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© Pepper Yandell

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CONTENTS

JUNE 2018 • VOLUME 47 • NUMBER 8 • ISSUE 573 TOOLS 18 ASK A PRO Scott Kelby Answers Your Photography Questions

by Scott Kelby 20

TECHNICALLY SPEAKING How to Check and Correct Autofocus

by Seth Shostak

24

GEARED UP How to Choose a First Camera for New Photographers

by Joe Farace

28

THE GOODS This Month’s Picks for Our Favorite New Premium Photo Gear

by The Editors

REVIEWS 32 SONY A7 III Sony Goes Back to Basics With Its Lower-End Full-Frame Mirrorless Camera

by Dan Havlik 40

SONY CYBER-SHOT RX10 IV Sony’s Premium Superzoom Camera Offers Faster AF and 24 FPS Burst Shooting

by George Schaub

SHUTTERBUG (ISSNO895-321X) is published bimonthly in Jan/Feb, Mar/Apr, May/Jun, Jul/Aug, Sep/Oct, and Nov/Dec by AVTech Media Americas Inc, 1212 Avenue of the Americas, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10036. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send all UAA to CFS. (See DMM 707.4.12.5); NON-POSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: send address corrections to SHUTTERBUG, PO Box 420235, Palm Coast, Florida 321420235. Printed in the U.S.A. Copyright © 2018 by AVTech Media Americas Inc. All rights reserved. No portion of this magazine may be reprinted without written permission from SHUTTERBUG. For information on display rates or media kits, please write: SHUTTERBUG, 1212 Avenue of the Americas, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10036, (321) 225-3144. Subscriptions: US—One Year (12 issues) $22.95, Canadian $34.95, Foreign $46.95 (including surface mail postage). Payment in advance, U.S. funds only. Single Copies $4.99 (US), $5.99 (Canada). (800) 829-3340.

6 | JUNE | 2018

50

HOW TO BUY A TRIPOD Advice for Purchasing the Right Camera Support

by Jon Sienkiewicz

54

GOING DARK How to Build and Equip a Photographic Darkroom

by Gary Miller

58

HIGH TIMES How to Shoot Landscape Photos in the Mountains

by Ron Leach

© Dan Havlik

TECHNIQUES 48 READY FOR YOUR CLOSE-UPS? How to Use Telephoto Lenses for Maximum Impact

by Ron Leach

©Billion Lim Focal Length: 400mm Exposure: F/6.3 1/250sec ISO: 520

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CONTENTS

JUNE 2018 • VOLUME 47 • NUMBER 8 • ISSUE 573 60

NARROW YOUR FOCUS How to Use Lines, Patterns, Colors, and Textures to Create Eye-Catching Images

by Jeff Howe

64

PRO’S CHOICE Top Pro Pepper Yandell on How to Shoot Car Photography

by Jack Neubart

DEPARTMENTS 12 EDITOR’S NOTES 14 FULL FRAME 16 TALKING PICTURES 68 PICTURE THIS! 81 FINAL SHOT READER SERVICES 78 HOT STUFF

64 8 | JUNE | 2018

Bottom: © Pepper Yandell; top: © Lawrence N. Berke

68

ON THE COVER Our fierce cover shot of a 2016 Lamborghini Aventador SV was taken by commercial automotive photographer Pepper Yandell. He shot the image for HRE Wheels in a small garage right behind NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. In keeping with his mantra “the more exotic the car and location, the better,” the background is a composite from the salt flats in Nevada. Captured with a Canon EOS 6D with a Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L lens, Yandell lit the Lamborghini with his trusty Profoto B1 battery-powered monolight that he brings with him on every shoot. When retouching the car, he was “careful to allow the yellow color to be represented naturally.” To learn more about how Yandell shoots vehicles, turn to page 64.

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Join Andrei as he takes you through his initial beginnings, where he started, how he got into photography and how he transitioned into a full-time prosperous photography career. He will take you through the inspiration behind his stunning fine art images and how he captured them.

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SATURDAY JUNE 9 • SANDY PUC

Portrait Photographer Keynote Presentation 10:30am Sandy Puc believes in photography’s unique power to connect people, even over great distances and spans of time. She expresses this idea of connection in her work as a photographer, entrepreneur, educator and philanthropist.

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SPONSORED BY

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Creating Portraits with the Profoto A1 1:30pm Join Sal Cincotta as he shows you step-by-step how he uses the A1 both on-camera and off-camera to create some incredible portraits for his clients. Everything from general portraits to wedding receptions, Sal will show you final images and how to set them up.

Storytelling Portraits with Natural Light 3:00pm Join Disney’s Photo Mom and Sony Artisan, Me Ra Koh, as she shares her best tips and tricks to capturing storytelling portraits with natural light.

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ME RA KOH Intro to Travel Photography 3:00pm Join Sony Artisan, Me Ra Koh, as you dive into the world of travel photography. If you love travel and want to improve the storytelling element in your photos, this keynote is for you!

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EDITOR'S NOTES EDITOR'S NOTES

CHANGES AND PASSINGS

NEWS ALERT: Shutterbug is going international! Well, in a manner of speaking. In late March 2018, Shutterbug’s media group, the Home Tech Network, was purchased by the UK-based AVTech Media Ltd company. The Home Tech Network’s six brands include Shutterbug along with Stereophile, Sound & Vision, AnalogPlanet, Audiostream, and Innerfidelity. As a result of the sale, Shutterbug will change to a bimonthly schedule, but otherwise, the magazine and our website (Shutterbug.com) will remain the same. This new purchase by AVTech Media also opens up Shutterbug to a larger, international audience and that’s a great thing. I think the Home Tech Network’s General Manager (and our resident fearless leader) Keith Pray said it best in a press release to announce the deal in March.

“The sheer power and breadth of this newly formed group allow for endless possibilities,” Pray said. “Having a truly strong foothold in the United Kingdom, United States, and international markets will help us further grow.”

I thought I’d share this news to both introduce you to our new parent company and to assure you that Shutterbug is in good hands. With so many changes going on in the media landscape and, in particular, in the photo industry, it’s safe to say that this has been a rocky time for photography magazines. One need look no further than the case of Popular Photography, which only a year ago unexpectedly folded after 80 years in business. With this new deal in place, Shutterbug is moving forward with the goal of reaching more and more photographers around the world. While Shutterbug’s offices will stay in the United States, you might start to see our brand popping up in unexpected places overseas. Stay tuned!

On a sadder note, I’d like to mention another big change in the photo industry.

Canon icon and all-around good guy Chuck Westfall passed away in March and everyone who knew and loved him is still in mourning. Along with being a technical expert and press spokesperson for Canon U.S.A. for over 35 years, Chuck was one of the few Americans with the knowledge and respect to provide trenchant input on camera design directly to his Japanese counterparts. As our writer Jason Schneider noted in a memorial article about Chuck on Shutterbug.com, Chuck had the uncanny ability to answer the most challenging technical questions off the top of his head. He was also the kindest and most humble person I have ever worked with. Chuck will be sorely missed.

I would also like to note the sad passing of a smaller and furrier member of my extended family. Our beloved Maine Coon cat Rufus passed away a few days ago and my wife and I are heartbroken. In 14 years, Rufus was a loving home office companion and frequent model for camera tests. He never knew a desk he didn’t want to jump on when you were working, or an image he didn’t want to photo bomb with his furry floof. He could be a rapscallion but he was also a big pussycat who had the delightful habit of crossing his paws like an English lord when he sat. He too will be sorely missed.

EDITORIAL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF DAN HAVLIK MANAGING EDITOR ANDREA K. TURNEY EDITOR-AT-LARGE GEORGE SCHAUB ART DIRECTOR JEREMY MOYLER WEB/SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR RON LEACH CONTRIBUTORS STEVE BEDELL, JOE FARACE, SCOTT KELBY, JAY MCCABE, HOWARD MILLARD, JOSH MILLER, JACK NEUBART, MARIA PISCOPO, DEBORAH SANDIDGE, JASON SCHNEIDER, SETH SHOSTAK, JON SIENKIEWICZ, BARRY TANENBAUM, STAN TRZONIEC, JOHN WADE SUBSCRIPTIONS (800) 829-3340, (386) 447-6318 shutterbug@emailcustomerservice.com SHUTTERBUG, PO BOX 420235, PALM COAST, FL 32142-0235 PLEASE INCLUDE NAME, ADDRESS, AND PHONE NUMBER ON INQUIRY. ADVERTISING GENERAL MANAGER KEITH PRAY (212) 915-4157 KPray@avtechmediausa.com SALES DIRECTOR GENNY BRESLIN (321) 225-3127 GBreslin@avtechmediausa.com SALES MANAGER MARK ALING (289) 828-6894 emailing.mark@gmail.com ADVERTISING ASSISTANT ROBIN BEECHERL (321) 225-3144 RBeecherl@avtechmediausa.com FAX (321) 225-3146 • sales@shutterbug.com Reprints: For high-quality custom reprints and eprints, please contact Keith Pray at KPray@avtechmediausa.com.

COPYRIGHT © 2018

BY AVTECH MEDIA AMERICAS INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN THE USA.

CONNECT WITH SHUTTERBUG editorial@shutterbug.com 12 | JUNE | 2018

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CREATIVITY / FULL FRAME LIGHT SHOW It’s always good to pay attention to the weather forecast. When a small storm popped up on the weather radar on photographer JP Gregg’s smartphone before a 4th of July fireworks show in Venice, Florida, in 2017, he knew it might make for an interesting photo op. Boy, was he right! “My hunch was correct,” Gregg says.

“Once the fireworks started going off, there were more lightning strikes than fireworks it seemed.”

His decision to wait until the rain stopped to set up his photo gear for some long exposures was a wise one. It meant that he had the previously crowded beach virtually all to himself. “What normally would have been a crowded situation was now nonexistent. I could not believe my eyes and ears.

I set up my Sony A6000 on the Joby mini tripod from my backpack and quickly used my smartphone as a remote control. Just a few options later on screen and I was up and running. The camera was in Manual mode and I set the exposure time for 10 seconds and the ISO at 100.” Not everything went smoothly, however. “What was really frustrating was that every time I pressed the remote shutter, it took about 60 seconds for the camera to come back to life.

At least I was able to get off a few shots, but I missed double the amount. However, I learned about an important feature called Long Exposure Noise Reduction (LENR).

Research in Shutterbug magazine helped me out tremendously and now I turn off the LENR when needed and I am ready for any thunderstorm!” You can see more of Gregg’s work on his Instagram page @floridahotshots. © JP Gregg

14 | JUNE | 2018

SHUTTERBUG.COM | 15

CREATIVITY / TALKING PICTURES

HOW A FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHER ADDED SURPRISE TO THE PICTURE By Barry Tanenbaum SO WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL? Wave the camera around during a long exposure and produce a colorful mood-and-motion photo.

That’s what crossed my mind when I saw this picture, but the photographer was Michael S. Miller, and I knew him to be a thoughtful, deliberate maker of images—none of which looked like this.

His realms are street photography, people photography, and the American landscape, and he’s a workshop instructor in a number of disciplines. Obviously there was more to explore.

“It’s been very rewarding to me as a photographer, especially one who teaches,” Miller says. “The light dancing project is a change from the documentary or factual photographs that I take and those I see from my students.”

The idea came from photos he took of his students as they were photographing fireworks. “I wanted to create a different, handheld look. I thought, What if I just turned during a fireworks burst? It progressed from there, with the added element of having some control over what I was doing.”

16 | JUNE | 2018

For these photos he needs a projected light source coming toward the camera— could be neon lights, car lights, fireworks, or in the case of this photo, the classic carnival lights of a tilt, whirl, and twirl ride. A projected light source will be more intense, and Miller can gauge his exposure according to that intensity. “It’s going to be stronger than the surrounding area,” he says, “so the exposure can drag—but I can also use a deeper f/stop so things that aren’t lit very brightly are going to go to black and allow all the colorful lights to stand out even more.”

From his experience with various light sources, and knowing how quickly or slowly he’ll move the camera, he has guidelines for exposure. “I choose my ISO based on how dark it is—a city scene with a lot of lights is going to be bright, so I can reduce my ISO, but if I want to isolate something like fireworks and have a lot of black sky around it, I can go a little higher in the ISO and deeper into my f/stops.”

Michael S. Miller’s light dancing photographs and his landscape, street, and people images are at msmpix.com, as is information about his Visions Photographic Workshops.

Tech Talk: Michael S. Miller took the photo with a Leica M (Typ 240) and a Leica Summicron-M 50mm f/2 lens. The settings were eight seconds, f/4, ISO 100, manual exposure, and center-weighted metering.

© Michael S. Miller

LIGHT MOVES LIGHT MOVES

The subjects and the light sources guide his movements. “If I have a lot of lights in the picture, and there are a lot of focal points of light, like a lit-up bridge, or a Christmas tree, I tend to want to do really tight circles, and that would mean just wrist movement.”

He’s also combined tight circles with a bit of linear movement in longer exposures—likely two to eight seconds— using deeper f/stops to keep the pictures from being overexposed.

It’s opportunistic, even incidental photography. “Inspiration often comes from not wanting to photograph something I’ve done many times before,” he says.

While control is always a factor, and he keeps in mind categories of lights and scene conditions, the ongoing project is about experiment, discovery, and surprise.

There has to be a fun factor in his capture of what he calls “the serendipitous movement of light.”

And fun is always a really big deal. n

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TOOLS / ASK A PRO

GOT QUESTIONS ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHY? PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER AND PHOTOSHOP EXPERT SCOTT KELBY HAS GOT ANSWERS.

By Scott Kelby

A picture in a computer hard drive is sent to a printer for printing via a USB cable. The same picture from the same computer from the same hard drive is sent to the same printer via Wi-Fi. Will both prints be of the same quality or will there be some minor unnoticeable differences?

VICTOR PALACIOS

Not that you could ever see with the naked eye. I know what you’re thinking: the Wi-Fi version has to be compressed to travel via the Internet, but the file is already compressed as a JPEG. When you send your images to be printed by a lab, like Bay Photo or Mpix, you’re sending the images via their web page—over the Internet and over Wi-Fi. Yet the prints look stunning (provided the images looked stunning to begin with). If there is a difference (and I don’t think for all practical purposes there is), you would not be able to see the difference with the naked eye. I think you might be overthinking this one just a bit. ;-) Why have camera manufacturers stopped putting manuals in their packages? If you’re out in the field shooting and have a problem, you have to go home, get on your computer using the software to see what to do, then go back out to that location and hope not much has changed.

could just convince the flash manufacturers of that.

What would your recommendation be for backing up and enjoying photos while traveling? I shoot in Raw, use Lightroom to organize and edit, am willing to travel with an iPad but not a laptop, and I will not always have reliable Internet available.

I have thought about shooting in both Raw and JPEG and putting the JPEGs on my iPad so they can be enjoyed before we get home but I do want to back those Raw files up as well.

MELINDA TWOMEY

I like your idea about putting the JPEGs on your iPad, so you can enjoy the images while still on your trip. However, I would recommend a different storage device for your Raw photos, something like the WD My Passport Wireless SSD, which has a built-in SD card reader. That device is also super fast, you can connect a USB card reader, and you don’t need a computer to use it—one button backs up your entire card. At $229 for the 250GB model, it’s not cheap, but you’ll sleep better knowing your Raw files are safe, and you can use it for more than just one trip. Plus, this two-location thing will work nicely, because you’ll have your originals on the My Passport and a backup with your JPEGs on your iPad.

JAMES WHITE

Two reasons: the printing and shipping costs a printed manual would add, and most folks don’t read them anyway. Since all the manufacturers still make manuals, I recommend googling your make and model, then downloading the PDF of the manual to your phone. Now you will always have the manual with you, plus it’s searchable. You won’t miss that printed manual one lick.

When using a flash, why is the First Curtain Sync the default? What is wrong with leaving the setting at Second Curtain Sync? This is the most realistic setting for night photography of a moving object with lights. Why is this the wrong setting for all other times?

AL KESSLER

I’m with you on this one, Al. I think it should be the default setting. Now, if we 18 | JUNE | 2018

thumbnail used by the operating system.

CTG is a file used by your camera itself and it got transferred when you imported your images. No harm done, but you can’t open those files. The XMP file is generated from your Raw file and it includes a list of any changes you made to the Raw file in Camera Raw inside of Photoshop. It’s a Text file, and while you don’t need to open it, it does contain the changes you made to your original Raw file, so you don’t want to throw it away.

If you chose JPEG when you saved your file, you’ll find the JPEG file in there somewhere, too, so you can ignore those other files.

When I’m saving some of my photos as JPEGs, why do some end up as .THM, .CTG, and .XMP? Then when I try to open them, it says not recognized. It also happens when I save them to PS. I have no problem saving to PSD. JAMES WHITE

It sounds like you’re using Windows XP and you’re seeing auxiliary files that accompany your image file and are not designed to be opened by you. For example, THM is a

I recently purchased a Sigma 70-200mm lens for my Nikon D7100. I have begun to develop toned forearms like Popeye as it has some weight to it but I do find it a bit much to haul around an ice rink. I have also purchased a monopod as most of my shooting is of ice hockey games. I like to mix in portrait orientation shots during the games so I’m looking for suggestions on a ball head that allows a quick switch from portrait to landscape while providing a solid connection.

TYLER BARNETT

First, look at switching to the Nikkor 70-200mm f/4, rather than the Sigma f/2.8, because it’s literally 40% lighter (and around the same price). You will still get the reach, but without all the weight. As far as quickly switching to portrait, your Sigma 70-200mm (and the Nikkor) has a collar that goes around the barrel so you can connect your camera to the monopod, via the lens. The black knob on the side of that collar is for quickly rotating your camera from landscape to portrait mode in two seconds flat. So, no need to buy a ball head. You wouldn’t be happy with how hard it is to go full portrait on most ball heads anyway, especially during game action, as it would just take too long. n

Scott Kelby is a photographer, Photoshop Guy, award-winning author of more than 50 books, and CEO of KelbyOne, an online education community dedicated to helping photographers take the kinds of images they’ve always dreamed of. You can learn more about Scott at his daily blog (scottkelby.com), or follow him on Twitter: @scottkelby.

Editor’s Note: Ask a Pro is a Q&A column from professional photographer, writer, and educator Scott Kelby. Scott is here to answer all your photography-related questions, so if you have something you’d like to know, e-mail him at editorial@shutterbug.com (with “For Scott Kelby” as the subject line) and your query could be featured in the next edition of Ask a Pro.

¨

Santa Cruz, California

TOOLS / TECHNICALLY SPEAKING

HOW TO CHECK AND CORRECT AUTOFOCUS TIPS FOR FINE-TUNING YOUR AF TO GET SHARPER IMAGES

20 | JUNE | 2018

Autofocus results on a target about eight feet in front of my camera for a Nikkor 85mm lens at f/1.8. Left: With no tuning of the autofocus. Note that the sharpest focus is beyond the centerline.

Right: After tuning.

yes, stunned—to see that the sharpest target lines were about three inches beyond where I had focused! I sank into my easy chair, swallowed a Valium, and contemplated the meaning of life.

After that, I consulted my user manual (not an easy thing for a male) and figured out how to fine-tune the autofocus for this lens. Not hard, but slightly different for every camera. You can see the improvement in the figure, above.

Is this a big deal? After all, it was only about a 3% error, and inconsequential in most shooting situations because depth of field would more than hide it.

But when you’re working in low light at long focal lengths—not an uncommon circumstance—you might be thankful to have spent the hour or two it takes to check things out, and possibly give your camera a tune-up. n Seth Shostak is an astronomer at the SETI Institute who thinks photography is one of humanity’s greatest inventions. His photos have been used in countless magazines and newspapers, and he occasionally tries to impress folks by noting that he built his first darkroom at age 11. You can find him on both Facebook and Twitter.

© Seth Shostak

you focused—well, start digging in those camera menus.

Rather than dirty my floor tile with newsprint, I designed a simple focus target to make this process easier. When this story goes online on Shutterbug’s website, we’ll provide a way to download the target for free at Shutterbug.com. Just print it out and lay it down at a distance from your camera that’s roughly 25 to 50 times the lens focal length.

I chose to test my Nikkor 85mm f/1.8 lens, which I often use for portraiture.

Autofocus for longer lenses is more critical, given their shallow depth of field.

I laid the target about eight feet in front of my tripod, which was tilted downward so that my camera’s field of view was centered on the rectangle. Starting with my lens grossly out of focus, I activated autofocus. When it was locked in, I took several shots.

A few caveats: This procedure works best for fixed-focus lenses, although you can certainly try with your zooms. Be sure your camera is solidly mounted and take care to trip the shutter with either a cable release or the self-timer. Shoot with your lens wide open, and have plenty of light on the target. This last point is important.

I didn’t expect much of a problem from my trusty Nikon D800. After all, it’s as reliable as doggy love. But when I inspected my test images, I was stunned—

Ç

IT’S TIME TO SHARPEN UP your pix. Modern DSLRs generally rely on what’s called phase difference autofocusing: basically, a rangefinder scheme updated with new technology. But as we described last month, this technology uses a second optical path within the camera, independent of the lens-to-sensor path used to make the photo.

Well, when there are two of anything, they’ll never be identical—excepting protons, electrons, and other elementary particles! Given manufacturing tolerances and the routine punishment you visit on your camera, it’s possible that these two paths are slightly different. Sure, your autofocus oughta focus. But it could be off.

Manufacturers are aware of this problem and often give you a way to “tune” or “microadjust” the autofocus.

The adjustment is generally buried among endless camera menus, but a quick web search will tell you if your equipment has this capability.

Shutterbug readers are always keen to get the best technical performance from their gear, so if tuning up your DSLR’s autofocus is possible, why not? You can find plenty of accessories—ranging from $5 to $60 and more—that will help. But before you go to trouble and expense, here’s a way to swiftly determine whether you’ve really got a problem.

Think about it: How can you know if your autofocus is really producing the crispest image? You could just tape a newspaper to the wall, make a photo (using autofocus), and see if it’s sharp. Better yet, have a range of targets and see which is most sharp, so that—in case the autofocus is off—you’ll know whether your camera is focusing too near or too far.

The simple way to do this is to spread that newspaper on the floor and shoot it from an angle—say, from a tripod five or 10 feet away. One of the lines of type is going to be sharp, and if it’s not where

By Seth Shostak

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TOOLS / GEARED UP Ç While on a trip to Acapulco, I carried a Leica D-Lux 2 with me almost all the time and this image proves that you can also make interesting sunset images with point-and-shoot digital cameras. The D-Lux 2 lets you capture images in a 16:9 ratio, so this is the full, uncropped image that I made of the beach. Like many similar cameras, this was made in one of the scene modes (Landscape) that the camera offers.

GETTING GETTING STARTED STARTED HOW TO CHOOSE A FIRST CAMERA FOR NEW PHOTOGRAPHERS By Joe Farace “The truth is out there.”—Chris Carter, The X-Files

© Joe Farace

WHEN IT COMES TO PURCHASING a first camera for new photographers, you can seek recommendations from a friend, or members of a camera club (if you belong to one), or the person behind the counter at your favorite store. You can even consult reviews from blogs and YouTube. You can also choose not to do any of these things.

Disclaimer: The following advice is the author’s opinion based on his many years as a photographer and does not and cannot represent all of the possibilities, people, places, and things in the country or world for that matter. Or to quote Dennis Miller, “That’s just my opinion and I may be wrong.”

As I was saying, your friend, and this applies to club members as well, is only going to suggest cameras that validate their decision, which may or may not be a good fit for you based on how and what you photograph and ergonomics (something that’s often overlooked until after a purchase). People are like rainbows and come in all sizes and shapes. Some of us have large hands,

some medium, while others, especially the young, have small hands.

Retail is a mixed bag because not all stores sell all brands, so you’re just going to be sold what’s on the shelf.

Salespeople, especially at big box stores, typically get spiffs—a bonus paid by camera manufacturers—so your recommendation is going to be one that pays them the most cash. For stores that stock all brands of cameras, and I mean all brands, there are exceptions. Build a relationship with one person who will be your go-to for advice on camera purchases. If they know you will be a regular, they’ll take care of you.

As far as online advice, my advice is to be skeptical. Some bloggers and YouTubers who write/talk about cameras are paid by manufacturers and are hardly unbiased. Others are unabashed fanboys who love one brand, hate the rest, and love to talk. All writers, including myself, have biases, which may be based on how a particular company treated them when they had a service problem, asked for information, or requested a review unit and the company decided that, like Wayne and Garth, “they were not worthy.” We’re only human after all. Some writers are biased about the type of camera: DSLR vs. mirrorless. Yet, according to the Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA), sales of DSLRs decreased by 10% when compared to 2016 but mirrorless camera sales increased by 40%.

I hate to be the one to break it to you but when looking for a new camera for yourself or a new photographer, you’re going to have to do some work, some research. Read camera specs in this magazine and on manufacturers’ websites and don’t be blinded by megapixels. My first DSLR in 2002 was the 6MP Canon EOS D60 (not 60D) and I delivered many photographs to happy clients shot with it.

At some point you’re going to have to hold the camera in your hands. If you can afford it, trade shows are a no-stress way to get a sense of a camera’s ergonomics. I’ve always said, “If there’s one thing you don’t like about a camera initially, you’re going to hate it later.” A better alternative is free camera store events. Retailers like Mike’s Camera in Colorado and Northern California sponsor events where they lend cameras and you get to handle the camera and later see the Below left: Panasonic Lumix GM5; below photos on your own computer. During my right: Panasonic car show PhotoWalks, I let people shoot my Lumix GX9

24 | JUNE | 2018

cameras with their memory cards so they can see the results.

So what are my recommendations?

Where to start…

AS VW USED TO SAY, THINK SMALL As Americans we love big stuff. Among the big stuff we love are cameras. They can’t make them too big for us. Nikon’s Df being the exception that proves this rule. Nikon lovers, including my wife, wanted a digital Nikon FE2 but the company gave them a

Topcon. When it comes to cameras for new photographers, I think size matters.

Panasonic’s Lumix GM5 is a small camera that measures 3.9x2.4x1.3 inches, while Canon’s tiny EOS SL2 is 56% taller, 93% thicker, and weighs 115% more.

The Lumix GM5 is solidly made with a magnesium alloy shell and aluminum top and bottom plates, has a 16MP Micro Four Thirds sensor (18x13.5mm), built-in Wi-Fi, and HD video recording. It offers focus peaking, picture-in-picture magnification

for manual focus, a three-inch touchscreen LCD, and interchangeable lenses. The GM5 was discontinued but used copies are available at affordable prices from Shutterbug advertisers or eBay. These days the camera closest to it is the Lumix GX9 ($997, with a 12-60mm kit lens) but it’s slightly wider, taller, thicker, and weighs 8.34 ounces more.

Who’s It For: New shooters with small

Above left: Canon EOS Rebel SL2; above right: Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III

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TOOLS / GEARED UP

hands or street photographers looking for a compact yet discreet camera—especially in black—with interchangeable lenses.

Why I Like It: The GM5 is beautifully crafted, almost jewel-like, yet delivers the performance of a real camera that’s better than any point-and-shoot or cell phone.

Not to pick on Canon’s 24.2MP EOS Rebel SL2 ($549, body only) because it’s an affordable solution for someone who feels comfortable shooting something from the big two. And it’s small. Compared to Canon’s own EOS 80D, it’s 12% narrower and shorter, weighing 9.7 ounces less. The SL2 has a DIGIC 7 image processor with ISO sensitivities up to 25,600 (expandable up to ISO 51,200). It has a three-inch vari-angle touchscreen and can shoot continuously up to 5 frames per second (fps). The camera has a nine-point Dual Pixel CMOS AF system with control via the touchscreen à la the iPhone. It even has a microphone jack for high-quality audio when shooting video, something lacking in most entry-levels cameras. The SL2 also has built-in Wi-Fi with NFC and Bluetooth linking to a smartphone or tablet.

Who’s It For: Canon shooters upgrading from a superzoom and older DSLR photographers looking to downsize but not wanting to give up on megapixels.

Why I Like It: It may be small but it’s still a real EOS camera with all of the positives associated with that.

If you like the looks of a DSLR but want a mirrorless camera, the 16.1MP Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III ($649, body only) is perfect. Since I picked it as one of my favorites in my February 2018 column, let me suggest Oly’s “middle child,” the 16MP OM-D E-M5 Mark II ($1,099, body only). It is 1% wider, 46% thinner, 8% shorter but weighs 1.5 ounces more than the Canon EOS SL2. The E-M5 Mark II has a magnesium alloy body sealed against 26 | JUNE | 2018

Above left: Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II; above right: Nikon D3400

dust and liquids and operates in cold weather down to 14 degrees Fahrenheit.

It offers five-axis image stabilization, providing five stops of compensation, and supports ISO sensitivities up to 25,600.

Its clever sensor-shifting feature lets you create a 40MP image by capturing and then combining eight images of the same scene in camera. The E-M5 Mark II shoots HD video, although that’s never been an Olympus strong point. The camera has an articulated three-inch touchscreen LCD, although I hear the Mark II has EVF issues. Built-in Wi-Fi lets you quickly share your images.

Who’s It For: Either the OM-D E-M10 Mark III or OM-D E-M5 Mark II would be a good first camera for a new photographer or anyone wondering about the versatility of the Micro Four Thirds system.

Why I Like It: I own and shoot an Olympus OM-D E-M5 and it’s an amazingly capable camera.

THE LARGE AND SMALL OF IT New photographers may lust for a Nikon D5 ($6,496, body only) but might be better served by the 24.2MP D3400 ($496, with an 18-55mm kit lens). The D3400 is 23% narrower and 38% shorter than a D5 and weighs 33 ounces less. Its EXPEED 4 image processor provides ISO sensitivities from 100 to 25,600 and the sensor and processor combination provides 5 fps continuous shooting as well as HD video recording. The sensor lacks an optical low-pass filter, producing better sharpness and resolution for photos and videos.

The D3400 features SnapBridge that uses Bluetooth connectivity for wireless sharing of images to mobile devices. The body has a three-inch LCD screen for live view capture and image review. For

new DSLR owners, the D3400 features a Guide Mode to help produce a specific photographic look or technique. Tip: While Nikon is proud of using the same lens mount since Jurassic times, there are compatibility issues with some lenses and bodies. Take time to read up on it.

Who’s It For: New shooters who, as Paul Simon once sang, want a Nikon camera.

Why I Like It: The Nikon name still carries a strong influence, especially with new photographers, so the D3400 is as good a place to start as any.

The 24.3MP Sony A6000 ($648, with a 16-50mm kit lens) has a BIONZ X image processor with ISO sensitivity up to 25,600, continuous shooting up to 11 fps, and the ability to produce HD videos (not movies, Kong: Skull Island is a movie).

It uses phase- and contrast-detection methods to acquire focus and has IBIS to minimize camera shake. A tilting threeinch LCD incorporates Sony’s WhiteMagic technology for 100% frame viewing in bright conditions. A Multi Interface shoe lets you attach external flashes, continuous lights, or a microphone. The 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 retractable kit lens produces the equivalent field of view of 24-75mm.

Who’s It For: Photographers who like classic styling in a compact package.

Why I Like It: I’ve never even held a Sony mirrorless camera but they have an almost cult-like following, so there must be a reason for that.

The Fujifilm X-A5 ($599, with a 15-45mm kit lens) is a mirrorless camera with a 24.2MP APS-C CMOS sensor and an updated processor Fuji says is 1.5 times faster than previous models. It weighs 1.1 pounds with the 15-45mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens. The X-A5 permits 4K recording, Full HD video, as well as a 4K Burst Function that lets you produce stills at 15 fps, so you

can select the best frame. The camera’s AF system has phase-detect points. A Portrait Enhancer Mode ensures skin tones are rendered “in a pleasing way.”

Features include focus stacking to adjust depth of field, a dedicated selfie mode, and automatic merging of 4K images. The X-A5 has a maximum ISO sensitivity of 12,800, with Bluetooth connectivity for transferring files to a smartphone, tablet, or to the optional instax SP-3 printer ($184).

Who’s It For: Photographers who want

the big pixels from an APS-C sensor in a compact package.

Why I Like It: Like the Sony, I’ve never held a Fuji mirrorless camera in my paws but my pals at the pool hall seem to love them. And I like the styling of the retro brown model. n

Above left: Sony A6000; above right: Fujifilm X-A5

Up until a few years ago almost all of Joe Farace’s photography, not counting an occasional side trip into film photography,

was made using Canon EOS cameras.

Increasingly all of his personal photography and some of his Shutterbug images are made with Olympus and Panasonic cameras. You can see some of the images made with all of these cameras on joefarace.com. To find out when Farace’s next car show PhotoWalk is check out joefaraceshootscars.com, which also has a blog with lots of useful information along with a Gear page listing the major components of all his camera systems.

TOOLS / THE GOODS

4K NEWBIE The compact EOS M50 mirrorless camera represents a milestone for Canon. It’s the company’s first EOS M-series camera to offer 4K video recording. While that might not sound particularly innovative considering there are several mirrorless models out there that shoot 4K, it shows Canon is now taking this category of camera seriously. And the Canon M50 looks like a serious shooter, boasting a 24.1MP APS-C CMOS image sensor and a new DIGIC 8 image processor in a sleek camera body (available in either black or white) that can fit in a coat pocket. Other key features include a three-inch, vari-angle, rear touchscreen LCD—another first for an EOS M-series camera—and an OLED electronic viewfinder with touch and drag autofocus.

The M50 also has Wi-Fi, NFC, and Bluetooth wireless connectivity, automatic image transfer to compatible devices while shooting, and a new silent mode.

Canon EOS M50 $779, body only; $899 as a kit with the EF-M 15-45mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM lens in both black and white; $999 as a kit with the EF-M 15-45mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM and the EF-M 55-200mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM in black only usa.canon.com

MOVIE STARTER The Nikon D850 full-frame DSLR is already a powerful tool for videographers but Nikon recently added some creative options for budding filmmakers. The new Nikon D850 Filmmaker’s Kit is a custom bundle, which includes the camera, some great Nikkor glass, and other essentials for video creation. Along with the 45.7MP Nikon D850 DSLR, the kit comes with three fast prime lenses, including the AF-S Nikkor 20mm f/1.8G ED lens, the AF-S Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G ED lens, and the AF-S Nikkor 85mm f/1.8G lens. The Nikon D850 28 | JUNE | 2018

Nikon D850 Filmmaker’s Kit $5,499 nikonusa.com

Filmmaker’s Kit also contains an external 4K Atomos Ninja Flame External Recorder/ Monitor with accessories, the ME-W1 Wireless Microphone, an extra EN-EL15a

battery, and the ME-1 Stereo Microphone.

Also included are custom foam inserts for protecting the gear when carried in a hard case (sold separately).

SECOND COMING Ricoh Imaging, the parent company of Pentax, made a splash when it introduced the Pentax K-1 in 2016. The company’s first full-frame DSLR, the K-1 had been hotly anticipated for years and was extremely popular upon release due to its robust feature set and surprisingly affordable price tag ($1,999). So, what does Ricoh/ Pentax do for an encore? The Pentax K-1 Mark II, of course. Like its predecessor, the new model boasts a rugged, compact, weather-sealed body and uses the same 36.4MP full-frame anti-aliasing CMOS sensor. The new camera also retains the proven in-camera shake reduction system of the earlier model, as well as its sensorshift capabilities that capture four images of the same scene and merge them into a single super-resolution image. It also keeps the just under $2,000 price. Here’s what the Pentax K-1 Mark II adds: an additional sensor-shift feature called Dynamic Pixel Shift Resolution mode, for shooting superior ultrahigh-resolution images without the use of a tripod—adding to the camera’s appeal for nature and landscape photography. Contributing to the K-1 Mark II’s ability to capture images with optimum sharpness, contrast, and color rendition is a new accelerator unit designed to minimize noise when shooting at high ISOs—even at the camera’s maximum sensitivity of ISO 819,200. The Pentax K-1

Pentax K-1 Mark II $1,999 us.ricoh-imaging.com

Mark II boasts five-axis, five-step shake reduction technology that compensates for horizontal and vertical movement, in addition to pitch and yaw. Ricoh says the camera’s advanced stabilization system has a compensation range of up to five steps. Another great feature for outdoor photographers is the camera’s 3.2-inch flexible, tilting LCD monitor that can be adjusted to any angle desired— horizontally, vertically, or diagonally—with

a single movement. The Pentax K-1 Mark II offers additional viewing options, with a bright optical viewfinder that has a nearly 100% field of view. Other key features of the Pentax K-1 Mark II include high-speed continuous shooting, Full HD movie recording with a number of creative capabilities, a built-in GPS module, and much more. (The optional Pentax D-BG6 battery grip, shown in the image, is sold separately for $246.)

SLEEK ZOOMER Tamron’s compact and lightweight 70-210mm f/4 Di VC USD zoom lens is a high-performance telephoto featuring a constant maximum aperture, fast and precise AF capabilities, and superb resolution throughout its range. Also known as Model A034, the new 70-210mm f/4 Di VC USD utilizes Tamron’s powerful Vibration Compensation (VC) technology and has a class-leading 1:3.1 reproduction ratio for striking images of small subjects as close as 37.4 inches. Designed for outdoor photography, the new Tamron 70-210mm f/4 boasts moisture-resistant construction and uses a durable, protective fluorine coating on the front element that’s safe and easy to clean. The lens measures just under seven inches in length and weighs barely 30 ounces. Thanks to a smooth internal focusing system, the length of the Tamron 70-210mm f/4 doesn’t change during zooming, so “zoom creep” is

nonexistent. The lens is also designed with a nonrotating front element for convenient use of polarizing filters. The new Tamron 70-210mm f/4 Di VC USD is constructed with 20 elements in 14 groups, and uses three low-dispersion elements to maximize image quality and control chromatic aberration and other optical anomalies. n

Tamron 70-210mm f/4 Di VC USD $799 (in Canon and Nikon mounts) tamron-usa.com

THE GOODS spotlights the hottest premium photo gear out there. If you have a product you’d like considered for The Goods, e-mail images and info to editorial@shutterbug.com.

SHUTTERBUG.COM | 29

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TOOLS / FIELD REVIEW

SONY A7 III SONY GOES BACK TO BASICS WITH ITS LOWER-END FULL-FRAME MIRRORLESS CAMERA By Dan Havlik

to be saying, the A7 III is a premium model worthy of its pricier full-frame stablemates: the high-resolution A7R III and the speedy A9 mirrorless cameras. I was at the Las Vegas press conference and got to test out the 24.2MP A7 III over the following few days. Here’s what I thought of this premium basic mirrorless camera, which debuted at the slightly higher but still reasonable price tag of $2,000.

WHEN SONY ANNOUNCED THE A7 II in 2014, it did so in an unusual fashion.

First, the company unveiled the camera at Sony headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, and initially gave no indication the A7 II would even be available in the United States. Then, less than a week later, Sony acknowledged that the 24.3MP A7 II would indeed go on sale in the U.S. for just under $1,700, but announced the news with little fanfare, making one wonder how much the company was behind this so-called “basic model” in Sony’s E-mount full-frame mirrorless camera line.

Since that somewhat subdued A7 II announcement, there have been rumors and speculation about when and if a sequel to the camera would arrive.

During the WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International) show in Las Vegas in late February 2018 it finally did and this time, Sony rolled out the red carpet for the new A7 III in a flashy press conference that was live-streamed around the world.

So much for “basic,” Sony seemed 32 | JUNE | 2018

All photos © Dan Havlik

CAMERA BUILD, LAYOUT & HANDLING The Sony A7 III looks virtually identical to the 42.4MP A7R III ($3,200) with the same minimal, modern camera design in a relatively compact body and a comfortable grip. At approximately 22.4 ounces, the A7 III weighs just a smidge less than the A7R III but has basically the same magnesium alloy frame and polycarbonate build with basic dust- and moisture-resistance. If you’ve followed some of our coverage of how the A7R III was not able to stand up to a weather sealing test from Imaging Resource, you will know that neither it nor the A7 III are built with professionallevel water-resistance, particularly in the area of the battery door, which is prone to leaking. While I did not shoot with the A7 III in rainy weather, I did use it extensively while photographing dune buggies in the desert outside of Las Vegas (you can see a sample photo in this review) and it had no operational problems in that seriously dusty environment. If you do, however, expect to be shooting regularly in wet

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TRIX-2500 This unique device will free the camera from the restraints of a traditional camera tripod, allowing the camera to be set in any fixed position necessary in the making of a photograph.

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TOOLS / FIELD REVIEW conditions, I would not recommend the A7 III nor the A7R III. I hope that Sony addresses this water-resistance issue with its future cameras because this will be a deal-breaker for some photographers, which is unfortunate because otherwise these models offer pro-level quality.

Moving on, the design of the A7 III will be familiar to anyone who has shot with Sony’s top mirrorless cameras previously.

As I mentioned in my review of the A7R III in the March 2018 issue of Shutterbug, DSLR fans who like heavier and more robust cameras might find the smaller A7 III to be less ergonomic. As with other models in this line, I found the A7 III’s grip to be slightly short, with no place for my pinkie finger. You do get used to it, but I’d advise using a camera strap at all times with the A7 III, particularly if you have a zoom lens attached because the camera can slip out of your hand.

The lower price tag for the A7 III means you get a lower-end electronic viewfinder (EVF) and rear screen compared to the A7R III. The A7 III’s EVF is an OLED panel with 2,360k dots of resolution and a 60 frames per second (fps) refresh rate, which is slightly less resolution and a slower refresh time than the A7R III’s

« The A7 III had no problems capturing gorgeous images of models in the studio.

Colors really pop in this shot. Technical info: Sony A7 III, FE 85mm f/1.8 lens; ISO 1600, f/4, 1/320 second, 85mm.

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This image shows three things the A7 III is good at: keeping up with the action, locking in focus in low light, and capturing surprising amounts of detail. I wouldn’t, however, recommend actually shooting in the rain with it.

Technical info: Sony A7 III, FE 24-105mm f/4 G OSS lens; ISO 2000, f/4, 1/400 second, 73mm.

ÂŤ

TOOLS / FIELD REVIEW

FEATURES & PERFORMANCE The good news with the Sony A7 III is that it inherits many of the features of the A7R III but at a considerably lower price. The Sony A7R III was one of our favorite cameras in 2017, earning a coveted 36 | JUNE | 2018

When in Vegas, you’ve got to get a photo of Elvis. This image of the King and a Vegas showgirl has tons of detail, which proves that 24MP is sometimes all you need. Technical info: Sony A7 III, FE 24-105mm f/4 G OSS lens; ISO 250, f/4, 1/30 second, 30mm.

Ç

EVF and it’s noticeable. I’m not a huge fan of EVFs to begin with and I found it hard to judge exposure while using the A7 III’s EVF. Like the A7R III, the A7 III has a three-inch tilting (but non-swiveling) rear screen, which helped with composing down low and overhead shots. The A7 III’s screen has less resolution than the A7R III’s screen (921k dots vs. 1,440k dots), and it’s hard to judge sharpness or image quality on the display. But again, the A7 III is $1,200 cheaper than the step-up model so some corners had to be cut.

While I liked that the rear monitor has touchscreen functionality, you can only use it for still photography, and it’s only for moving the focus point: the actual focusing is done with the shutter button (or AF-On button). The A7 III adds a multi-selector joystick on back along with a control wheel and 12 buttons. Although four buttons and the four “directions” on the clickable control wheel are customizable, customizing them is confusing, even with the help of the massive online help guide.

Speaking of confusing, as has been noted in many reviews, Sony’s camera menu system and cluttered screen iconography is the pits. It might seem like a minor quibble, but this poor user interface saps some of the joy out of picture taking.

Shutterbug Top Clicks award. The Sony A7 III doesn’t quite earn Top Clicks status, but it’s a damn fine camera for its price.

While the A7 III has nearly half the resolution of the A7R III, it’s got the same 10 fps maximum burst speed with full autofocus/autoexposure tracking but with a bigger buffer of 177 JPEGs/89 Raw images. This came in very handy while photographing the dancers in the rain shots included in this review, and dune buggies in the desert. The Sony A7 III also has an electronic shutter option with silent mode, which could be used for stealth wildlife photography.

Other carryovers from the A7R III are five-axis image stabilization; 4K video; 1/8000 second maximum shutter speed; improved battery life; dual card slots (with support in one slot for UHS-II type SD); and Wi-Fi, NFC, and Bluetooth. The A7 III also borrows from the speedy A9’s autofocus system, including the same 693 points of phase-detection AF covering 93% of the sensor.

The A7 III doesn’t have the A7R III’s pixel shift multi shooting feature, which lets you combine four Raw images into one very large image on a computer. But I’ve found this feature to be limited because it’s only designed for still subjects such as landscapes in calm weather.

I shot this image through the dusty window of a helicopter over Lake Mead, outside of Las Vegas.

Landscape photographers might prefer the higherresolution A7R III but the A7 III does pretty well in its own right.

Technical info: Sony A7 III, FE 24-105mm f/4 G OSS lens; ISO 100, f/6.3, 1/100 second, 24mm.

«

The A7 III’s autofocus system is inherited from the A9 sports camera and it’s a good one. The camera was able to quickly and precisely lock in focus on the cocktail in a darkly lit bar. Technical info: Sony A7 III, Sony FE 85mm f/1.8 lens; ISO 3200, f/1.8, 1/40 second, 85mm. «

IMAGE QUALITY The Sony A7 III’s image quality doesn’t reach the heights of the Sony A7R III but that’s understandable. The A7R III produced some of the best image quality we’ve ever seen from a full-frame camera.

Even though the A7 III can’t match the resolving power or the level of detail of its slightly older sibling, it’s actually not that far behind despite having 18+ fewer megapixels. Take, for instance, the image of the model that’s included in our Table of Contents on page 6. While I shot the photo in a controlled studio setting with professional lighting, I was amazed at how much detail the A7 III was able to capture. In particular, the perspiration around her nose and the hair on her arms are incredibly vivid, maybe too much so. If this photo were for a commercial client, I’d probably need to soften some of the detail in post.

In low light, at higher ISOs, the A7 III acquitted itself well, performing even better than the A7R III, which crams more pixels onto its full-frame chip by making them smaller with less lightgathering area. The Sony A7 III had less noise than the A7R III and virtually no visible degradation at up to ISO 6400.

I got relatively clean results even at ISO 12,800, such as in the image of the dancer extending her leg on the ladder in the simulated rain scene. There is some softening of her skin tones but the image

TOOLS / FIELD REVIEW

is surprisingly crisp. In bright, outdoor light the A7 III fares even better. Despite shooting the aerial photo of Lake Mead and the surrounding terrain through the dusty window of a helicopter, there’s tons of detail in the shot. The window also did not prevent the image from attaining good sharpness and pleasant color, despite the bright late afternoon conditions. Test images in this review were shot with the Sony A7 III and the following Sony lenses: the FE 24-105mm f/4 G OSS and the FE 85mm f/1.8.

The A7 III gets a big upgrade from its predecessor with video. It can now shoot 4K across the entire full-frame sensor, whereas the A7 II was limited to 1080p HD. In our testing, 4K video from the A7 III was on par to the A7R III, with good dynamic range (8.7 f/stops at low ISOs and 8.0 at high) and solid white balance at low ISOs (0.8), albeit less so at higher ISOs (1.6). Overall, visual noise was largely kept in check, and 4K quality was on par to even higher-end DSLRs, such as the Nikon D850.

CONCLUSION If you’re interested in trying out what a premium full-frame camera is like «

The A7 III’s 10 fps continuous shooting is great for capturing action. While the camera’s basic weather sealing might not hold up in a rainstorm, it had no problem with dust while photographing dune buggies in the desert. Technical info: Sony A7 III, FE 24-105mm f/4 G OSS lens; ISO 100, f/4.5, 1/640 second, 102mm. «

The A7 III fared even better at high ISOs than the A7R III. This image was shot at ISO 12,800 and noise and distortion is kept to a minimum.

Technical info: Sony A7 III, FE 24-105mm f/4 G OSS lens; ISO 12,800, f/4, 1/1000 second, 72mm.

38 | JUNE | 2018

but don’t want to make a huge financial investment just yet, there is really no better place to start than the 24.2MP Sony A7 III. While a few corners have been cut on this model to hit its sub-$2,000 price tag—such as with the lower-resolution rear screen and EVF—it’s really not that far removed in image quality from the top-of-

SCORECARD

the-line A7R III. Plus, it gives you 10 fps continuous shooting in both mechanical and silent modes, five-axis optical in-body image stabilization, an autofocus system that’s on par with Sony’s A9 sports camera, and 4K video recording with full pixel readout. Landscape photographers who need massive amounts of resolution might want to consider the pricier A7R III, which has a 42.4MP full-frame chip. For everyone else though, the A7 III should be more than enough camera for them. The only major problem I have with both the A7 III and A7R III is the inferior weather sealing, which can be an issue if you shoot in wet conditions. In just about every other respect though, the Sony A7 III is far from basic. n PROS › Pro-level features at a more affordable

price › 10 fps continuous shooting in

mechanical and silent modes › 4K video › Low noise at high ISOs CONS › Inferior weather sealing › Lower-resolution rear LCD screen and

EVF › Confusing user interface

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The Fabric Grids can be purchased separately or when ordering the light modifier of your choice at very reasonable prices. Contact your locall Photek dealer and visit our website www.photekusa.com for more information.

TRIX-2500 This unique device will free the camera from the restraints of a traditional camera tripod, allowing the camera to be set in any fixed position necessary in the making of a photograph.

Its telescopic design allows the camera to be placed well apart and beyond the support legs of the tripod itself.

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TOOLS / FIELD REVIEW

SONY CYBER-SHOT RX10 IV SONY’S PREMIUM SUPERZOOM CAMERA OFFERS FASTER AF AND 24 FPS BURST SHOOTING By George Schaub

and enthusiasts who like to have one camera/lens combo that covers just about every imaging contingency, it might just fill the bill. I recently had an opportunity to test the camera while on a trip to Spain and was eager to put it through its paces.

SPECS & FEATURES The obvious place to start is with the lens, a Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T*, which contains six aspheric elements: it’s a comparatively fast 25x zoom that has an f/2.4 max aperture and only drops to f/4 when you begin to zoom out to the longer ranges.

When working in standard format and using AF, the lens can focus as close as 1.2 inches to infinity at the 24mm setting and 28 inches to infinity at the 600mm setting; a seeming anomaly is that when shooting at 250mm the minimum focusing distance is more like 55 inches.

The specs on this seemed confusing, so

INTEGRAL ZOOM LENS CAMERAS are often referred to as “bridge” cameras: the idea being that they bridge the gap between compact and DSLR models. If there’s a bridge connection here it’s in the rather incredible zoom range of the Sony Cyber-shot RX10 IV ($1,700, retail price) that spans the far shores of 24-600mm equivalency. While a camera/lens combo of this capability is necessarily larger than a DSLR body alone, and at first glance may seem like a candidate for shaky shots when zooming to the longer focal lengths, the RX10 IV takes full advantage of Sony’s built-in Optical SteadyShot image stabilization system (4.5 EV shutter speeds) along with any corrective optical adjustments applied to the various focal lengths via the BIONZ X image processor.

40 | JUNE | 2018

the RX10 III, used contrast-detectionbased AF, which was noticeably slow.)

The Sony RX10 IV is not a camera you can slip into your pocket, being 5.25x3.75x5.12 inches in size and weighing in at 2 pounds, 6.7 ounces with card and battery. But for travelers, landscape and sports photographers,

The lens measures about 2.5 inches long when at rest (24mm) and a good six inches when zoomed fully. An aperture “click” switch allows you to choose between click stops ( 1/3 increments between stops) or a smooth transition; a focus hold button on the right of the barrel; and a focus delimiter switch, used to limit focus search to within 10 feet to infinity. Ç

Both dust- and moisture-resistant, the Sony RX10 IV superzoom camera contains a 20.1MP one-inch-type stacked phase-detection AF Exmor RS CMOS sensor with a DRAM chip. There are two key operative phrases here that speak to its overall size and image quality: the one-inch sensor allows for a “smaller” camera with such a long zoom range, while phase detection speaks to the improved autofocus (AF) performance—claimed to be an incredible AF response time of 0.03 seconds—critical when you zoom far into the reaches, and when capturing action images. (Sony’s previous model,

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TOOLS / FIELD REVIEW « The back of the camera has a large tiltable (up and down but not side to side) LCD screen that is your visual access to making settings. You can also touch-focus on the screen. There’s also a nice and bright EVF. Regular readers of my reviews know that I am not a big EVF fan, but I must say this one impressed me as highly usable and clear.

I reached out to Sony to get an explanation: their reply was that constructing a lens such as this required this midstream, if you will, focusing distance change in order to make it a more reasonable size, and that this was not uncommon among lenses of this focal length range.

The large and bright XGA OLED EVF provides 100% field of view and contains 2.35 million dots with a wide-range diopter and five-step brightness control, while the three-inch tiltable LCD contains 1.44 million dots. The screen does not swing side to side and does not enable folding into the body to protect it. The view switches automatically when you move from the EVF to the monitor, and vice versa.

Focusing modes include single and continuous, as well as manual. Focusing areas are legion and selectable via touchscreen and “quick” menu control, with 315 points in phase-detection AF and 25 in contrast-detection AF. You can choose, for example, center, flexible spot (with expandable available as well), and lock on AF. There is a touchscreen option for selecting a focusing point.

The Sony RX10 IV’s continuous shooting mode can be set at up to 24 frames per second (fps) for a 10-second burst, impressive numbers that mean you won’t miss the (automated) decisive

I photographed this flamenco performance on a stage lit by small spots using AWB and Auto ISO set at a max ISO 3200 and 1/60 second minimum shutter speed on Program exposure mode. The lens was zoomed to 110mm (all focal length settings in captions are equivalents). Grain at ISO 3200 is noticeable but certainly not objectionable, given the low light. Camera exposure was f/4 at 1/200 second at ISO 3200.

moment. (The previous camera could shoot up to 14 fps bursts.) You can also “frame grab” from the RX10 IV’s 4K video capability, yielding an 8MB still from video sequences. There are the three standard

metering pattern modes, plus a highlight compensation mode.

There are numerous image control options, including contrast, saturation, and SRGB and Adobe RGB color space options, plus a myriad of “picture effects” and “creative styles” that allow you to play with many different “looks.” These include intriguing effects such as Retro Photo, HDR Painting, Panorama, Posterization, and the like. Plus there are the requisite Av, Tv, Program, and Manual exposure modes.

The fastest mechanical (leaf type, in lens) shutter speed available is 1/2000 second: there’s also a selectable (via the menu) electronic shutter that, thanks to the stacked CMOS sensor with its very fast readout speed, allows shutter speeds as fast as 1/32,000 second. The slowest speed on Auto is four seconds, while in Bulb, Tv,

© George Schaub

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42 | JUNE | 2018

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TOOLS / FIELD REVIEW as well, including SteadyShot enabling (which I encourage you to keep on), zoom functions, and more.

It takes some practice to move through the menus but basically it’s done by turning the knurled control ring on the back in combination with a deft touch of the outer edges of that same ring to make selections. There is a kind of quick menu, which I accessed via the “Fn” button on the camera back and then I scrolled and chose via the back knurled ring. This came in quite handy in the field.

The lens itself, the star of the show, measures about 2.5 inches long when at « In the Reina Sophía museum I photographed a woman in a colorful jacket contemplating a Magritte painting, curious how the Illustration effect would reinterpret the painting. Curiously, photographs of abstract work, such as those by Cubist and Constructivist painters, only added contrast and did not alter the paintings much, showing how those artists “saw” as if looking through the Illustration effect “filter.” «

While photographing inside the amazing Toledo Cathedral I noticed a photographer putting his camera on the floor to get a shot of the vaulting and paintings of the ceiling. Having a tilting LCD monitor meant I could shoot in much easier fashion. Exposure at ISO 1000 was f/3.2 at 1/30 second, a testament to the good work of the RX10 IV’s image stabilization system.

HANDS ON As formidable as the zoom range, the Sony RX10 IV itself is large in hand, with a host of buttons, dials, and menu options. A large grip protrudes forward on the right-hand side and the entire body is covered with a good “grippy” surface.

Although the camera comes with a basic instruction manual that can get you started, you will need the Help Guide to really get into the many options and functions the RX10 IV provides.

This is available as a download only, which you will need to read and practice with before even thinking of going out into the field.

I am not a fan of this method of communication, particularly because it is of no use when you are out on a shoot unless you take a tablet as your companion, or want to print out the booklet and carry a binder.

To navigate the menus you choose the “set,” including still, movie, connectivity, playback, and custom setups. To give you an idea of how deep the menu goes, the still settings are 14 layers deep and the movie mode is four. However, if you are in the Camera 2 settings, which start out with the four movie setups, you get six more (to me, hidden) camera and function setups 44 | JUNE | 2018

Photos © George Schaub

and Av it’s 30 seconds. Note that the “native” ISO range is 100 to 12,800, plus a “push” to 25,600 when you enable Multi-Frame NR (note that video is limited to ISO 12,800). As to connectivity, there are numerous input and output terminals, including a microphone mini-jack, and Wi-Fi, NFC, and Bluetooth connectivity.

Last but not least is the Sony RX10 IV’s impressive AF acquisition speed of 0.03 seconds, and while I did not have the tools to measure this, the camera fairly zipped into focus when in the field. As with use of all long-range zoom lenses, be careful to lock onto the nearest object within the frame. I only say this because many folks are not used to working with this long a focal length optic and proper focusing point placement is critical to success.

TOOLS / FIELD REVIEW performer in low light. The LCD offers many display options, although I like a clear screen when composing, and was very helpful in swapping settings as I worked.

IN THE FIELD Please see the images and accompanying captions for comments on camera usage and results. After acquainting myself with the various and numerous options and parameter settings I came to a fairly easy way of working with the Sony RX10 IV. First, I set up my Auto ISO to maintain a minimum shutter speed of 1/60 second and a max ISO of 3200. For street work I worked with Program exposure mode, working with the Shift to alter aperture/shutter speed combinations. I changed aperture via the click stops on the lens. I set up my main attributes using the “Fn” button quick mode and assigned the drive mode to the C1 button on the top.

I worked with AWB (Auto White Balance) for interiors and daylight to outdoor images. I made some use of the Picture Effects (available via the “quick menu”) and admit to getting hooked on the options. I zoomed using the lens ring, although at times used the automated zoom that surrounds the shutter button for a quick leap into the longer ranges.

I found the EVF to be very sharp and clear and an excellent 46 | JUNE | 2018

Photos © George Schaub

«

«

This equestrian statue in Madrid’s Plaza Mayor rest (24mm) and a good six inches when was graced with a swirling fabric installation by fully zoomed (600mm). If you count the artist Janet Echelman. Image was exposed at f/7.1 at 1/250 second at ISO 100 with a 24mm (included) “tulip” lens hood, a must when focal length. shooting in the field, you can add 1.5 inches to the overall length. There are some To give you an idea of what a long range zoom “digital zoom” capabilities (essentially can offer you, I stood in the same spot and zoomed to 591mm (according to metadata) to cropping to attain an even longer focal focus right on the eye of the horse. Light length effect) but I don’t recommend them conditions altered the aperture to f/4. unless absolutely necessary. There’s an aperture “click” switch that allows you to choose between click stops (1/3 increments between stops) or a smooth transition; a focus hold button on the right of the barrel; and a focus delimiter switch, used to limit focus search to within 10 feet to infinity, which makes for faster AF on longer distance subjects.

One more item of interest: the battery charger. There isn’t one, at least not the separate charger setup/wall plug-in I am accustomed to. Rather, there is a USB-type setup that is akin to a smartphone charger that plugs directly into the camera. You can use a car charger, etc., so there are some practical convenience factors here. And yes, you can buy an optional Sony dedicated battery pack and battery. This, for me, turned out OK, but judging from the chatter on the web, this approach gets mixed reviews.

CONCLUSION In all, the Sony Cyber-shot RX10 IV is as complicated (or, if you will, fully featured) as you want it to be, or as simple as you like. Most folks will opt for the latter option, or somewhere in between. Getting acquainted with the various routes through the very rich menu took some time, but after a while I found it to be a great traveling companion that responded to every picture possibility. In fact, this is a superzoom camera I would strongly consider as my main workhorse for candid street and travel work in the future.

Without a doubt, this is a camera you can customize to the nth degree to fully explore your imaging effects and options.

While it’s best to start out slowly to fully learn just what the Sony RX10 IV offers, you might find, as I did, that this rather remarkable camera will reward you with a flexibility and range of options that few other integral lens “bridge” cameras can provide. n

¨

Santa Cruz, California

TECHNIQUES / USING TELEPHOTOS

READY FOR YOUR CLOSE-UPS? HOW TO USE TELEPHOTO LENSES FOR MAXIMUM IMPACT

By Ron Leach

LONG LENSES ARE EXCITING TO USE because they enable us to view and capture images with far greater magnification than what we can see with our eyes. They also deliver dramatic, compressed perspectives and enable photographers to isolate subjects from busy backgrounds.

Telephoto lenses are available in both fixed focal length and versatile zoom configurations, and the longer the lens, the less inherent depth of field it provides at any given f-stop. Short telephotos, in the 85-135mm category, tend to be the least expensive, are easy to use hand-held, and are ideal for portraiture because they enable you to fill the frame with a subject from a comfortable working distance.

True “telephoto effects” begin to appear with lenses longer than 135mm, and by selecting wider aperture settings you can exaggerate compressed perspectives and use shallow depth of field to eliminate distracting background elements. These moderate telephotos, with focal lengths up to 300mm, are a great choice for travel photography, shooting sports/action photos, outdoor concerts, and other types of scenes in which you 48 | JUNE | 2018

can’t readily approach a subject.

Extreme telephoto lenses, in focal lengths of 400mm or longer, tend to be heavy, unwieldy, and expensive, with far more limited applications. But if you’re on a whale-watching trip, or photographing wildlife from great distances, these lenses are usually the only way to get the job done.

It’s important to remember that, as with all lenses, the power delivered by a telephoto lens depends upon the size of the sensor in your camera. So, while a 400mm lens on a full-frame body is just that, a 400mm lens on a camera with an APS-C format sensor provides the cropping of a 600mm lens. And this same lens on a Micro Four Thirds camera performs like an 800mm super telephoto.

Keep in mind that telephoto lenses not only magnify your subject, but they exaggerate camera movement and

atmospheric haze as well.

Therefore, you’ll have to take special precautions if you want to achieve images with the same razor-sharp clarity as those you capture with less powerful lenses. A sturdy tripod, a high-quality UV filter, and a custom lens hood will all help improve your results.

Back in the days before digital cameras with sophisticated image stabilization systems, there was a simple rule for handholding long lenses: namely, use a shutter speed that’s the inverse of the focal length of your lens (or preferably faster). So, when shooting with a 400mm telephoto, for example, the idea was to use a shutter speed of at least 1/400 second. That’s no longer necessary, as modern camera shake technology typically provides an advantage of three to five steps.

Precise focusing techniques are still important, however, because of the narrow zone of sharpness inherent to telephoto lenses, and there are a few things you can do to maximize results. When shooting portraits, it’s usually best to set your focus point on the subject’s eye that’s closest to the camera. For sports/action photography, and other scenes with fastmoving subjects, you can increase your batting average by panning with the camera while using the fastest shutter speed that lighting conditions permit.

Whether you choose a prime lens or a zoom, lenses with fast maximum apertures enable you to make the most of telephoto effects, by enabling the use of faster shutter speeds when you need them.

The wider f-stops of these lenses are also critical for minimizing depth of field when that’s what you want to do.

Telephoto lenses with an f/2.8 maximum aperture (or f/4 with longer telephotos) are bigger, heavier, and far more expensive than their slower counterparts. They also require larger and more costly filters. But if you can afford premium glass, you’ll be able to achieve some truly eye-popping results! n

© Ron Leach

Ç When photographing wildlife with a long lens, it’s often best to focus on the subject’s eye that’s closest to the camera. This captive eagle was captured at relatively close range with a 90mm lens on a Micro Four Thirds camera — yielding the same cropping as a 180mm lens on a full-frame camera.

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TECHNIQUES / TRIPODS

HOW TO BUY A TRIPOD

ADVICE FOR PURCHASING THE RIGHT CAMERA SUPPORT

By Jon Sienkiewicz

YOU NEED A TRIPOD. If you shoot video, panoramas, fireworks, time exposures, selfies, or macro work in addition to general picture taking, you may even need two tripods.

Selecting a tripod that matches the way you work is important, and not at all difficult if you approach it in the right way.

The Granddaddy of all Image Stabilization (IS) systems is on the floor at your favorite camera shop right now, waiting for rediscovery. The technology has been around for centuries and has been intertwined with photography since the beginning. It’s the one tool we all should use more often, because it’s the only accessory that will improve nearly 100% of our images.

I hear ya, your camera has built-in IS.

To me, the fact that image stabilization in cameras and lenses is so popular is proof positive that you need a tripod.

Don’t get me wrong—I’m not putting IS down. It’s a great and tremendous aid in many and sundry situations. But not all situations.

LET’S BREAK IT ALL DOWN There are many different kinds of tripods, so it’s easier to wrap our minds

Ç

British tripod maker 3 Legged Thing offers a variety of highquality products with interesting names and remarkable features.

50 | JUNE | 2018

around them if we divide them into five basic groups: Pocket, Tabletop, Portable, Medium Duty, and Sturdy Duty/Studio.

The category names suggest their primary application. Photographers who mainly shoot wildlife, for example, should consider Portable models, but shouldn’t overlook the other styles.

Pocket tripods slip easily into a bag or purse and are very handy at restaurants, the zoo, mountain climbing, and other places where you may not want to lug something bigger. They support the weight of a compact digital camera and can be a real lifesaver when you’re trying to shoot an impromptu family group picture or selfie. If the Pocket model is short and sturdy enough, it might support a mirrorless SLR, but be careful not to overload it. In all cases, look for one that has some sort of adjustable head, even if it’s basic.

Tabletop tripods are excellent for macro shots, group pictures, and other situations where the camera can be positioned on a flat surface other than the ground. They’re light and small and easy to pack so they are perfect for travel. In some situations, like when you’re trying to shoot close-ups of an aquarium, they’re better than a full-size tripod because they can be positioned on the table close to the tank. Many photographers press the adjusted legs of a smaller tripod against their chest to gain additional stability—

immovable, and almost always used with a specialized head. This is the domain of professional photographers who generally buy a specific type of tripod to fit a specific need.

COMMON CHARACTERISTICS There are eight characteristics common to all tripods. The matrix on the following page indicates the specifications and materials most often associated with each particular type of tripod. These are offered as guidelines, not hard-and-fast

The Oben TT-100 Table Top Tripod. Load Capacity: six pounds; Max Height: 4.2 inches; Collapsed Size: 7.5 inches. About $34.

«

sort of like a skeletonized shoulder stock.

Portable tripods are great for hiking, biking, and that casual flight on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. They are so light and easy to carry you won’t regret lugging one along. All will support a digital (or film) SLR but use caution if you use a long zoom or a heavy telephoto, especially if it’s front heavy. They come up a bit short in the height extension area, but the trade-off is fabulous portability. Often, they can be lashed to the bottom of a backpack or gadget bag for easy transport. I keep one in my car trunk at all times.

Medium Duty tripods fill the gap between the lightweight portables and the heavyweight Studio tripods. This category has many attractive models available.

They’re a great choice for video cameras because they are extremely stable and most accept a pan head. You’ll find all sorts of configurations with and without sophisticated ball heads, fluid heads, pan heads, and so forth. If you prize light weight yet need a sturdy platform, look into the models that have carbon-fiber legs. They combine the best of both worlds, and although they’re worth it, they tend to be a bit more expensive.

Sturdy Duty/Studio tripods are just that. They are big, sometimes nearly

rules. For instance, most Medium Duty tripods extend to a length between 48 and 60 inches, but there are exceptions to be found on both ends of the scale.

Also please note that the Maximum Load Capacity figure is an approximation.

If you’re slinging heavy gear, read the tripod specs or check the manufacturer’s website. Many people are unaware how much their camera-plus-lens combination weighs. That’s where to start.

IMAGE STABILIZATION—ON OR OFF WHEN USING A TRIPOD? Your camera, of course, likely comes equipped with built-in image stabilization.

Your natural inclination may be to think that if one stabilizing system is good, two must be better. Right? Wrong. Nearly all manufacturers say, “Turn it off.” If you’re still in doubt, try it for yourself and examine the results. Most in-camera anti-shake systems get confused by the rock-steady condition that’s created by a tripod and try to compensate for the lack of movement, producing unsharpness in the process. Go figure.

Sometimes the tripod head is part of the tripod, and sometimes it’s sold with the tripod as a package. Even when they are sold separately, most manufacturers recommend which pieces work best when combined. For general use, the most common is the three-way ball head that allows pans, tilts, and rotation on vertical and horizontal axes. « The Joby GorillaPod Magnetic Mini for pointand-shoot and other small cameras. It offers the additional advantage of magnetic feet (think car hood). About $14.

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TECHNIQUES / TRIPODS

Gitzo’s 100-Year Anniversary Edition Tripod with Ball Head, Limited-Edition Traveler Tripod ($1,499). Only 1,917 tripods made. Comes with certificate of authenticity. May not be practical for field use, but ain’t it gorgeous?

OTHER POPULAR FEATURES Not shown in the chart—because there’s an endless array of variations—are the special features some tripods offer. Some have reversible center posts that allow you to position the camera quite close to the ground. Others have slip joints that enable each leg to be extended at a different angle. Some provide hooks from which you can hang a bag full of sand for additional stability on a windy day. After you find a model that seems to meet your needs, check out the additional features.

TYPICAL TRIPOD SPECIFICATIONS

POCKET

Don’t underestimate the importance of the tripod feet. They’re usually rounded rubber with retractable spikes for gripping outdoor surfaces. Tip: If you’re working in mud, use duct tape to secure a crutch tip (available at many pharmacies) over the foot to prevent debris from infiltrating the mechanism.

MATERIALS MATTER Check the materials used for all parts of the tripod, not just the legs. The spider, or hub where the legs attach, can be

TABLETOP

PORTABLE

aluminum or hybrid synthetic. More expensive models use magnesium alloy or other lightweight metals. Confirm that adjustment knobs and handle arms are durable and well made. And look for the little extras. Many tripods come with a case, and some models feature a spirit-type bubble level that many find indispensable.

Finally, of course, there’s the matter of price. Don’t let the price be your only guide. A good tripod will last you a lifetime but a cheap, clunky one will end up in the garbage or at a garage sale. n

MEDIUM DUTY

STURDY DUTY, STUDIO

Size Collapsed (inches)

3 to 6 in

5 to 12 in

12 to 30 in

24 to 36

More than 36 in

Weight (pounds)

Less than 1 lbs

Less than 3 lbs

3 to 7 lbs

7 to 12 lbs

More than 10 lbs

Maximum Height Extension (inches)

Less than 12 in

Up to 12 in

24 to 48 in

48 to 60 in

Over 60 in

Maximum Load Capacity (pounds)

Up to 2 lbs

Less than 4 lbs

5 to 9 lbs

9 to 15 lbs

More than 15 lbs

Head Type Available

None or Ball

Ball, 3-way Ball

Ball, 3-way Ball

3-way Ball, Fluid, Pan

3-way Ball, Fluid, Pan

Feet

Rubber Non-slip

Rubber Non-slip

Rubber, Spike

Rubber, Spike

Rubber, Spike, Custom

Leg Locks

Friction

Friction, Twist

Twist, Lever

Twist, Lever

Lever, Custom

Common Material

Plastic, Aluminum

Plastic, Aluminum

Aluminum, Carbon Fiber

Aluminum, Carbon Fiber

Aluminum, Carbon Fiber

52 | JUNE | 2018

TECHNIQUES / DARKROOM

HOW TO BUILD AND EQUIP A PHOTOGRAPHIC DARKROOM

Ç

GOING DARK GOING DARK

One of the author’s early darkrooms, using the plywood sink design. The sink had hot and cold running water and a temperature control unit, plus it could hold four 11x14-inch trays. The room also served as an office, hence the desk and light box at left. The enlarger is an Omega D2, capable of enlarging 35mm through 4x5-inch negatives.

This black-and-white print was developed in the darkroom in the photo.

By Gary Miller

The cost of used darkroom gear has been reduced to bargain levels, mostly due to the explosion of digital photography.

I recently paid $125 for a complete set of darkroom equipment, including a Simmon Omega B-22 enlarger, a 50mm lens (for 35mm film), a 75mm lens (for 6x6 or 120 negatives), plus trays, easels, custom timers, etc. The former owner even included several boxes of usable paper and dozens of reference books and magazines.

There are similar opportunities online or via your local newspaper or shoppers’ guides, tag sales, etc.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED Step one is to evaluate and measure your available space. The ideal setup is one 54 | JUNE | 2018

where you have running hot and cold water, but lack of this is not a deal-breaker.

A closet, guest room, garage, or basement can all serve as locations. Here, not necessarily in order of importance, are the requirements: 1. Ability to make your selected space dark, although a changing bag will make do for the critical task of loading film into tanks. The “dark” for the remaining processes can have a small amount of light leaking in, but not much.

2. Access to running hot and cold water. A sink with automatic hot and cold running water is ideal, but many photographers accomplish wet tasks on a counter and go to a nearby laundry or bathroom to complete steps like film or paper washing,

cleaning up utensils, etc.

3. Sufficient room for the enlarger and related accessories (paper safe, lenses, negative holders, canned air, etc.).

4. Adequate ventilation. Film and paper chemicals are toxic, so decent ventilation is a must.

5. Some kind of flat workspace—it can be a borrowed kitchen or dining room table— for trimming and mounting prints.

6. A source of music, if you like. Printing can be enjoyed over many hours’ time, and good music soothes the savage beast.

Some say it can even determine the quality of prints.

SETTING IT UP Location can be simple. Over the years I have built darkrooms in a converted coal bin, closet, guest room, basement (even one huge 15x20-foot basement room!), attic, and garage. Your darkroom can have a regular swinging door, bifold doors,

All photos © Gary Miller

The renaissance in film photography these days has created the need for a “wet” darkroom. It’s a fun alternative to digital printmaking. Nothing beats watching an image come to life in the developing tray. Unfortunately, many photographers think building a darkroom is expensive, time-consuming, and difficult. This is not true.

or even drapes to separate it from the rest of the house or apartment. It can be permanent or temporary. We once set up a darkroom in the basement of Clowes Hall in Indianapolis to give patrons prints (shot before an opera performance) afterwards. So, the only limit to the space issue is your imagination.

The ideal darkroom is neither too big nor too small. Too big and you’ll tire yourself out walking from one area to the other. Too small is, well, too small and difficult to get things done easily. Think of ideas like using a small swiveling stool to swing around from the wet to dry sides, or a small chair on wheels. Make sure, if possible, to install comfortable tile or indoor/outdoor carpeting underfoot to ease fatigue.

Another consideration is what kind «

The author’s current darkroom, in the basement of a small house. At left is a radio, an enlarging timer, and a paper safe. In the center is an Omega B2 enlarger, which handles 35mm and 6x6cm negatives.

An adjustable 11x14inch easel is on the baseboard, and to the right are three 11x14inch trays. Everything sits on two stainless steel kitchen work tables. « Planning, using drawings or even models, helps in making effective use of space.

«

A little model made from paper gives you a better idea of what the final product looks like.

The construction style in our example is to attach 1x2-inch “furring strips” to the plywood to provide framework. The 3/4 -inch plywood will then be attached to the 1x2-inch strips. Four 2x4’s are used as legs. The plywood pieces will be glued, and some pieces (like the inside of the sink) will be painted with outside enamel paint. In our example we are going to have a sink 60x24x8 inches, a dry side 36x24x 3/4 inches, and a partition in between 24x 96x 3/4 inches. This will allow four 11x14-inch trays to fit inside the sink.

If you have less width, you can always use the fourth tray in a laundry room or on a rack, etc. And if you need 16x20-inch trays, simply enlarge the dimensions.

Paint the pieces with contact cement on both sides, then use a clamp or another

of work will you be doing for the most part. A darkroom designed for 16x20inch exhibition prints is different from a darkroom whose output is mostly 8x10-inch prints. The size of trays, print driers (and style of drying), and basic workspaces are key issues. Perhaps you only want to develop film and scan the negatives. Or make a lot of small enlargements from many negatives to create small subject-specific albums.

The possibilities are endless. The key to success is to plan ahead.

One design takes two sheets of 4x8-foot plywood and cuts them up into various pieces to make both the wet and dry “units.” Have the lumberyard cut the pieces of plywood into two pieces, each 2x8 feet (to fit into the car). You can further cut the pieces and fit them together as shown in the sketches and model. You can change the dimensions to fit your space.

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TECHNIQUES / DARKROOM supply the perspiration). Ironically, after carefully planning a plywood sink and dry table, we ended up using two stainless steel kitchen work tables.

EQUIPPING YOUR DARKROOM Now that you have the basic dry side and wet sink or workspace finished, it’s time to start equipping the darkroom in order to develop film or make prints. The steps are simple, and you can accomplish them no matter what size, shape, and location of your darkroom.

Developing film, the obvious first step, is usually done by using a plastic or stainless steel film developing tank. The advantage of the latter is that you can immerse the tank in a bath of water to maintain a desired temperature. Stainless reels also dry quickly, so you’re ready for the next batch of developing. Plastic takes longer and the film will stick more easily, making them difficult to load.

Of course, complete darkness is required to load the tanks with film. Even a little bit of stray light can fog film. If you don’t have complete darkness, use a changing bag; the rest of the steps can be carried out in daylight.

This is not an in-depth article on darkroom technique, rather an overview of building and equipping a darkroom in relation to functionality. A quick tour of dealer catalogs will offer plenty of choices in equipment, including chemicals for all the steps required. Interestingly, more products are being introduced to the marketplace as interest grows.

After developing comes a quick rinse in water or short stop, then fixer (or hypo,

«

56 | JUNE | 2018

A plastic hanging closet clothes protector keeps film clean while drying, especially in a dusty basement environment.

«

person to hold the pieces of plywood together while you screw in brass screws.

After you put the pieces together, you now have the two elements (sink and dry side) ready to finish and install. The sink ideally should have a mixing valve to provide hot and cold running water, and a drain in the bottom corner (make the bottom slope down from front to back and left to right). Paint everything with primer, then outdoor enamel paint. After the paint is dry caulk the inside of the sink with silicone or similar caulking, then fasten each element to the wall with screws or brackets.

As you can imagine, there are countless variations on this basic design. You can use wide stainless steel shelves, installed in a staggered manner, to hold the trays and a basic tool kit drawer to hold the enlarger.

A visit to your local hardware store or box store will provide a lot of inspiration (you

Stainless reels and tanks are easy to clean, dry quickly, and during use can be immersed in water to maintain desired temperature. A 32-ounce tank holds two rolls of 120, or four rolls of 35mm.

as it’s sometimes called, rapid or regular variety). A good washing is then followed by a 30-second dip in a wetting agent and then you can hang the film up to dry.

Now comes a critical step. In many darkrooms, there is enough dust floating around to ruin negatives (the resulting spots demand retouching). The answer, though, is simple. Get a plastic hanging closet clothes protector and you have a cheap yet effective dustproof film dryer (cut out the bottom to allow full rolls of film to hang).

The next step is creating a contact sheet. Many photographers like to use archival plastic negative sheets like those from Print File, in which case cut the negatives into strips according to format.

Then place the negatives on top of a piece of photographic paper. Although there are all kinds of contact sheet devices for sale, all you need are two pieces of glass, slightly larger than the paper (usually 8x10 inches in size). Place the negatives in strips on top of the paper. Adjust the aperture to about f/5.6 and try about 10 seconds of exposure.

A little practice (or a test strip) will give you the correct aperture and time for an average roll of negatives.

Developing trays can be purchased at your dealer or you can use Rubbermaid dishwashing tubs. You need at least four: developer, short stop (can be water), hypo (fixer), and wash. «

Seeing your print emerge out of your darkroom is satisfying, to say the least. « An inexpensive safelight can be screwed into a common photo reflector or lamp socket.

The step that requires some additional design thought is how to wash film and prints. Whether it’s a darkroom with running water or you use the laundry or kitchen sink, a simple dishwashing pan with a set of holes drilled along the bottom will do the job. Just start the running water and the fixer will settle to the bottom and thus be washed out. In order to save water, use a hypo (fixer) removal agent before washing. Resin-Coated (RC) paper, incidentally, needs only about 10 minutes of washing.

The last step is drying prints. A simple drying solution is a book with blotter pages, available from most dealers. You could also build a small cabinet with window screen shelves.

For enlargements, the only additional equipment needed is an easel for holding paper (try eBay), a focusing aid for the sharpest results, a paper safe to make handling paper easier, a timer (a foot switch is a help here), a safelight, and a white light for examining prints in the hypo.

So those are the basics of building your own darkroom. Have fun! n SHUTTERBUG.COM | 57

TECHNIQUES / LANDSCAPES Ç Shooting in the vertical format helps accentuate the height and power of distant peaks.

I prefer to travel light on long hikes, so my list of camera gear is pretty basic: one camera body, a fast wide-angle lens, a short telephoto zoom, and a lightweight tripod or monopod. And because there is more ultraviolet light in the thin mountain air than at sea level, I always have a UV filter on each of my lenses—not only to eliminate the bluish tint that’s common to photos taken at altitude, but also to protect my expensive glass from blowing dust and damage.

A polarizing filter is also very helpful for darkening pale blue skies and eliminating reflections from water, snow, and shiny rocks. The only other “accessory” I bring, whenever possible, is a hiking companion who can serve as a model and give a hand if anything untoward happens (like a twisted ankle).

HOW TO SHOOT LANDSCAPE PHOTOS IN THE MOUNTAINS

By Ron Leach

NOW THAT THE RIGORS of winter photography have faded, and spring is upon us, it’s time to pack your gear and head for the hills. Here are a few tips for making great landscape photos during a trip to the mountains.

BE PREPARED Whether you’re planning a day trip, or intend to do some camping, it’s important to remember that weather conditions change rapidly in the mountains.

58 | JUNE | 2018

Temperatures drop as you gain elevation, and you may even encounter remnants of snow at higher altitudes. So, plan accordingly, and make sure to pack rain gear, warm clothing, and plenty of water.

GO VERTICAL Another common mistake when capturing the splendor of the peaks is forgetting to shoot images in the vertical format. A vertical perspective helps accentuate the height of distant mountains and makes them look far more imposing. You can also add variety to your images by moving in tight to capture detail shots of interesting objects like alpine flowers, rocks, or trees.

And remember that “human accessory” we mentioned earlier? Don’t forget to shoot a few environmental portraits during your hike. Including a person in the scene is a

All photos © Ron Leach

HIGH TIMES

CONSIDER LIGHT & COMPOSITION The quality of light in the mountains changes dramatically as the day progresses, and what appears to be a gentle, sloping peak in the morning can be transformed into a rugged, imposing form by late afternoon. It’s best to avoid the harsh midday light and do your shooting early and late, when the sun is at a low angle to the horizon. Shadows are dramatic at these times, and mountain scenery will stand out in great detail.

Thoughtful composition is important with all forms of photography, and absolutely essential for capturing powerful landscape scenes. When shooting in the mountains, it really helps to experiment with camera angles, avoiding the common mistake of composing photos with the horizon bisecting the shot. Shooting from a low perspective is one way to create images with impact, as is including an interesting foreground element, like a boulder or tree, when using a wide-angle lens.

horizon. That way you’ll add some extra depth of field to the midrange of the shot.

great way to provide a sense of scale to the majesty of the surrounding landscape.

Another important consideration for scenic mountain photography is choosing a proper point of focus. I rarely, if ever, focus on infinity—even when my subject is a mountain on the skyline. That’s «

Diagonal lines and repeating patterns can be helpful compositional tools.

«

If there’s a bright moon in the sky, be sure and do some shooting at night.

because doing so “wastes” whatever depth of field falls behind your faraway subject.

When using wide-angle lenses, with their inherent broad zone of sharpness, I typically focus at a point two-thirds of the way into a scene and let depth of field handle the rest.

Even when using telephoto lenses, with their narrower zone of focus, I often experiment with small aperture settings and a focus point that’s a bit closer than the

ADD EMOTIONAL IMPACT You can add emotional impact to mountain landscape photos by carefully positioning yourself relative to the sun. For silhouettes, or images with high contrast, try shooting into the sun. Conversely, shoot with the sun at your back to capture photos with brilliant, saturated colors.

And to emphasize the rugged shapes of jagged mountain scenery, try positioning the sun to one side of the camera position.

If your mountain sojourn takes you up to the snow line, be sure to take your exposure reading off the white stuff, and dial in a stop or two of EV compensation— otherwise, you’ll end up with gray, dirtylooking snow. And if you’re lucky enough to be in the mountains when a bright moon bathes the landscape with soft light, be sure to do some shooting at night.

A trip to the mountains not only provides great photographic opportunities, but it is also really good for the soul. As Ansel Adams once remarked about the power of a great mountain, “It speaks in silence to the very core of your being.” n

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TECHNIQUES / DESIGN ELEMENTS

AS ADVENTUROUS AS IT MAY BE, I am not a professional nature or travel photographer circumnavigating the globe in search of new and exotic destinations—maybe in my next lifetime. The nice thing about visiting new destinations is that you’re exposed to new subject matter to keep you thoroughly engaged and fired up from a photographer’s perspective. While I do go on short annual vacations, which energizes my photographic juices, my vacations are just that, short.

Let’s face it, the vast majority of our lives are contained within a fairly small radius of our homes, which for me is about 20 miles.

Consequently, on a daily basis I tend to see the same things over and over. When time allows, I go to different venues, but this may only be for several hours on a weekend. If you’re lucky enough to live in an area where you have distinct seasons, your possibilities will be expanded. However, in South Florida where I reside, the seasons consist of warm, hot, and hotter—intermixed with humidity and rain. Hence, throughout the year there is little change in the scenery. That said, it’s not too long before I’m seeing the same subject matter and, if I’m not careful, my photography 60 | JUNE | 2018

SPOIL ISLAND SNAG The trunk of the tree provides a leading line into the image. In addition, the trunk provides a lot of texture in contrast to the sky and water. Technical info: Fujifilm X-T2, 18-135mm lens; f/13, 1/100 second, ISO 200, handheld. «

HOW TO USE LINES, PATTERNS, COLORS, AND TEXTURES TO CREATE EYE-CATCHING IMAGES By Jeff Howe

WETLAND VEGETATION I came upon these reeds reflecting in a wetland, which I thought created a calm, peaceful, and tranquil scene. I placed the line of reeds horizontally to reinforce that feeling. Technical info: Nikon D7200, 18-200mm lens; f/11, 1/125 second, ISO 100, handheld.

«

NARROW YOUR FOCUS

will go stale if I don’t retrain my eye.

Rather than viewing the larger vista and all that it has to offer, I’ve trained my eye to pare down an area and focus on what it has to offer in regard to lines, patterns, colors, and textures.

Having narrowed my focus, I’m amazed at all of the possibilities I continue to see no matter how many times I revisit the same destinations or travel the same roads.

« DYING DAISY The curved line of the stem provides the viewer with a slow and calming tour to the center of interest. Technical info: Nikon D300, 105mm lens, Manfrotto 055CXPRO3 tripod, Acratech ball head; f/36, 0.50 seconds, ISO 200. «

THE SWAMP Having arrived early at the University of Florida’s stadium (aka The Swamp) prior to graduation, my eyes were immediately attracted to the pattern provided by the seating.

The only thing that would have strengthened the image would have been a jogger running up the stairs to break the pattern. Technical info: Nikon D7200, 18-200mm lens; f/8, 1/160 second, ISO 100, handheld.

center of interest. An unsuccessful leading line will take the viewer into the image, but if there isn’t anything to hold the viewer within the image, the viewer will immediately exit the image. Some of the best leading lines will start at the lower left-hand portion of the image and travel toward the right.

Lines and how they are composed in an image can evoke or reinforce an emotion or mood with the viewer. Vertical lines can be used to imply strength, height, power, and an overall uplifting mood,

PATTERNS The repetition of lines, shapes, or colors can produce very interesting and powerful images. Although easily overlooked in your day-to-day life, patterns are all around you no matter how ordinary and commonplace the surroundings. When presented with an interesting pattern you want to emphasize or break it.

To emphasize a pattern, you want to zoom in close to fill the frame with the repetitive pattern and eliminate all other conflicting elements. Personally, I find images involving broken patterns more powerful. These images involve a reoccurring pattern that has been interrupted or broken. Patterns can be broken with a complementary subject or color, or through the elimination of one of the repeating objects. Imagine an image of hundreds of chairs set up for a graduation

All photos © Jeff Howe

LINES Lines in photography may be an actual subject such as telephone wires, a road, or the stem of a flower. On the other hand, an image may consist of an implied line that is not an actual line, but rather a line that is implied based on how the subject is composed within the image. Depending on the subject and how you compose it, the main or leading line in your image will lead the viewer through the picture.

Ultimately you want a line that leads the viewer straight to the main subject or

whereas horizontal lines usually denote tranquility, calmness, and peacefulness.

Diagonal lines can imply energy, action, force, or motion, while curved lines take the viewer on a slow and meandering tour of the image. Ideally, you want a line that guides the viewer throughout the image.

Consequently, that’s why S-curve lines are so desirable in images because they slowly take the viewer on a visual tour of the entire image.

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TECHNIQUES / DESIGN ELEMENTS

«

BICYCLE RACK The bicycle created a much more powerful image by breaking the repetitious pattern associated with the bicycle rack. Technical info: Fujifilm X-T2, 18-135mm lens; f/4.3, 1/80 second, ISO 200, handheld.

CUTLEAF EVENING PRIMROSE BLOSSOM The windblown primrose blossom sitting atop a bed of duckweed provides two bright, bold, and contrasting colors to grab the viewer’s attention.

Technical info: Nikon D300, 105mm lens; f/5.6, 1/125 second, ISO 200, handheld.

«

where all but one is in unison, or a bowl of black marbles with one white one. If you’re working with a still life subject, then you can intentionally manipulate the subject or in your digital workflow depending on your final vision.

Pay close attention to where the break in the pattern is located in the frame in order to create the most powerful image.

The rule of thirds may play an important role in this selection. Also, I find that repetitive patterns are best displayed when the depth of field is maximized, which will dictate a high f-stop and the use of a tripod.

COLORS We’re all familiar with the complementary color pairs on the color circle: red and green, blue and orange, and yellow and violet. Obviously, I don’t find these specific color combinations out in the field too often. I’m attracted to any subject that offers bold, bright colors—something that really grabs the viewer’s attention. Several criteria to keep in mind when creating a successful image with contrasting colors: 1. An image with good color contrast can 62 | JUNE | 2018

look great even if it has little or no tonal contrast.

2. Color saturation will affect the overall intensity of the image. The more saturation, the greater the color contrast.

3. Tonal contrast will become more prominent with less color saturation.

4. Saturation can be adjusted through the use of a polarizer filter, in-camera film simulation, and/or post-processing.

5. Color contrast works best if the area represented by both colors does not equate to a 1:1 ratio. Shoot for around 1:3.

6. Limit your image to two colors. If you introduce other colors, the color contrast

will decrease, making the image less engaging and powerful.

TEXTURES Sometimes a subject doesn’t have lines, patterns, or colors to offer, but instead textures. Something as simple as tree bark, rust, or peeling paint can make for a beautiful abstract image. One of the most effective ways to show detail, and make an image appear three-dimensional, is to emphasize texture. But how do you make the most of the natural texture that exists in the subject?

1. Begin with a subject that has some

HISTORIC HOUSE I was immediately attracted to the complementary colors associated with this doorway and vegetation. In addition, the circular lines of the vegetation aid in keeping the viewer’s eye inside the center of interest.

Technical info: Fujifilm X-T2, 18-135mm lens; f/5, 1/125 second, ISO 200, handheld.

«

interesting texture such as an old rusted, weathered vehicle. Don’t attempt to create texture where texture doesn’t exist such as a smooth surface that will have little discernible texture.

2. Use side lighting (artificial or natural) to create shadows that will accentuate the texture. If side lighting is not available or you don’t like the effect of shadows in the image, the contrast in color may aid in revealing the texture. If necessary, color and/or tonal contrast can be adjusted in post-processing to provide additional contrast in the texture.

3. Use a filter effect in post-processing (e.g., Google Color Efex 4 Detail Extractor

filter) or other technique to bring out some structure associated with your subject, but use it very conservatively.

No matter how mundane or often I

frequent a particular area, if I narrow my focus on what the surroundings have to offer in regard to lines, patterns, colors, and textures, I’m rewarded with endless possibilities. n To see more of how Jeff Howe uses lines, patterns, colors, and textures in his photographs, visit jeffreyhowe.zenfolio.com. «

JATROPHA PETALS The rain droplets aid in providing a more threedimensional, textured feel to this image. In addition, the leading line associated with the leaf, originating at the top left corner, leads the viewer directly to the center of interest. Technical info: Nikon D300, 105mm lens, Manfrotto 055CXPRO3 tripod, Acratech ball head; f/20, 1/4 second, ISO 200.

« TRUCK Old rusty vehicles are usually a good source of texture and potentially contrasting colors.

Technical info: Fujifilm X-T2, 18-135mm lens; f/10, 1/60 second, ISO 500, handheld.

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TECHNIQUES / PRO’S CHOICE

DRIVE

SLEEK Sometimes a photo shoot goes off without a hitch, as was the case here for Lexus, featuring the Lexus LC 500. “This was overall a very relaxed and easy shoot involving my Profoto B1.”

Technical info: Sony A7R III, Sony 24-105mm f/4 G; ISO 100, f/9, 1/250 second.

Ç

TOP PRO PEPPER YANDELL ON HOW TO SHOOT CAR PHOTOGRAPHY By Jack Neubart

to shoot his brand-new Audi TT. Yandell became hooked, although it took another few years—2014, to be exact—before he’d make the full commitment and go pro.

Eschewing the conventional photo studio, Yandell shoots his cars in a variety of indoor and outdoor settings.

Shooting on a remote location, however, especially on foreign soil, is not without its challenges. There are always variables

I SPOKE WITH PEPPER YANDELL only days before he left for Dubai on an automotive assignment. In fact, while he does shoot domestically, many of his jobs take him overseas, to the United Arab Emirates, Europe, Asia, and South America. And sometimes the work even extends to aviation. But the project doesn’t end in camera.

Much of Yandell’s work involves painstaking retouching and compositing.

And even before he heads out on assignment, he has a vision of how things should go, tempered with an ability to adapt to any situation once he arrives on location. Yandell’s approach is one that reflects a stalwart devotion to detail and an indefatigable desire to do the job right.

REVVING HIS ENGINES Interestingly, Yandell didn’t start out as a car photographer. Far from it. He 64 | JUNE | 2018

started out largely shooting portraiture and landscape. Then, eight years ago, fate stepped in when a good friend asked him

to be encountered. But there are ways to minimize the uncertainties.

As Yandell points out, “The biggest challenge is the fact that you’ve never been to this country. You are not intimately familiar with the culture, the available locations, weather, or unique shooting conditions. I always prefer to scout locations myself (using Google « ALPHA “This was the photo that really started it all for me. It was my first full composite that received worldwide acclaim. It’s hanging in the garages of royalty around the world. HRE Wheels + Gas Monkey Garage printed and sold thousands of posters of it, and it’s landed me several big clients.” Shooting this black Gas Monkey Garage Ferrari F40 “in a boring lobby of a small office building” was the main challenge that mandated Pepper Yandell’s approach. He light-painted the vehicle with a Neewer LED lamp. Technical info: Canon EOS 7D, Canon 24-105mm f/4L; ISO 160, f/9, 8 seconds.

YANDELL’S MANTRA: HAVE FUN Two words that describe a typical day for Yandell are relaxed and spontaneous. “I never try to take myself too seriously,” he says, “and I’m always open to letting the plan change if a better shot, location, or idea presents itself. I started this career having fun and I do everything I can to let that spirit live. When shooting overseas, I would say that this attitude is only heightened. I make sure to take breaks, to enjoy the opportunity I’ve been given while doing what I love.”

Adding to all this is a quest to show a vehicle in a fashion we haven’t seen before.

“The more exotic the car and location, the better,” Yandell observes. “I love putting cars where they typically aren’t seen, such as Lamborghinis on top of glaciers, or McLarens under the Northern Lights.

I love strong contrasts, vivid colors, and powerful compositions. A healthy mix of natural beauty and surrealism.”

STROBE LIGHTING Whether he’s shooting surrounded by four walls or in an expansive, outdoor setting, Yandell only uses one strobe: the Profoto B1 battery-powered monolight that he brings with him anywhere and everywhere in the world. “Strobe lighting is used as

YANDELL’S TOP FIVE TIPS FOR ASPIRING AUTOMOTIVE PHOTOGRAPHERS

1. Shoot as much as you possibly can: different cars, different colors, and different locations.

Every shoot will provide a unique challenge, and a great opportunity to learn and grow.

2. When shooting for private owners, always be as respectful as possible of their cars and their privacy. They’re giving you their time and money to help you build your portfolio.

3. When bidding for a commercial shoot, never sell yourself short. Set a realistic number for your time and efforts. Sometimes you have to say no and lose a job without a proper budget.

4. Fight complacency. Always work to push yourself out of your comfort zone. Try new things, styles, and methods. Growth never comes from working comfortably.

5. Surround yourself with people whose work and attitude you respect. Help them when needed, and learn from them when possible.

Never step on their toes or steal their clients, and always respect the work others do.

All photos © Pepper Yandell

«

ZENITH Yandell shot this Porsche 918 Spyder for the car’s owner. “Although the owner has a very nice garage, it was a tight space, and I still had a lot to clean up in post.” For his lighting, Yandell turned to his trusty Profoto B1 portable, adding reflectors and diffusers as needed. “This was the first time where I felt truly happy with a high-key result. I always tend to stay in the darker, more dramatic range when editing, but this was an exciting change of pace.” Technical info: Canon EOS 6D, Canon 24-105mm f/4L; ISO 160, f/9, 1/125 second.

Earth), as that is half of what makes a great on-location image. I do, however, frequently consult with locals on spots they recommend for a shoot, so I at least have a starting point to begin my search.”

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TECHNIQUES / PRO’S CHOICE

a tool to complement natural lighting, by accentuating certain body lines or features of a car. I always try to use both in harmony.

“I can see how it appears as if I’m walking around a car with one light blasting blindly and hoping for the best.

However, I’ve shot so many different cars— colors, shapes, environments—I typically know exactly how I want to light it when I first start shooting. I use a one-light method as I find it most efficient. Blending the light layers together in Photoshop has become second nature. I would spend more time trying to fiddle with multiple lights if I took that route than simply moving around with one.”

HOW-TO VIDEOS One of Yandell’s car photography how-to videos, “Liberty Walk Lambo Composite,” takes us through his process as a time-

FEAR AND LOATHING “I was only able to shoot this Liberty Walk Lamborghini Aventador in a dark empty parking lot after the SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) show in Las Vegas. I couldn’t let such an amazing car be represented by such a boring location. A full composite was in order.” Shooting for Forgiato Wheels, Yandell spent nearly eight hours working in Photoshop, “but worth every minute.” Lighting here came from an AlienBees B800. Technical info: Canon EOS 6D, Canon 24-105mm f/4L; ISO 160, f/9, 1/125 second.

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66 | JUNE | 2018

lapse. He explains: “In this composite, I took a blue Lamborghini I shot in a dark empty parking lot in Las Vegas and, using Photoshop, showed it as if it were driving down one of the brightest, most well-lit stretches of road in the U.S., namely, Las Vegas Boulevard. It was important for me to add actual light reflections into the paint and windows of the vehicle, as that is naturally what occurs when a big shiny box of metal drives down such a road.” (See the

finished image below.)

But it didn’t stop with just the addition of reflections. The stationary vehicle had to appear as if it were moving. “There YANDELL’S FAVORITE GEAR “The 24-105mm f/4 lens, whether it was my previous Canon one, or the current Sony one.

The focal length range and sharpness at f/9 this lens provides has proved invaluable, and is a mainstay in my work.”

are many methods of getting wheel motion when taking a motionless vehicle and turning it into a motion shot,” he notes. “For this particular shot, I spun the stationary wheels using Spin Blur in Photoshop, and then took a close-up shot of a stationary Lamborghini brake caliper and masked it back in behind the blurred wheel, since calipers do not spin.

With shots like this one, very minimal work is done in Lightroom, I tend to do only finishing touches like bringing up shadow levels, clarity, and lens profile corrections.”

He acknowledges that “the key steps differ greatly for every photo and what the end goal is. But the principal philosophy behind every edit is to arrive at a believable result where the first thing

« NATURAL “This shot of a Chevrolet Silverado is still one of my favorites simply because of how easy it was to capture. I spent maybe five minutes in post editing. This image was a single exposure, straight out of camera with slight color adjustments. I had the driver do a burnout to throw up all the dust, and the sun did the rest for me.” This image is from a shoot for Chevrolet.

Location: Pahrump, Nevada. Technical info: Canon EOS 6D, Canon 24-105mm f/4L; ISO 160, f/9, 1/400 second. «

BUILT Shooting this black custom Chevrolet Chevelle for Chevrolet in a busy garage was a challenge, Yandell admits. He lit the car with a Profoto B1, as is his wont, light painting with a Pixelstick. “I first envisioned this as being much brighter. But after playing with it, I realized the darker tones were more befitting the intended mood, so I ran with that.” Location: Chevrolet headquarters, Detroit, Michigan. Technical info: Canon EOS 6D, Canon 24-105mm f/4L; ISO 160, f/9, 1/125 second.

a viewer thinks is ‘Wow! Cool image’ and not ‘Wow, that’s Photoshopped.’ If every image looked as it did straight out of camera, it would be a boring world for us car photographers.”

Depending on the shot, the time Yandell has to spend in postproduction varies greatly. “The longest I’ve ever spent on one image is around 10 hours. But I’ve also spent as little as 30 minutes on an image for a large commercial job. It really just depends on the end result desired, and the location and demands afforded by the shoot.” That said, he does spend “100 percent more time in post” than he does setting up the lighting for a shoot.

cars. “I have met a very good group of people there, passionate about their vehicles and their hospitality. I have always felt welcome and like family, and all of my clients and friends there are eager to assist me in creating whatever imagery I can dream up.” Judging from his truly amicable demeanor and eagerness to get the job done, that attitude on the part of his clients is easily understood.

Pepper Yandell takes automotive photography into overdrive. He doesn’t settle for the tried and true. Instead he takes it to the next level, on untested ground, all the while sitting in the driver’s seat, his hand firmly on the shifter. n

SHOOTING FOR PRIVATE CLIENTS Many of the vehicles Yandell shoots, especially overseas, are for private owners who take special pride in their cars. Working one-on-one with the owner affords him an indulgence a car photographer rarely, if ever, sees on assignment: he gets to drive many of these luxury cars. And that, judging from Yandell’s videos on his site, is where much of the fun lies.

“It’s well known that I have driven almost every exotic, sports, and luxury car that’s out there,” Yandell says. “I have a good driving reputation among my clients, and they trust me to take care of their cars and at the same time deliver great images.”

Having traveled extensively overseas, Yandell confesses that “Dubai, without question” is his favorite place to shoot

Pepper Yandell operates out of Dallas, Texas, and Dubai. To see more of his work, visit pepperyandell.com; on Instagram: @ pepperyandell. Yandell is also enthusiastic to share his expertise and knowledge in his workshops at liveclasscommune.com.

Jack Neubart (jackneubart.com, Instagram: @pixelperfexion) has authored numerous books and articles on photography over the years.

WHAT’S IN YANDELL’S GEAR BAG › Sony A7R III › Sony FE 24-105mm f/4 G lens › Profoto B1 with Air Remote TTL-S › DJI Mavic Pro › Hoya CPL filter › Manfrotto carbon-fiber tripod › Really Right Stuff BH-55 ball head

CREATIVITY / PICTURE THIS!—READER’S ASSIGNMENT

OUR FAVORITE READER PHOTOS: BIRDS HERE’S AN ASSIGNMENT that was for the birds. (Sorry, couldn’t resist.) Yes, we were looking for photos of birds and we wanted your best shots. From our daily perusals of our Galleries on Shutterbug.com, there are clearly a lot of bird photographers out there, so we expected this assignment to be highly competitive. And it was. We received more submissions for this Picture This! assignment than for any assignment before. We were not merely looking for the perfect shot of a bird in flight with its eyes captured at the requisite level of tack sharpness. Those images are nice but we’ve seen hundreds, if not thousands, of them in Shutterbug’s Galleries. We wanted your best bird shots to have an artistry and intimacy that showed our fine feathered friends in their own unique light. While we had a tougher than usual time deciding on our favorites because there were so many great entries, the following 10 images really took flight!

68 | JUNE | 2018

« « PRETTY IN PINK Leona Benson captured this unique pose by a flamingo at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, Washington, with a Canon EOS Rebel T1i and a Tamron 18-270mm lens at f/5.6, 1/500 second. © Leona Benson

« SNOWY EGRET ON A DANGEROUS RIDE Look closely and you’ll see that this Snowy Egret photographed by Linda Sarmento is actually on the back of an alligator. She shot it hand-held in Central Florida with a Canon EOS 70D and a Sigma 50-500mm lens at 200mm, 1/640 second, ISO 100. © Linda L. Sarmento

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS Jola Charlton shot this adorable photo of a flock of ducklings with a Canon EOS 5D Mark III at 560mm, ISO 200, f/8, 1/500 second. «

© Jola Charlton

« THE DANCE “My concept is threefold: visualization; the camera; and post to reach the visualization,” Sheldon Buckman explains about his approach. “Post may be a little or a lot, depending. It is art.

Whether it is fine or not is up to the viewer.” The image is of two young Tricolored Herons.

Buckman captured it with a Canon EOS 40D at f/5.6, ISO 640, 1/3200 second. © Sheldon Buckman

CREATIVITY / PICTURE THIS!—READER’S ASSIGNMENT

ARCHES RAPTOR “This is a photo of a beautiful Roughlegged Hawk composited on a red sandstone background with motion blur added,” Scott Hamilton notes.

“The hawk was photographed on January 29, 2018, at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in Brigham City, Utah. The red sandstone background was photographed last year at Arches National Park, Utah. Photoshop CC was used for the compositing and motion blur. A Nikon D850 camera fitted with a Nikkor 200500mm f/5.6 lens was used to capture the image of the hawk. The camera was set for continuous shutter and focus.

Settings were 1/1000 second, f/11, 500mm, ISO 180.”

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© Scott Hamilton

70 | JUNE | 2018

« RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH “A Red-breasted Nuthatch pokes its head into the sunlight,” Tim Nicol says about this exquisite bird image. He shot it with a Nikon D7100 and a Tamron 150600mm lens at 600mm, ISO 250, f/8, 1/500 second. © Tim Nicol

BEGINNING MEAL SEARCH “Against the glow of a striking early sunrise, an Anhinga begins its flight pattern for a dive into the water seeking a morning meal,” Linn Smith writes. Smith captured it with a Canon EOS 5D Mark III with a Canon 300mm lens at f/2.8, 1/1600 second, ISO 800.

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© Linn Smith

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PREMIER PREDATOR Luke Dedic shot this photo of a soaring eagle in Junction City, Oregon. “I was driving down the highway and saw the eagle on top of a phone pole,” Dedic recalls. “I pulled over and got this shot as he took off to circle over a field filled with sheep.” Dedic captured the handheld shot with a Canon EOS-1D X and a Sigma 500mm f/4 lens. Camera settings were 1/3200 second, f/4, + 2 exposure compensation, ISO 500. © Luke Dedic

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CREATIVITY / PICTURE THIS!—READER’S ASSIGNMENT

« BALD EAGLE LANDING “This image was taken as part of a photo excursion to a raptor conservatory in Southern Ontario, Canada, on a day when it was snowing lightly and the temperature never exceeded 10 degrees Fahrenheit,” Charles Bartolotta writes. “The bird was allowed to perch at a distance of about 50 yards away. The bird’s handler placed some raw meat on the nearer post and the bird, upon seeing the meat, came flying in for it. I followed the bird with the camera on continuous focus and captured this image as he was about to land. I felt the snow in the air gave the image a cold mood and I felt that mood was enhanced by the monochrome conversion.” He shot it with a Nikon D700 and a Sigma 150-500mm lens at 190mm, f/5.3, 1/2500 second, ISO 400. © Charles Bartolotta

HORNBILL AT DUSK “This Yellow-billed Hornbill seems to be peering into the encroaching dusk,” Lawrence Berke says. “The South African sky had a pink tinge to it, which I purposefully oversaturated.” He used a Fujifilm X-T2 and a 100400mm lens at 204mm, 1/2000 second, f/5.6, ISO 500, + 0.3 exposure compensation. «

© Lawrence N. Berke

72 | JUNE | 2018

OUR NEXT ASSIGNMENT

THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT THERE’S A TRADITIONAL Scottish poem that goes: “From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties and things that go bump in the night, Good Lord, deliver us!” Considering that this assignment is slated for our October 2018 issue, we thought it’d be the perfect time to have our readers submit scary images for Halloween. These can include anything from haunting black and whites of old houses, to creepy color shots of abandoned hospitals, spooky landscapes, or hair-raising macros of insects. Heck, even a ghastly portrait of a friend in vampire makeup would qualify. The assignment is deliberately wide open; any photo you think will give someone goosebumps can be submitted. Just be sure to have a spooktacular time! n

HOW TO SUBMIT ONLINE

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CREEPY CASTLE To be honest, I had a harder time than expected finding a suitable sample shot for the “Things That Go Bump in the Night” assignment. This photo, with the help of a little Photoshop plug-in magic, just qualifies though. It’s an image I captured of the crumbling castle of the infamous Marquis de Sade in France. Known for his, at the time, unusual sexual proclivities—the word “sadism” is taken from his name—the Marquis de Sade holed up at the castle to escape the various scandals that dogged him during his life. Located at the top of a village in the

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Deadline for submissions: July 1, 2018 (Images will appear in our October 2018 issue.)

Go to Shutterbug.com and register. Scroll down the page and on the right side you will see a box for entering your username and your password. If you already have registered and/or submitted images for the Galleries you can skip this step. Respond to the activation e-mail. Registration is free. Use your username and password whenever you visit or, with some systems, it will automatically load for you when you visit Shutterbug.com.

Check the assignment and closing dates in the magazine. When the magazine is printed we will create an appropriate gallery for your images.

Select and prepare your images. There is no limit to how many images you can submit, but keep it to a reasonable amount. We only accept files at a maximum 20MB size, JPEG format. Save the JPEG at a quality level of 10 or higher. Note that file size in your image folder directory will determine upload size, not the “opened” file size, as JPEG compresses at 1:4 at higher quality ratings. If your images do not load it probably means you have exceeded the file size or have not used JPEG format.

Click on the Galleries tab on the homepage. In the Category section use the drop-down menu to select the Picture This! assignment. Note that images are simultaneously loaded into the assignment category as well as your own personal gallery. When the Picture This! assignment deadline date has lapsed the assignment gallery will be removed, but your image will still reside in your own gallery.

In the Description box add title, camera, lens, exposure information, and your full name. Also add any other comments or anecdotes you think relevant. If you submit images with an enhancement through software beyond contrast, exposure, and simple saturation adjustments please indicate the software and “filter” used to attain that effect. We reserve the right to edit comments as needed.

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township of Lacoste, I photographed the castle (or, more accurately, the château) during a trip to France in 2004 with the original Canon Digital Rebel. To add some drama, I recently applied the Dramatic BW 2 preset in Skylum’s Intensify plug-in to the image. It should be noted that the Marquis de Sade’s exile in the Château de Lacoste, as it’s known, didn’t last long. He eventually had to flee to Italy after employees at the château complained of his sexual mistreatment of them. © Dan Havlik

Click the Save button at the bottom of the page to upload the image.

You retain copyright on the image.

We will choose the images after close of the due date.

Please feel free to comment on images submitted by other readers.

PLEASE NOTE: If the photograph includes a minor or a recognizable individual or group you are guaranteeing that you have a signed model release form, and especially a parental or guardian release form for minors. You should keep a copy of that release in your files. Scan that release and keep it handy. If an image is chosen for publication, failure to provide a form when requested will eliminate the image from consideration. You can find release forms at http://asmp.org/ tutorials/model-release-minor-child.html and other resources on the Internet.

By uploading images you attest that the model release form is valid, that any depiction of a person is with their consent, that you have a model release form available on request, and that all images you submit have been made by you. If you have any questions or problems e-mail us at editorial@shutterbug.com with Picture This! in the subject line.

DEADLINE FOR THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT SUBMISSIONS: July 1, 2018. Images will appear in our October 2018 issue.

UPCOMING TOPIC: Shadows DEADLINE: August 1, 2018 PUBLICATION DATE: November 2018 PLEASE NOTE: By submitting you agree to give us the right to show the image(s) on the web and for publication. You give us publication rights in the magazine and on the website(s) of AVTech Media Americas Inc.

WANT TO SEE IMAGES SELECTED FOR PAST PICTURE THIS! ASSIGNMENTS?

Go to Shutterbug.com and click on Picture This! in the “Features” menu at the top of the homepage.

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CREATIVITY / FINAL SHOT A GRITTY LOOK On October 8, 2013, at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Nine Inch Nails delivered a blistering concert complete with a five-song encore.

For Shutterbug reader Tony Brandstetter, part of the magic of that performance was hearing the powerhouse vocals of backup singer Lisa Fischer, who is perhaps best known for touring with The Rolling Stones. During a solo, Brandstetter captured this riveting shot of Fischer belting it out with his Canon PowerShot ELPH 115 IS. Wanting to “recreate the industrial sound of the music,” in postproduction he processed the image in Photoshop and used a Daguerreotype layer.

“The Daguerrotype is a texture,” he explains, “and I placed that texture over the image and adjusted the exposure on the texture—this is to see more or less of that texture on the photo. That faded, spotted texture I think represents the grunge feel of the music.”

We couldn’t agree more.

© Tony Brandstetter Every month we feature an image in Final Shot from Shutterbug’s online Galleries on Shutterbug.com.

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