Innholdsfortegnelse for September - November 2015 i Photo Review

In the summer of 1861, a 32-year-old Carlton Watkins set up his 18x22-inch format glass plate camera in California’s Yosemite Valley. The series of 30 massive and intricately detailed images he created subsequently found their way to Washington DC, where they are said to have influenced not only the members of Congress, but President Abraham Lincoln to declare in 1864 that Yosemite Valley was ‘inviolable’. Not long after that, thanks in no small part to the work of landscape photographers like Watkins, the American national park system itself was established. Of course photography has played a similar role in Australia too. The late Peter Dombrovskis image ‘Morning Mist, Rock Island Bend, Franklin River’ is among the most significant and powerful conservation photographs captured in this country. To this day when…

The Age of the Interweb has thrown down a new set of challenges for photographers. Even the most amateur of amateur photographers who posts images online can reel off a story about how one of their photos found a way to some strange and exotic corner of the world, without permission, all thanks to the ease with which the internet enables theft. The most recent incident to grab the attention of mainstream media around the world wasn’t a clear-cut case of copyright infringement. In fact, no one had their copyright infringed – just micro-managed. It began after British freelance event photographer, Jason Seldon, called out pop star Taylor Swift and her management for issuing a ‘rights-grabbing’ contract – apparently the norm for big touring acts. Swift to criticise Ironically, Swift…

When the idea for a sea star couch occurred to Peter Strain and the graphic designer who was helping him with his Mandurah exhibition, ‘the prospect of just going for it was a bit scary’. ‘It wasn’t cheap to do – the printed fabric alone cost $600 – and it was either going to look terrific or horrible,’ says Strain. ‘Fortunately a backer appeared and we went from concept to finished product in 10 days. The couch arrived the day the exhibition opened.’ Even more fortunately, everyone who saw it went ‘Wow!’ The couch is covered in a standard upholstery fabric printed with a pattern from a super-macro shot of a 4cm sea star (starfish). ‘It goes to show that, as photographers, we don’t have to limit ourselves to books,…

Once you've decided upon the equipment you will use and sorted out the locations you’ll shoot from, the next step is to decide which camera settings you will use. Often these will vary, depending on whether you want to record the motion by ‘freezing’ an instant in time, or capture the flow of the action. Here are a few general tips that will help you to make wise choices in most situations. 1. Select the right autofocusing mode. With most cameras, the AF-S (single shot focus) is the best setting to choose when you want to ‘freeze’ the action, particularly for close subjects with tight compositions. Continuous AF (AF-C) can work better when shooting sequences, particularly when subjects aren’t moving quickly. High-end cameras usually provide settings that can track moving…

We challenged photographers to come up with images that conveyed coziness – and we discovered that for many, the companionship of a pet, particularly a dog, is the very essence of that warm and fuzzy concept. Our winner John Tarlinton’s picture melted the hearts of the judging panel and the story behind the image, made it all the more compelling. Andy Parkee, like John, is a frequent contributor and this time around he came very close to the win with his warm and snuggly picture of son Liam and Rocco the dog. Royce Holliday went to considerable effort to evoke the soothing warmth of a hot drink on a cold day. Also making the honourable mention rollcall were Susan Shanta for her feline composition and Miradija McNicol for a high…

In 1981, while studying zoology at Monash University, Doug Gimesy bought his first serious camera, an Olympus OM-1. He’d long nurtured hopes of one day becoming a National Geographic photographer, so when friend and ethnomusicologist Manolete Mora invited him to come along on a research trip as the zoologist, he leapt at the chance. ‘Manolete was going to the Philippines to study the music of the T’Boli tribespeople in the hills of Mindanao and he wanted a zoologist there to classify the animals, because a lot of their music was based on the sounds and the rhythms the animals made. I said, “well look, I’ll come and do that, but I’ll also do the photos for you”.’ Although several of the pictures he took did end up being used by…

Why Visit in Autumn? Cradle Mountain is one of Tasmania’s most popular tourist attractions, with close to 200,000 visitors annually, more than half of them coming between November and March. During the peak season it can be difficult (or impossible) to avoid crowds and getting into the Dove Lake parking area to capture the best views of the mountain can involve hours of queuing. In the cooler months you can usually drive straight in, enjoy the magnificent vistas and take photographs without anyone intruding in the scene. The rainforest areas are more attractive in the damp and misty conditions that occur in autumn. Latitude and altitude combine to make the Cradle Mountain - Lake St Clair National Park area an exciting place for photography. The park’s alpine vegetation is very…

At 1841 metres, Busselton Jetty, in southern Western Australia, is the longest wooden jetty in the southern hemisphere. Construction began in 1865 and it was extended many times due to drifting sands, and to allow larger ships to moor. The jetty is now solely a tourist attraction, but what’s above the water is only part of the story. Underwater, around its thousands of pylons, nature has claimed it as a reef. The reef’s flora and fauna is well known to divers. Now, with Broome-based photographer and filmmaker Peter Strain’s exhibition In An Octopuses Garden, appreciation of its extravagant, barely macroscopic beauty has been taken to another level. By working at extreme technical limits, Strain has been able to give us glimpses of what sea creatures see in their watery world…

The transitional periods between day and night – sunrise and sunset – have inspired artists (and subsequently, photographers) since time immemorial and most photographers continue to appreciate their magic. The changing colours in the sky are the obvious attraction for most people. Weather conditions tend to be stable around sunrise as the cool air of the waning night is less disturbed by wind. In contrast, the hot air of late afternoon can create interesting cloud patterns and potential for interesting shapes in foregrounds that include grasses and trees. Plan Ahead Prior planning will maximise your chances for memorable shots. If possible, scout out a location beforehand, either a day before sunrise or a couple of hours before sunset while the sun is relatively high in the sky. Try to predict…

My main motivation for writing this article was an old (vintage around 1974) Reflex Nikkor 500mm f/8 mirror lens that had been purchased for use with Nikon film cameras. I had previously purchased an adaptor and used the lens on various Canon EOS DSLRs, both ‘full frame’ and APS-C models. Having shifted to the Olympus OM-D system a couple of years ago because it provided smaller and much lighter cameras and lenses, I wondered whether the old Nikkor lens could be used on any of my bodies and how well the camera’s sensor-shift stabilisation systems would work with the 1000mm equivalent focal length. Mainline Photographics, which has an extensive portfolio of lens adaptors, provided me with a Voigtlander adapter for connecting the Nikkor lens to my OM-D E-M1. In the…

All image editors provide fairly similar tools for adjusting image brightness and contrast. Unfortunately, many photographers don’t realise the full capabilities of most of these tools so they never look beyond the most simple slider adjustments. Ignorance of the effects of some tools can also lead some potential users to overlook them and, finally, anyone who has experienced repeated failures after trying out certain adjustments will likely avoid them. In this feature we will look at some of the ways in which Levels adjustments can be used and show how you can overcome perceived ‘failures’ when the end result is not what you expected. When experimenting with your own image we recommend creating a new copy to work on so your original file is preserved. Brightness and Contrast Adjustments The…