Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2025 i PhotoPlus : The Canon Magazine

We have a winter wildlife special for the festive season for you this issue. Winter might not seem the obvious time for wildlife photography, however, at this time of year, many different animals and birds are very active as they search for food. So this issue, great Canon pro Drew Buckley shows you how to go wild this winter in our Canon skills guide; from the gear to use, core photo techniques all the way through to his more advanced methods, plus tips on wildlife to look out for in your local area. His top 25 pro tips begin on page 28. We have some winning Canon images from the Wildlife Photographer Of The Year competition – see our gallery on page 20. We interview Swedish bird photographer, Jonas Classon,…

APPRENTICE NAME: ROSE CAMERA: CANON EOS R6 MK II 13 YEAR old Rose is in Year 9 secondary school about to start her GCSEs in Hertfordshire. She got into photography during lockdown when she was just nine and her school asked for photos of what they were getting up to at home. She took a few portraits of her mother gardening and has been hooked ever since. She’d love to be a portrait photographer when she’s older and is looking to take a photography GCSE, next year specialising in film photography. Despite her age, she’s already won a portrait photography competition at her local camera club. Instagram: @pinkroseimages CANON PRO NAME: JASON BIRTH CAMERA: CANON EOS R5 JASON is The Creativity Hub’s workshop master and has over two decades of experience as a professional…

Crop factor and depth of field 01 DUE TO being more ‘zoomed’ in, a crop sensor is effectively cropping the same full-frame scene, therefore producing an image with a deeper depth of field when using equivalent apertures versus a full-frame camera. APS-C sensors can’t compete with full-frame bodies for shallow depth of field and background blur effects, which is something I strive for in my photos. However, if your background is far away enough, you can still achieve a blurry background – although in most scenarios, a full-frame camera will have more aesthetically pleasing background blur and depth. APS-C vs full-frame 02 MOST people start off on a crop sensor, or APS-C camera, such as an R100. APS-C sensors are around two thirds the size of a full-frame sensor found…

In-flight autofocus 16 FOR MOVING subjects, you’ll need a responsive autofocus setting. Switching the autofocus to ‘AI Servo’ on Canon DSLRs, or simply ‘Servo’ mode on newer mirrorless models, is key for capturing sharp images. This means that when the focus is activated by half-pressing the shutter button (or back button), autofocus remains focused on your subject as long as it’s over your focus point. It’s ideal for tracking a moving subject while shooting the action on high-speed drive mode. Alternatively, activate Eye Detection AF and set Subject to detect Animals. Push the ISO up 17 THE TRICK with exposures when you’re using higher than usual ISO values (3200 or more) is to ensure you’re exposing it correctly. Noise will only ever be visible in darker areas of a scene so,…

In Christmas 2023, I managed an overseas trip to Kerala with my wife Rachel. This was basically a scouting trip or ‘recce’ for the possibility of running a photography tour to southern India, an evocative landscape full of jungle, coastline, rivers and tea plantations. The demographic of travellers in India has seen a complete about-face. Pre-pandemic statistics saw 80% of its visitors (mostly UK and Europe) from foreign countries and 20% Indian. Post-pandemic, travellers were looking closer to home and a recovering India began to see how beautiful and affordable their own country could be, with 80% of India’s tourism now domestic. After leaving Cochin, we headed due east cross-country to Munnar. As usual, the journey was a nail-biting experience. Our driver overtook on blind bends, impatiently beeping, our faces…

Blur filters have been around since the early days of Photoshop, but despite being relatively easy to blur pixels, it’s hard to mimic the effects of real optical lens blur. The issue is how to create a realistic fall-off around the point of focus, so the blur gradually becomes stronger the further away in front or behind the point of focus, just like optical blur. With the introduction of the new Lens Blur tool, depth-of-field effects have become a whole lot easier. Available in Lightroom and Photoshop CC’s Adobe Camera Raw, the Lens Blur tool employs AI to create a depth map that mimics in-camera lens blur. Essentially, it identifies which parts of the scene are closer to the camera and which are further away. It determines the subject of…

Go the Royal Mile Joe set himself the challenge of getting a Royal Photography Society nod, by shooting Scottish architecture at night I am 65, based in Midlothian, Scotland and happily retired. I first bought a DSLR camera in 2010: a Canon EOS 400D. My aim was to capture our then toddler granddaughter. I soon fell in love with landscapes, then sports and wildlife photography. I’m out often with my camera and travel throughout Scotland. Currently my favourite is night photography. As my wife goes to bed, I vanish out with my camera to photograph star trails or lit-up landscapes. Sometimes I forget to come home. In 2021, I gained the Licentiate from The Royal Photography Society (LRPS). In October this year, I attempted to go one step further and…

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It might not be instantly obvious that sharpening and noise reduction are linked, but when you consider that one is about reducing and the other enhancing details then it becomes important to have them work together correctly. Especially if you shoot JPEG images. The choices you make in camera are used to determine how the JPEG images will be processed. There are two kinds of noise reduction: long exposure and high ISO. Long exposure has less impact on the detail, but high ISO works by smoothing the noise and details out, which can leave images looking a little flat and lifeless. For most images, the camera standard setting works well, and should be your starting point. Sharpening is a component of the selected Picture Style and each is different, but…

WE HAVE amazing Canon gear prizes available for you this issue, and it’s open to every new or existing Canon Club member. From new Canon EOS mirrorless cameras and lenses to PIXMA printers, there are over £4000 worth of prizes: Grand prize Canon EOS R6 Mark II + RF 24-105mm F4-7.1 IS STM lens 2nd prize Canon EOS R7 + RF-S 18-150mm F3.5-6.3 IS STM lens 3rd prize PIXMA TS7750i printer 4th prize PIXMA TS7650i printer Already a Canon Club member? Look out for the prize draw on the Canon Club site, running from 12-31 December 2024. Not a member yet? Any Canon user can join for free. All you have to do is join Canon Club before 31 December 2024 and enter the prize draw for a chance to…

01 THE DEMOLITION SQUAD, BY INGO ARNDT WINNER: BEHAVIOUR: INVERTEBRATES In this incredible macro shot, Ingo got up close and personal with this colony of red wood ants as they efficiently dismembered a blue ground beetle. He told us: “I watched as the red wood ants carved an already dead beetle into pieces small enough to fit through the entrance to their nest,” and that after laying next to the ant’s nest for just a few minutes he was “full of ants.” For lighting, Ingo used a Canon Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX which places two flashes next to the lens for even lighting, and he also added softboxes to reduce the harshness. Lens Canon RF 100mm F2.8L IS USM Exposure 1/200 sec, f/8, ISO400 02 OLD MAN OF THE GLEN, BY FORTUNATO GATTO…

If you’ve followed the previous project you’ll now have some perfect pictures to turn into a personal greetings card, though you could of course use any other image if you prefer. Just download one of the template. psd files from the start images (link on left) and follow the steps below to perform your pre-printing checks and load your image into the pre-made template. When it comes to printer choice, most home and office printers are an inkjet variety and will be perfect for Christmas cards. Just remember that your prints will need to be folded in half, so if your printer prints at a maximum of A4, then the largest card you can produce is A5 and so on, though you probably won’t need to print cards larger than…

Photoshop Elements 2025 comes with a handful of new useful features and updates. This ‘Photoshop lite’ offering from Adobe can’t compete with its bigger brother, Photoshop CC but it has long been a useful photo editor in its own right. In this project, we’ll take our steam train here on a tour of the new features. We often see a trickle-down of tools from Photoshop CC to Elements, and this time we are treated to the AI-powered Remove tool, a brush that lets you get rid of unwanted details. In our tests it’s good when the offending object is against a fairly uniform backdrop, but – like many automated tools – it struggles with cluttered details and it’s not as good as the identically named tool in Photoshop CC (which…

I have always been interested in the art of photography from a young age. My wife got me my first DSLR 17 years ago and I’ve had one ever since. I took it more seriously as a medium to help with my mental health when I became sober. In August last year I had a mental breakdown and confessed my deepest feelings to my wife (with whom I have two children) and how I was struggling, and nothing was making me happy. But I sorted my head out, booked a mental health appointment, and fast forward a year I’m one year sober. Thanks to photography and the power it can unleash in an artist, I’m now seeing life through a whole new lens. I’m also extremely grateful to have a…

Ultimate camera control Getting to know the often overlooked EOS Utility software pays dividends EOS Utility is the application that manages the interaction between a computer and connected EOS camera. EOS Utility may be free to download from Canon, but photographers are often surprised to discover its capabilities, from camera configuration to remote control and tethered shooting. The software works over both USB and the camera’s built-in Wi-Fi connection to provide maximum flexibility. EOS Utility is available from the Canon support website and there are versions for your camera and Windows or Mac. You can use a USB cable or Wi-Fi connection; though a cable is faster for transferring images, Wi-Fi allows shooting via an existing Wi-Fi network or one created by the camera. When you connect your camera to…

The Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM Z is the latest lens to join Canon’s hybrid range of optics, appealing to stills photographers and video makers in equal measure. The ‘Z’ stands for zoom, indicating its compatibility with video-focused Power Zoom adapters. The Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM Z is the manufacturer’s second lens to feature this badge, sitting alongside the RF 24-105mm F2.8L IS USM Z. Canon’s hybrid lenses are designed to fill a gap between the company’s cine lenses, L-series photography glass and broadcast optics, offering the best of all worlds. Hybrid lenses feature an aperture (Iris) ring: marked in f-stops, focus is designed to be fast, smooth and quiet – ideal for both stills and video – and the lens also features some super-sharp glass. Design…

What to look for Canon EOS camera ranges Canon splits its EOS range into mirrorless cameras and DSLRs. Its older DSLR line-up includes beginner, enthusiast and pro ranges; the EOS 4000D is the most basic, the 850D for intermediates, the 90D and full-frame 6D Mk II for advanced enthusiasts, and the full-frame pro-level 5D and 1D lines. Over the page are the two EOS mirrorless ranges: Canon’s smaller, older APS-C EOS M cameras, and Canon’s EOS R System APS-C and full-frame cameras that offer the very latest digital technology. The APS-C crop-sensor EOS R50, R10 and R7 are smaller, affordable entry-level options. While the EOS R8 up to the EOS R6 Mark II, R5 Mark II and flagship R1 are full-frame for serious enthusiasts to professionals. Canon’s EOS R cameras…

FREE VIDEO GUIDES! In the next Canon Skills chapter… ◼ Photographing lightning! ◼ Get a grip of Canon’s battery boosters ◼ Use vintage lenses with your Canon EOS R cameras ◼ New Photoshop, Lightroom and Affinity Photo tutorials PLUS ALL THIS… ◼ Canon Gear of the Year: The best ◼ EOS cameras, lens and kit of 2024 ◼ PhotoPlus Apprentice: City escape photos in Budapest with Canon pro photographer Jeremy Flint ◼ Canon Profile: Iceland’s Gunnar Freyr Gunnarsson ISSUE 226 ON SALE 3 JANUARY 2025 * Content subject to change…

Wildlife photography – what does it conjure up in your mind? Roaring stags against golden skies at sunrise, seabirds soaring over cliffs, or an action-packed sequence of a bird of prey going in for the kill? Whatever your photographic vision or interest, photographing wildlife can be one of the greatest challenges as a photographer. The aim from the outset is to always try to capture a well composed and striking image that tells a story. So rather than just taking a record shot – aka what my good mate Rich calls ‘a proof of life pic’ – we strive for our images to captivate and immerse our viewers. Sometimes, photographing that elusive animal can be frustrating and requires immense patience and perseverance in order to get a unique image. When…

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Light painting lets us capture beautiful streaks of coloured light with our cameras. To understand how it works, it can be helpful to think of our frame as a pure black canvas. Like a painter with a brush, we can wave a torch or other light source around to make our painting on the black canvas. To take it further, here we can add a flash into the mix to capture silhouettes. This is like asking our subjects to stand in front of our black canvas, then throwing a full tin of white paint at it. By using a flash during a long exposure, we’re effectively making two exposures in one. Our flash is placed behind the subjects and directed at a white wall, so when it pops at the…

We spend a lot of money on lenses that can minimise flare – those nasty internal reflections that occur between the elements in your lens that can degrade your photo and look unprofessional. So, to reduce the chances of this, we opt for lenses with special coatings and buy expensive filters. But then if you look at a lot of modern landscape images, you see that there’s subtle flare being used to enhance them. So should we abandon all hope and just go for the cheaper option, saving ourselves some money in the process? No, not at all. It’s far wiser to start with a better photo and enhance it ourselves. Indeed, creating a repeatable and recognisable look could become your style. You might think that creating a flare is…

NOW ONE of Europe’s most celebrated bird photographers, it was a long period of illness as a teenager that cemented Swedish Jonas Classon’s love of birds. As he got a little better in hospital, his teacher took him into nature and taught him how to track and observe species. When Jonas regained his health, photography was the pursuit that saw him through his formative years. While chatting, he jokes that he was born to be a photographer, but his dedication to capturing stories and characters is clear in his expressive images. Although Jonas started in journalistic photography – covering local events, news, and everything in between – his full-time career is now bird photography. He travels around the globe for professional projects, as well as dipping back into his native…

Cesare Barillà Award-winning professional Canon photographer Cesare is based in the beautifully picturesque southern region of Italy, where he takes pictures and hosts workshops Iinitially entered into the world of professional photography in 2014, when I bought a Canon EOS 1100D with my first paycheck. But my love for photography dates back to when, as a child, my father gave me a Kodak disposable camera. From that day on, I discovered photography and I did nothing but browse my parents’ memory album. In the years to come, the digital photography revolution came, along with the first compact cameras. I always had one in my pocket. I specialize in landscapes, but I’m also passionate about modern architecture and street photography. These genres are never missing from my travel photographs. My style…

“I have an EOS R50 with the kit lens. What wide-angle lens would you suggest to pair it with?”Laura Wilson, Fareham BRIAN SAYS… There are two lenses in the Canon line-up that would give you a wider view of the world. There’s the compact RF 16mm F2.8 STM lens and the diminutive RF-S 10-18mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM. The 16mm lens is an RF lens so it will also work with full-frame cameras to give an even wider view than on your EOS R50. The best choice of these two for its wider angle, zoom range, and lens IS will be the RF-S 10-18mm. Sigma now produces lenses for the RF mount under a license with Canon and has a fast aperture 10-18mm f/2.8 lens, which would be another good choice.…

Is it really better to give or to receive? Either way, we’ve got you covered with our bumper crop of gift ideas for keen Canon photographers. You’ll find a whopping 85 products over the next ten pages, so there’s sure to be something (or several things) that take your fancy. It pays to be budget-conscious so we’re kicking off with gifts that cost less than £50/$50 to buy, then working our way up step by step. Each section in our big guide is listed in price-ascending order. You’ll find Canon EOS cameras, lenses and accessories that can add an extra dimension to your photography experience. Whether you’re buying for a loved one, or picking some new gear for your own wishlist, we’re here to help you choose. Just don’t start…

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Letter of the Month Hello Canon Magazine team! I bought an EOS R50 on your advice last autumn. Your advice was absolutely correct and it’s a brilliant beginner’s camera. Canon bundle their new cameras with their photo-editing Digital Photo Processing 4. It’s a good, unclunky alternative to Adobe’s Photoshop or Lightroom offerings. It is rarely mentioned in PhotoPlus: The Canon Magazine, and you haven’t run any tutorials on how to use it, which is a shame. Can this be put right please? Then I can place an annual subscription and stop looking for snippets of help on YouTube! Many thanks. Christopher Shawcross, Suffolk Very glad to hear we’ve been able to help with your choice of camera. We know Canon’s DPP4 software well, and we feature 2-page DPP tutorials almost…