Innholdsfortegnelse for March - May 2018 i Photo Review

Everybody takes photographs, but true photographers understand that there is a difference between simply taking a picture and actively making a photograph. For the typical happy-snapper, pictures are mostly just a visual diary of their lives. By contrast, for a photographer, a successful image is something that can stand on its own; that can be understood and appreciated independently of its creator’s individual life story. On the occasion of our 75th edition, I thought it would be interesting to hear how my Photo Review colleagues responded to the question posed in the title of this column. Technical editor Margaret Brown’ whose photographic work appears in every edition, replied to my email query in characteristic fashion. ‘Because I feel that an image isn't a photograph until it is printed, I think…

Why visit? We're taking you to Japan for this Locations feature, partly because it's one of the easiest places for Australian photographers to visit but also because you'll find subjects for your camera just about anywhere you look. There are plenty of things that set Japan apart from its Asian neighbours. It's safe and clean, it has excellent public transport, delicious and healthy food and even if you don't speak the language, the people are friendly and many of them can understand English, even if they are reluctant to speak it. It's also relatively affordable, Concentrating on a single area is the best strategy in our opinion because it enables you to get a real feel for Japanese life and customs. If your itinerary takes you from place to place…

If you're selling a DSLR or contemplating the purchase of a secondhand one, it can be handy to find out how much it has been used and how close the shutter count is to the rated figure. This is possible with some cameras, although a few brands aren't supported and there’s no guarantee any of the methods listed below will work for any particular camera. Still, they are worth a try. The simplest way to find out how many times a shutter has been released is to upload a recent image to www.camerashuttercount.com or www.myshuttercount.com. Unfortunately, these online analysers aren't up-to-date and only work for a few older models from Canon. But they cover quite a wide range of Nikon and Pentax cameras and a few SLT models from Sony.…

Indigo presses are used by the Sydney-based Momento (www.momento.com.au/) which is long-established and has won awards for the books it has produced. Another high-profile premium supplier, Nulab, recently changed ownership and printing platform, moving from Indigo to Kodak digital press technology. Albumworks (www.albumworks.com.au/),which is located in Melbourne, was the first book producer to install the Canon DreamLabo in Australia. As well as offering its own branded services, it prints the books for Canon's Photo Pico service www.store.canon.com.au/photopico) as well as the larger, higher-quality ‘HD’ books ordered through outlets like Officeworks, Target, Ted’s Cameras, etc. Cahoots in Subiaco, Western Australia (www.cahootsphotos.com.au) outsources the printing but binds in-house using Fastbind professional photobook binding equipment sourced from Finland. Covers are printed on inkjet polypropylene media on an Epson 4880 wide format printer and…

Lisa Michele Burns is a recent and very enthusiastic convert to the Olympus system. ‘I was looking for a lightweight kit after having ongoing back issues from years of shooting weddings with two heavy DSLR’s,’ she says. ‘Early in 2017 I had a bunch of trips planned to photograph in the arctic winter, so when the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II was released with its weatherproof features I did a little happy dance. ‘My first time travelling with the Olympus system in Iceland and Norway’s Lofoten Islands changed the way I photograph. Having a new camera body to work with forced me to think about things differently. Transitioning to a new menu system and taking advantage of features like Live Composition and the Live View has helped me capture landscapes…

Whenever you upload a photo to a public website it will become accessible to other people – even if your only intention is to share it with friends and relatives. In essence, the very act of posting an image online makes it available to be used without your consent. Currently the best way to guard against unauthorised usage of your photos is through copyright protection. Copyright is important to anyone who creates original works; it's a way to let others know the author of the work and how it can be reproduced and shared. International laws define copyright as 'a legal right created by the law of a country that grants the creator of an original work exclusive rights for its use and distribution'. This right usually applies for a…

Table it  www.bit.ly/pr75ne1 Darktable is an open source (ie, free) application that promises to bridge the gap between raw converters and image management software by combining the two realms in a single workflow-focused, cross-platform package. There are a large number of image processing specific plugins (eg, colour correction, de-noising, haze removal, lens correction and so on). Don’t expect to learn it overnight as this is a powerful and necessarily complex tool. Great nature  www.bit.ly/pr75ne2 National Geographic’s 2017 Nature Photography of the Year gallery is a must-see. Divided into four categories (wildlife, landscapes, aerials and underwater), not only are the official category winners on display, but so too are the People’s Choice images for each category. And, if you’re really keen, there’s also a huge collection of images that didn’t make…