not on your nelly! Smartphone gains Yes, it’s true smartphones have effectively made the compact camera redundant, but was anybody worried that compact cameras were going to make enthusiast and pro-grade bodies redundant before that? There’s no denying that smartphone cameras have become…