Innholdsfortegnelse for March - May 2020 i Photo Review

What kind of photographer are you? It’s a safe bet that if you’re reading this, you’re a photographer. And if you’re a photographer, you’ve been asked that question more than once. So how do you respond? Do you find yourself starting out confidently with something along the lines of ‘Oh, landscapes and portraits mostly.’ And, then after a moment’s reflection, adding ‘but I like taking macro shots of insects as well. And I have a telephoto for birds and motorsport… of course there are the grandkids too… and my nephew’s footy games…’ After years of interviewing photographers, I can confidently say that not one of them, no matter how narrowly focused they might be on a particular genre, ever said they were only interested in just one realm of photography.…

Why visit The Grampians National Park (also known by its indigenous name: Gariwerd) was listed on the Australian National Heritage List on 15 December 2006 for its outstanding natural beauty and because it is one of the richest indigenous rock art sites in south-eastern Australia. Since the 1960s, it has also been a popular rock-climbing destination. So it offers plenty of potential for all kinds of photography. The area consists of a series of roughly parallel sandstone ridges that have steep scarps along their eastern edges and gentle slopes to the west. It extends from Mt Zero and the associated scree slope and sandy outwash plain in the north to Mt Abrupt and Mt Sturgeon at Dunkeld in the south. On the eastern edge are the Mt William and Serra…

Teleconverters have been around for a long time and continue to be available because they're seen as a cheap and convenient way to extend the range of a telephoto lens. Most consist of a magnifying lens (or lens assembly) that is inserted between the camera body and an existing lens, to provide an increase in focal length. A 2x teleconverter will double the apparent focal length, converting a 300mm lens to 600mm focal length. A 1.4x teleconverter will increase the focal length of a 300mm lens to 420mm. Buying a teleconverter will cost you less than buying a new lens with the increased focal length. In addition, adding a teleconverter should mean you have less weight to carry than if you bought a longer lens. You can also fit a…

Linear perspective, represented by the convergence of parallel lines with distance, was one of the first depth cues to be recognised by artists way back in the early 15th century. The longer the parallel lines and the more distant the vanishing point where they converge, the greater the apparent depth in the scene. Objects of similar size that become smaller with increasing distance from the lens provide another easily-recognised depth cue. While your brain knows the individual vehicles in a stream of cars on a road are probably quite similar in size, when it sees them shrinking progressively, this is interpreted as depth in the scene. Interestingly, your brain can apply corrections to counteract visual incongruities. For example, when a dog in the foreground of a picture appears much larger…

‘Projects often develop organically and unexpectedly,’ says photographer Paul Harmon. ‘Sometimes they start with an idea, sometimes with an accident that excites or a casual comment that gets you thinking.’ Describing the origins of WaterMarks, his series of aerial images of climate change-driven drought in northwestern New South Wales, Paul says it all began when he acquired a professional drone with the idea that he could photograph abstracted landscapes. As a documentary filmmaker in the late 1980s, he made a series of award-winning films on the environment and sustainability. ‘For a long time I have been aware of the effects and causes of climate change,’ he says. From the beginning of this project I of course knew that NSW was in the worst drought in 100 years and was also…

One of the perennial problems with technology is that the longer you have it, the more dated it appears. While this perception is the main reason people update cameras and lenses, in today's cash-strapped environment there are strong incentives to think carefully when buying a new camera. However, before considering an upgrade, always check whether your camera has the latest firmware. You will often find improvements to functions like exposure and autofocusing have been added through firmware updates, which can reduce the urgency to purchase a new camera. Why you should update There are a number of genuine reasons for upgrading a camera. 1. Resolution: Wanting higher resolution is a valid incentive – as long as resolution is what you really need. In reality, few photographers actually need more than…

An hour before the initial scheduled phone interview for this story, Cam Neville sent an ironic email: ‘Hey mate, can we reschedule. I’m too busy on the farm today as it’s 36 degrees and severe fire danger.’ The interview was to be about Neville’s wildfire photography. More specifically, about how he manages to get so close to the action that you can all but feel the flames flaring in the firefighters’ faces. Neville lives with his wife and two teenage daughters on their small farm at Guanaba, 30km inland from Surfers Paradise, on Queensland’s Gold Coast. But that wasn’t his only concern on this hot, gusty day in early December. He’s also a volunteer with the Guanaba Rural Fire Brigade, and its crews had already been called out many times…

Translating a three-dimensional scene into a two-dimensional photograph with any sense of depth can be a challenge. In this feature we look at a few tried-and-proven techniques that can help you to achieve this objective as well as strategies that are available in post-capture editing to enhance impressions of depth. Unless you know what parameters to manipulate, it's hard to decide which parts of an image to work on and how to adjust them. To learn how to recognise visual depth cues, check out the box on the opposite page. In this feature we'll look at both shooting and editing techniques that can increase the impression of depth in a two-dimensional picture to highlight some of the things you can try. Don't be afraid to combine different shooting and shooting…