Photography News issue 46

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Issue 46 17 July – 10 August

news

Behind the scenes at this year’s epic shootout on page 20

Take your best-ever travel shots Expert advice and tips for your trips start on page 29

© Joel Santos/TPOTY

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Big test on Nikon’s latest APS-C format, impressively featured DSLR on page 36

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Canon at the double Two new highly specified models join Canon’s market-leading range of DSLR cameras

Photography News launches its brand new website Big news this month is the unveiling of the EOS 6D Mark II, a 26.2-megapixel full-frame DSLR that replaces the venerable and popular EOS 6D. Just like its predecessor, the EOS 6D Mark II is aimed at photographers who want the benefits of full-frame image quality but in a compact, lightweight form.

The EOS 6D Mark II’s sensor is completely new and works with Canon’s renowned DIGIC 7 image processor. Its native ISO range is

100 to 40,000 with expansion possible to 50 and 102,400.

Aside from the new sensor, the latest version has gained some new features that include an improved continuous shooting speed of 6.5fps, an updated AF system and a variangle, touchscreen monitor.

Priced at £1999 body only, the EOS 6D Mark II will be available this month. Price is £2379 with the EF 24-105mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM and the optional Battery Grip BGE21 is £199.

Canon’s second new camera is the EOS 200D, the world’s lightest DSLR with a vari-angle screen, and is aimed at keen smartphone shooters looking to take the next step up to a fully-featured camera.

This tiny but powerful DSLR will be available in three colours. The black option with the 18-55mm DC zoom has a guide price of £679 and is available from this month. canon.co.uk continue reading on page 3

Photography News has a new online home! As well as getting your printed copy from your local camera retailer, or getting one delivered directly, you can now read the digital edition on Photography News’ very own website.

Head over to photographynews.co.uk to register. Once registered you can read PN online, keep up with the latest news and enter our contests with great prizes to be won.

See page 5 for more

Photography News | Issue 46 | absolutephoto.com

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Photography News | Issue 46 | absolutephoto.com

News continued from cover story

Canon at the double The original EOS 6D was announced five years ago so an updated model was due – and here it is. The EOS 6D Mark II features a new sensor, Canon’s Dual Pixel AF system and an increased continuous shooting rate, so it looks as though the wait has been worthwhile.

At the EOS 6D Mark II’s heart is a brand new CMOS sensor boasting a resolution of 26.2 megapixels, which works with Canon’s DIGIC 7 image processor. The combination is said to give exceptional exposure latitude to help get maximum detail in bright conditions. The native ISO range is 100 to 40,000 and this can be expanded up to H2 ISO 102,400 at the top end and 50 at the lower.

The DIGIC 7 processing skills, working with the Dual Pixel AF system, help to give accurate focus tracking of moving subjects and, together with the EOS 6D Mark II’s

6.5fps continuous shooting speed, mean that this camera is better suited to action photography than its predecessor.

Autofocusing is handled by Canon’s tried and tested Dual Pixel CMOS AF technology. In this system, pixels covering about 80% of the image area on the sensor comprise individual photo diodes, left and right.

To achieve accurate AF, the camera compares the images of both diodes and if they are different (ie. not in phase) the lens is instructed to make adjustments until they look the same, to give sharp focus. Single AF point, auto 45 point and various zone AF options are available so most needs are catered for, and AF point selection can be done via the touchscreen. There is a maximum of 63 AF points in a 9x7 grid via the optical viewfinder.

Priced at £1999 body only, the EOS 6D Mark II is Canon’s lowest priced

DSLR for would-be full-frame owners and it certainly has a lot going for it at this price point. It will be in the shops this July.

While the EOS 6D Mark II is targeted at first-time full-frame buyers, its companion the EOS 200D is aimed at those keen shooters currently using a camera phone and contemplating a move to a ‘proper’ capture device.

It’s an APS-C format DSLR with a 24.2-megapixel resolution from its CMOS sensor, and is all packed into a really compact body. The DIGIC 7 processor makes another appearance in this camera, and again, Dual Pixel CMOS AF technology is deployed.

A 3in vari-angle monitor, Wi-Fi, optical viewfinder and a nine-point AF system are other highlights.

The EOS 200D body is priced at £579 and will available in the shops this July.

Hands on

David Parry Product intelligence professional So what is the thinking behind the new Canon EOS 6D Mark II, and why now, five years after the original EOS 6D was announced?

Firstly, there is no set rule on when new cameras are introduced. Lower down the line, cameras seem to move more quickly and higher up the line products move more slowly. To be fair, the EOS 6D is still a good camera even today and the image quality is very good, but things have changed, so the gap is probably longer than usual.

We know there are a lot of people looking to step up on their photography, wanting full-frame pictures.

It used to be for professional and semi-pros because of cost, but full-frame is more achievable now than before.

I know this because I spoke to a lot of people at The Photography Show and spend a lot of time talking to people on social media, and one of the biggest questions we get is ‘should I step up to full-frame and will I see a difference?’

Once you have shot full-frame it is really hard to go back, and once people realise the benefits, people will want to step up.

What do you think are the main highlights of the Canon EOS 6D Mark II from a keen photographer’s point of view?

I’ve always loved the original EOS 6D. I thought the larger, full-frame cameras were heavy but the EOS 6D, with its light weight, meant it was ideal for carrying around for landscape photography.

But what really struck me on the EOS 6D was its low-light capability. It was fantastic in low light, not just its AF down to -3EV but also the high ISOs you could go to and still return good image quality.

Now with the EOS 6D Mark II, I am dying to see how good the new sensor is – I have only seen preproduction models so I haven’t seen what image quality is like yet. I think being able to push the boundaries of where you can shoot is very exciting and having this new sensor is the key to the EOS 6D Mark II. We are not expecting people to use the camera at ISO 40,000 every day but what this does tell you is that the more usual ISOs are even more usable.

Will Cheung, Photography News editor

One thing I saw in the EOS 6D Mark II presentation is the emphasis on AF performance at f/8. Why is this? Are there that many people shooting at f/8?

It was something we were asked for years and years ago. It doesn’t really affect Canon lenses but we know a lot of our owners use third-party lenses and we are happy to show we are not cutting these people out.

The EOS 6D Mark II is ‘dust and drip resistant’ when other brands use ‘dust and weather resistant’.

Why is this?

None of our cameras are what people call weathersealed. The reason is: take the lens off and there is a big hole on the front. So how good the camera is at keeping out weather depends on the lens on the front. It means we can’t quote a figure on how weather resistant a camera is because it depends on the lens.

We did try it back on the EOS 50D. We said it could survive light rain for 15 minutes – but is that light rain here in the UK or light rain in Asia?

There are also so many variables, and while we are happy to talk about seals and grommets on our camera bodies we have stayed clear of quoting weather resistance figures.

However, people should have confidence in our products because a lot of them are used by professionals and we know they are robust; they are tough machines and most are tools for doing jobs, often in wet and dusty environments.

The sample EOS 6D Mark II that I got to handle was fully working but preproduction, so I was not allowed to load an SD card to take any pictures.

At first glance there is little cosmetic difference between the this model and its predecessor in terms of layout. A longer look reveals an extra button on the front and a vari-angle monitor.

I’m a big fan of vari-angle monitors and the EOS 6D Mark II's is a fine example; the provided bright viewing image makes composing low-down or above the head shots a cinch, and the monitor also features touchscreen functionality.

In the hand, the body has a solid feel and its controls have a positive action.

Of course, this is a full-frame DSLR and in that context its body is compact and respectably lightweight. Its dust- and drip-resistant build should ensure a reliable performance even in challenging conditions.

The EOS 6D Mark II’s AF system is the same as that found in the EOS 80D, a camera I have tested and found to be impressive, with swift focusing and ability to track moving subjects. Fitted with a 24-105mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM, the EOS 6D Mark II’s AF was speedy, responsive and accurate. Tracking on this early sample was good but was only with people walking across the room.

The viewfinder is an optical one and the image provided is bright and contrasty, with camera setting information aligned across the bottom. Layout is typically Canon and will be familiar to existing users.

The same can be said of the camera’s menu structure. In fact, consistent menu layout across its cameras, whether mirrorless or DSLR, is one aspect of design Canon makes a great deal of.

I didn’t have long with the EOS 6D Mark II and there is only so much one can glean from a pre-production camera that you can’t shoot pictures with, but there is no doubt that the new camera has great potential for aspiring full-frame photographers. Much of the EOS 6D Mark II is existing Canon technology (the AF, exposure and white-balance systems, DIGIC 7 and so forth) but the most crucial aspect is the exciting new sensor with its claimed wide exposure latitude capability. We look forward to testing the camera in Photography News soon.

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News

Sigma range Lee offers new NDs grows by two Lee Filters’ ProGlass IRND filters, made for the film industry, are now available to discerning stills photographers. They are available in a range of strengths: 0.6ND (2EV), 0.9ND (3EV), 1.2ND (4EV), and 1.8ND (6EV). Extreme strengths are available on offer; for ultra-long exposures go for the 3.0 (10EV) and 4.5ND (15EV).

These filters are 2mm made from optically flat glass to highly accurate filter values and all strengths are designed to be free of colour casts so filter to filter consistency is

LandscapePro 2 launched

After

Before LandscapePro 2 is an intelligent software aimed at outdoor photographers who want to make the most of their shots but either don’t have the editing skills or the time to sit in front of a computer. V2 retains key features of V1 so you have sky replacement and photo adaptive controls but now there are improved selection brushes, 2D and 3D lighting brushes and an expanded sky library.

Ease of use is key to this software.

It features one-click presets for instant improvements and sliders offer more control.

Three versions are available. The standard LandscapePro costs £29.95 while the Studio version is £49.95 and the Studio Max edition £99.95.

Go to the web address below to download a demo version of this exciting software. landscapepro.pics/download/

guaranteed to assist a fast workflow.

They are also coated to block infrared and ultraviolet radiation to ensure clean blacks, midtones and whites free of colour casts. As with the Stopper range, the stronger Pro-Glass IRND filters have foam gaskets to prevent light leaks during very long exposures.

The ProGlass IRND filters are available for the Seven5 system, 100mm system and SW150 system; priced £148, £180, £415 respectively.

A Solar Eclipse filter has also been introduced by Lee. It reduces

incoming light by around 20EV and is designed for use during the partial stages of an eclipse – it is removed for shooting totality. This filter is not designed for usual extreme long exposure shooting as the results will be very blue in colour. Any blueness in solar eclipse images can be corrected in processing.

This specialist filter is also on offer in the Seven5 system, 100mm and SW150 systems costing £72.60, £106.92 and £136.15 respectively. leefilters.com

Two zooms from Tamron Tamron has introduced two zooms, one aimed at full-frame photographers and one for APS-C owners; and that’s where we’ll start.

The Tamron 18-400mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC HLD is a 22.2x superzoom that stretches all the way to 400mm – an effective 600mm with 1.5x crop factor cameras. What’s more, the enormous zoom range is available in compact bodyform making it perfect as a carry everywhere lens.

Optical construction comprises 16 elements in 11 groups and Tamron’s HLD (High/ Low torque modulated Drive) motor gives speedy, accurate and quiet autofocusing. Minimum object distance (the distance to the front element) is 45cm giving a maximum magnification ratio of 1:2.9. Filter size is 72mm.

The Tamron SP 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2 is a top-quality zoom that is fullframe compatible.

It boasts an advanced optical construction of 17 elements in 12 groups features high tech glass that includes three LD, two XR (extra refractive) and three GM (glass moulded aspherical) elements. This arrangement of top-quality glass minimises aberrations and ensures superior optical performance from a

compact lens. The body itself features a locking lens hood, a fluorine coated front element, eBAND coating to reduce flare and a moisture resistant construction while autofocus is handled by Tamron’s USD technology with a new Dual MPU (Micro Processing Units) system to give rapid and accurate AF. The superzoom will be available in Canon and Nikon fits and is attractively priced at £649 with availability from this month.

Availability of the 24-70mm f/2.8 is from this July in Canon and Nikon settings priced at £1249.

Intro2020.co.uk

Sigma’s Art lens collection has two new family members aimed at fullframe users. The 24-70mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM is a top-end standard zoom and the fourth generation of this focal length range offers much more than a leading optical performance from current high-megapixel DSLRs. Its optical construction features three SLD (Super Low Dispersion) glass elements and four aspherical elements to minimize lens flaws including coma and chromatic aberration and give excellent acrossthe-frame sharpness.

The lens features Sigma’s renowned Optical Stabilizer technology and HSM for fast, silent autofocusing with the option of fulltime manual override.

Lens construction includes seals to prevent dust and moisture intrusion, and the front lens elements features a water and dust-repellent coating.

Both help to give reliable performance in challenging conditions.

This standard zoom is priced at

£1399.99 and will be available this July in Canon, Nikon and Sigma fittings.

The second lens sets new standards in the ultra-wide-angle category and is the seventh prime lens in the Art line. The Sigma 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM is priced at £1679.99 with Canon and Sigma mounts available now and the Nikon version towards the end of July.

An ultra-wide lens of this speed makes it ideal for many subjects including landscape but also more specialist subjects like astro photography where such a fast aperture allows a relatively low ISO. Outstanding across-the-frame image quality is delivered thanks to three FLD and four SLD elements while the inclusion of a large 80mm moulded glass aspherical lens element helps provide the lens’s wide aperture. This element also helps to deliver minimal distortion and great centre-to-edge sharpness. sigma-imaging-uk.com

Photography News: brand new website!

The Photography News website is now up and running so head over to photographynews.co.uk to check out the latest photo news, get advice and tips, read exciting interviews and more. It is free to register. If you have previously registered on absolutephoto.com you will need to create a new account because existing log in details will not work.

Once registered, members can access exclusive content and find out about events such as Photo 24 and other photo contests with great prizes to be won.

To celebrate our launch we’ve teamed up with Olympus to give you the chance to win an OM-D E-M10 Mark II, plus 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 pancake lens. To enter,

visit photographynews.co.uk/ win, click on the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II competition, fill in the form and sign up to our newsletter. You’ll be entered into the competition and receive the new issue of Photography News direct to your inbox, as well as receive information on exciting news and giveaways. The competition closes on 16 August 2017.

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Photography News | Issue 46 | absolutephoto.com

News

Gearing up with Novo Novo might be a fairly new name in the world of photo accessories but its range is growing quickly. First up is a range of Excel Advanced filters that includes Pro NDs, circular polarisers and UV protection filters.

The UV filters are made from ‘Super White’ Schott glass and feature 12 anti-reflective coatings and come in ultra slimline mounts. Sizes from 40.5 to 86mm are available – the 77mm version costs £24.90. The same size range is on offer with the new collection of circular polarizers.

Made from the same brand of glass, these pola filters have a light loss of 1.3EV, have scratch, water and oil resistant qualities and come in a frame just 7mm thick. The 77mm version costs £44.90.

The third filter announced is an ND 8-2000 Variable ND filter and this is 77mm fit only, costing £79.90.

This filter has the build quality of the other Excel filters but here you have an infinitely variable amount of neutral density within the ND8

News in brief

to ND2000 range. The degree of density is controlled by adjusting the front filter ring.

For the ultimate protection of your expensive kit, consider a hard case like these models from Novo.

Five sizes are available, starting from the Novo Dura 100 that measures 37.7x29.9x13.9cm and costing £79 and going up to Dura 500 that weighs 9kg and measures 63.4x50.3x31cm – this largest model sells at £279.

All Dura models feature an ABS hard shell, contoured rubberised handles and a new click-lock system that allows single-handed use.

There is also an auto pressurised air valve release. The last Novo accessory announced this month is the MVS-01 Monopod Stand/Feet is a universal three-legged stand that fits directly on a monopod to add greater stability to monopod shooting. This is priced at £24.90.

Bag a Billingham Billingham’s reputation for quality bags is second to none.

New to the range is Hadley One as well as a range of premium travel and overnight bags.

Made from weather-proof FibreNyte canvas with leather trim, this bag looks great and has a rugged build. It's priced at £285, has a capacity of 8.75l and weighs 1.38kg. With three pockets and two dump pockets the Hadley One suits DSLR and mirrorless camera use and has space for a 13in laptop. billingham.co.uk

novo-photo.com

SRB adds a 6EV ND Save with On-line

SRB has introduced a 6EV ND filter to its range of filters specifically designed for its Elite Filter Holder.

It screws into the centre thread of the Elite holder to eliminate any light seepage while in use without the need for a foam gasket.

This also keeps the other slots empty so other filters such as grads can be used at the same time.

The 6EV ND costs £29.95.

On-line Paper Company’s online catalogue can save you up to 60% off manufacturer guide prices and its range now covers arguably the largest range of digital inkjet paper in one place.

One of its hottest summer promotions gives you the chance to try Canson’s Infinity 340gsm Baryta Prestige, TIPA’s current Best Inkjet Paper Award winner, at 20% off normal prices.

There are also great deals on the top sellers from Hahnemuhle, Permajet, Ilford, Fujifilm and Fotospeed as well as the more specialist papers like

srb-photographic.co.uk

Photography News has teamed up with expert photo printers LumeJet to bring you the chance of seeing your favourite photographs produced as a glorious L.Type print. Win this free to enter contest and you will have £200 to spend on L.Type prints from the LumeJet website.

L.Type by LumeJet is the latest step in the company’s development and represents the culmination of over 15 years of research into silver halide. LumeJet has always been passionate about printing beautiful photography and now with L.Type the fusion of classic analogue silver halide materials, cutting– edge digital print technology and super-accurate colour management enables the faithful replication of a

photographic vision with hitherto unseen precision and sensitivity.

To be in with the chance of winning £200 worth of L.Type print all you have to do is enter your best travel picture. Travel can be home or abroad, and subject matter can be scenic, people or even wildlife.

One entry is permitted and UK only residents can enter. Judging will be done by PN’s editor and the closing date is midnight 7 August 2017.

Last month’s contest for best family image was won by Chris White.

To enter upload your image to flickr.com/groups/pntravel/ lumejet.com

© Will Cheung

Shoot travel and win

Somerset Enhanced and the legendary 300gsm 100% cotton Museo Silver Rag which emulates the looks and feel of traditional darkroom materials.

For free postage on all UK orders until 31 August quote PN46 at the checkout. on-linepaper.co.uk

Zeiss hits ten Zeiss has added a tenth lens to its Milvus range. The 35mm f/1.4 is a full-frame lens available in Canon and Nikon fit at £1699. It features a new optical design that is claimed to be free of chromatic aberrations and deliver a high class performance even at maximum aperture.

Zeiss.com

3 Legged Thing gets a grip The QR11 L-grip is available in Copper or Grey priced at £49.99.

It's Arca-Swiss compatible and makes switching from upright to horizontal shooting a cinch.

It can also be disassembled quickly and stored flat for easy transport.

3leggedthing.com

Manfrotto’s new bags Manfrotto’s new range of Pro Light Bumblebee camera bags is designed for pro and enthusiast shooters. Two backpacks and two messenger bags are included in the range.

Prices start from £109.95. manfrotto.co.uk

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Photography News | Issue 46 | absolutephoto.com

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Photography News | Issue 46 | absolutephoto.com

News

Make history

News in brief

The Historic Photographer of the Year Awards is open to amateur and professional photographers around the world. The Awards have been launched to celebrate and capture the very best historic places and cultural sites across the globe, from the most famous national treasures to the most obscure hidden gems.

Judging will be by a panel of experts including broadcaster and historian Dan Snow, All About History magazine editor-in-chief James Hoare and David Gilbert, chair of Creative United. Commenting on the awards, Dan Snow said: “All of us on the panel of judges want to be wowed! We want to see images that astonish, evoke emotion and inspire people to visit new, exciting and fascinating places, not just in the UK but all over the world.”

Entries will be judged on originality, composition and technical proficiency alongside the story behind the image and its historical impact.

First prize is worth £2500.

For details and entry please visit the website.

After

Before Macphun Neptune Macphun image editing software Luminar is updated; the new version is called Neptune and includes the innovative Accent AI filter which uses artificial intelligence to assess different scenes on structure, objects, colours, tonal range and other parameters. The filter automatically ‘understands’ what the image is lacking and improves it. Cost for new users is £55 and £46 for anyone who owns Macphun software. macphun.com/luminar

photographer.triphistoric.com

fotospeed.com

Drone time The Royal Photographic Society North Wales region is hosting two major talks this autumn and tickets are on sale now.

How to cheat in Photoshop with Steve Caplin takes place on 16 September at the Electric Mountain Visitor Centre, Llanberis. Tickets costs £16 for non-members and £12 for members.

On 25 November, there is the opportunity to spend an afternoon with leading landscaper Joe Cornish. His talk takes place at the Catrin Finch Centre at Glyndwr

© Steve Caplin

Join leading inkjet media brand Fotospeed for its second FotoFest taking place on 10 September.

Four top photographers – Martin Hartley, Paul Sanders, Ben Hall and Colin Prior – will be talking about their experiences producing brilliant images in challenging weathers and difficult conditions.

Martin Hartley is an adventure travel photographer and he will talk about his quest to photograph the Arctic Ocean. Ben Hall is a renowned multi-award-winning wildlife photographer and his talk is a behind-the-scenes look at his best work. Paul Sanders and Colin Prior are expert landscapers offering talks entitled Time, Space and Connection and The Living Mountain respectively.

Visitors are certain to be inspired and learn from these four image-makers.

Visitors will also have the chance to get hands on the latest gear from brands including Canon, Lee Filters and Datacolor, so Foto Fest will be a great day well worth attending.

Foto Fest takes place at The Edge at the University of Bath starting at 9.15am and finishing at 5.15pm. Tickets cost £45 with free tea and coffee available all day and free on-site parking at the venue.

Exhibition news © Joe Cornish

FotoFest 2017

University, Mold Road, Wrexham.

Tickets costs £16 for non-members and £12 for members. rps.org

Claim your free five 8x6in prints ProAm Imaging is renowned for its award winning quality and service – it has won Best Lab for the last four years in the SWPP Awards – and amazing prices. For example, an A3 Fujifilm print is only £1.15 or an A4 print for just 60p. You can try ProAm Imaging for yourself and order five free 8x6in prints with free

return postage. All you have to do is simply register on ProAm’s website and upload your files. Most UK work is sent out via FedEx delivery the next working day. Also check out prophotoprints.co.uk for poster size enlargements. proamimaging.com

Drone Photography and Video Masterclass by Fergus Kennedy will help you exploit this exciting subject with advice on how you can legally, confidently and expertly take to the air. The author goes into all the essential technical skills for capturing great images but it is also packed with inspirational shots from around the world, from an erupting volcano to stunning panoramas of the British coastline.

Published by the Ammonite Press and with a cover price of £16.99

Full-frame into mediumformat does go Laowa has announced a lens adaptor that allows full-frame Canon/Nikon lenses to be used with the Fujifilm GFX system. The Magic Format Converter features a patented optics system to expand the image circle to cover the larger format without vignetting and to maintain the optical quality of the attached lens. The lens focal length is multiplied by 1.4x and there is a light loss of 1EV. Its price to be confirmed and availability is soon. ukdigital.co.uk

Panoramas the easy way Manfrotto's PIXI Pano360 minipod will help you shoot shake-free panoramas and time-lapse sequences with your smartphone, action cam and DSLR. It is a compact unit and the head gives 360° coverage that can be controlled with a remote control or the dedicated, easyto-use app. The PIXI Pano360 is priced at £124.95. manfrotto.co.uk

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Photography News | Issue 46 | absolutephoto.com

News

Photo 24: as it happened This year’s 24 hour photography extravaganza lit up the streets of London; here’s how it unfolded Written by Kingsley Singleton

© Adam Duckworth

This year’s Photo 24 was a massive success, with more than 250 photographers attending the Fujifilm-sponsored marathon of creativity and exploration. The key to this unique get-together was the chance to shoot from noon on 1 July to noon the next day, and enjoy all the photo opportunities London could provide with like-minded ’togs. Whether Photo 24-ers chose to sneak shut-eye in that time was up to them, but anyone completing the day and making it back to the final meeting would have a big achievement, a host of great images and a commemorative T-shirt to look forward to.

The day kicked off at The National Gallery, where attendees were given an introduction by PN Editor, Will, and received information about the day, including exclusive special events and photo contests to compete in. Photography News’ staff were also introduced to the crowd; on hand to help photographers throughout the 24 hours, they were kitted out in vibrant lime-green Photo 24 t-shirts, visible in the dark. And from space, probably.

At 1pm, focus shifted to Camden, where the first of the Fujifilm Stations was set. There, at the historic Arlington building, photographers could loan out swanky X-series gear, or try the coveted GFX 50S.

Day 1: 4pm

Day 1: 8pm

Day 1: 12 noon

Day 1: 6pm

Images, clockwise from above Spanning 24 hours in the capital, Photo 24 gave photographers the perfect opportunity to get creative in a variety of city situations. The day started at The National Gallery, and before midnight had taken in Camden, South Bank, the O2, the London Eye and more.

Day 1: 8pm

Anyone completing the day and making it back to the final meeting would have a big achievement, a host of great images and a commemorative T-shirt

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News Day 1: 10pm

Above Will surveys the view from the top of the O2 which photographers had scaled for lowlight cityscapes.

Day 2: 12 Midnight

Day 2: 2am

Right For low-light opportunities like the photo walk and bus tour, tripods were essential.

It was Camden that also saw the first of the day’s photo walks with Fujifilm ambassador, street specialist Derek Clark. Derek led photographers around Camden Market with his X100F, showcasing vibrant culture and great opportunities for candids.

From 6pm, the Fujifilm Station switched to the Marriott County Hall Hotel on South Bank, another historic spot with quick access to London’s most iconic monuments.

What’s more, the second of Fujifilm’s ambassadors for the day, Matt Hart, led another photo walk down South Bank.

Overnight, there were trips on the London Eye and the Up at The O2 Experience. Another photo walk kicked off at 11pm, featuring Matt Hart and PN crew members increasingly fuelled by caffeine.

Starting at Liverpool St and winding through the canyons of the City, there were low-light opportunities aplenty, including the Lloyd’s Building. For Day 2: 4am

Above Throughout the night, the streets of London were packed with eager photographers, getting creative with long exposures.

Right By 8am, the action had moved to a boat trip, taking in memorable landmarks.

Photo 24 powered by Fujifilm

Day 2: 8am

Day 2: 12 noon

Above Photo 24 ended with Will thanking all those who made it through. overnight refuge, the County Hall location stayed open, courageously staffed by PN’s Adam Duckworth, who kept flagging photographers’ spirits up with fresh anecdotes and motivational coffee. Or was it the other way around? It was tough to tell at that stage, but we soldiered on.

From 2am, photographers had the chance to shoot two classic Routemaster buses in front of London landmarks, and by 6am, the last PN member standing was Roger Payne, thousand-yard stare in full residence. Fortunately for Roger, 8am saw a relaxing boat ride up the Thames, after which Photo 24 reached its crescendo with a rousing sign off from Will (who’d slept like a baby from 4am to 9am).

We’d like to say thanks to everyone who attended, and special congratulations to those who made it through the whole 24 hours.

Several creative challenges were set throughout the day. To see the fruits of those, just check next month’s PN.

Huge thanks to Photo 24’s sponsors, Fujifilm, which helped to make the day a huge success, as well as giving the 250-plus attendees some very special perks along the way.

Fujifilm’s technical experts were on hand at three different venues across London during the 24 hours, and there photographers could try out the latest cameras in the award-winning X-series.

Attendees could take cameras out for a spin in the capital, as well as shooting with some of the classiest glass to see what’s so appealing about Fujifilm’s range.

Models available to try out included the brilliant X-Pro2 and X-T2, both featuring classleading image quality thanks to their latest generation 24.3-megapixel X-Trans III CMOS sensors. And a special treat came with hands-on access to the ground-breaking GFX 50S medium-format body and lenses, both of which received lots of praise from attendees.

There was also the small matter of the Photo 24 treasure hunt prize, £1500 worth of kit from Fujifilm. For this delegates has to shoot 14 specially selected landmarks within the 24-hour period.

A great prize for a great contest. What’s more, Fujifilm X-Photographers, Derek Clark and Matt Hart flew in to provide photo walks and advice on how to get the best from the X-series cameras, so thanks for their expertise, too.

Fujifilm.co.uk

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Photography News | Issue 46 | absolutephoto.com

Tell us your club’s latest news, email: clubnews@photography-news.co.uk

Clubs

Camera club news If your club has any news that you want to share with the rest of the world, this is the page for it. Your story might be about your club’s success in a contest, or a member’s personal achievements; it could be about a group outing you had recently or when the annual exhibition is on show. Any news is eligible for inclusion, so club publicity officers please take note of the submission guidelines and get your stories in

How to submit

Deadline for the next issue: 31 July 2017

We need words and pictures by 31 July 2017 for the next issue of Photography News, which will be available from 14 August 2017. Write your story in a Word document (400 words max). Please include contact details of the club, exhibition or event: website, meeting times, opening times, whatever is relevant. Images should be JPEGs, 2000 pixels on the longest dimension, any colour space, and image credits should be included. If the story is an exhibition or event, please send a picture from the exhibition (not the publicity poster) or one from the event. If it includes people, please identify them.

Attach the Word document and JPEGs to an email and send to clubnews@photography-news.co.uk

© Rita Daubeney

Honour for Guildford PS member Congratulations to Guildford Photographic Society member Rita Daubeney, who has gained the Artiste Federation Internationale de L’Art Photographique (AFIAP) award which is based on the number of acceptances the candidate has obtained in international salons with FIAP patronage. For this Rita had to achieve 45 acceptances in 15 photographic salons in eight countries. guildfordphotosoc.org.uk

Settle Photographic Group annual exhibition Settle Photographic Group’s 9th annual exhibition will be held in Clapham Village Hall, North Yorkshire over the Bank Holiday weekend from Saturday 26 August to Monday 28 August, 10am to 5pm. Entry is free and refreshments are available. The Photographic Group currently has members from

Border The Border Monochrome Camera Club (BMCC) is holding its annual summer exhibition at the Burton Hotel in Kington. The BMCC is the oldest camera club in the United Kingdom dedicated to monochrome work and was formed in 1976. This year’s exhibition is Borders Heritage, highlighting the diverse range of attractions unique to the Welsh Borders. It comprises 48 of the best black & white photographs from their members.

Please come along and vote on the work for a chance to win your own mounted print from the exhibition. It is open till 2 September and entry is free. bordermonochrome.co.uk

all over the district, from Ingleton to Long Preston, from Rathmell to Horton and all points in between.

Come and enjoy the exhibition, vote for your favourite picture and then have a look at the wonders of the Clapham area. settlephotos.org

Accrington exhibition Accrington Camera Club’s annual exhibition runs until 30 July. On display will be prints and PDIs, many of which are award winners or commended from the club’s annual competition.

The exhibition is at Haworth Art Gallery, Hollins Lane, Accrington, Lancs BB5 2JS – also home to the largest public Tiffany glass collection in Europe. Open 12 noon to 4.45pm Tuesday to Friday, and 12 noon to 4.15pm Saturday and Sunday. Free entry and parking. accringtoncameraclub. org.uk

Photography News | Issue 46 | absolutephoto.com

Photography News | Issue 46 | absolutephoto.com

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Interview Pro focus

Work in progress Three years ago Brighton-based photographer Adam Bronkhorst landed a commission to shoot portraits of local working people and his project has now turned into a valuable social document Words by Terry Hope Pictures by Adam Bronkhorst Some of the best long-term projects have originated with a quirk of fate, and little did Adam Bronkhorst realise, when he first received a commission from Viva Brighton magazine to produce regular monthly portraits of working people around the town, that he’d still be working on the commission nearly three years later. What’s built up since then is a comprehensive selection of images that serve as a social document of businesses, both mainstream and quirky, that are plying their trade in this area at this moment in time. The series of images is something that’s fascinating to look through now, but will go on to have even more value in the future.

“I’d been shooting for the magazine for a year or so before the series came about,” says Adam.

“They have a sister publication, Viva Lewes magazine, and they were doing a similar thing, so when Viva Brighton changed its format to become slightly bigger, they thought they would carry the idea across.

And I’m so glad that they did, as I’ve got to meet so many great people over the past two-and-a-half years or so – 150 now and counting – and I love doing the shoot every month.”

After all this time the series has taken on a life of its own, and Adam has turned his camera on a wide variety of local business people, from those working in the technology industry through to design agencies, media companies, gymnasiums, local performers, bread makers, artists and so on. The list goes on, and the challenge over time has

been to adapt the approach to suit the individual and to constantly come up with new angles, so that the work doesn’t become formulaic in any way. It’s not been easy, but Adam relishes the challenge and he’s managed to come up with a surprising amount of variety throughout the project, even when he’s had to work within parameters, such as a regular office space, that could have proved limiting.

Still progressing No final figure has been set in terms of how long the series might run. In theory, it could pretty much go on forever, since there is a seemingly endless stream of professions, hobbies and subjects to focus on, but even if it were to come to a close anytime soon, there would still be a strong and detailed body of work that would serve to tell the story of the working people of Brighton at this time.

“Personally, I’d love it to continue indefinitely,” says Adam. “I’m finding that it’s a great way of documenting the people of Brighton and Hove, and it’s a great snapshot of how we work and what we do, so hopefully, in years to come, we’ll look back on it as a great resource.”

Making the shot Because every shoot is different, there is no one set approach that always works, but generally Adam likes to travel light, so he usually takes a single Billingham bag with just his Nikon D800 and a selection of prime lenses. “I’ll also carry one

flash and a trigger if I need to light something,” he explains, “but as we’re usually darting all across the city, it’s much easier to work with available light, unless the idea is to make a particular shoot all about flash, like I did when I was covering performers one month. On this occasion I tried to tell a story with each shot, and I set up different situations with a variety of coloured lighting, so that the results were like film stills. On another occasion I was producing a portrait of some tattoo artists, and I used flash to make them look like something out of a Rembrandt painting.

“I like to get close to people, so I’m usually shooting on a 24mm, a 35mm or my beloved 50mm f/1.8 lens, which I got in Singapore for £60 while on honeymoon in 2005.

It’s the ultimate nifty fifty, but it’s just so light and good at what it does that I wouldn’t be without it.”

Adam is very open to inspiration, and for that reason, although he’ll think about how to tackle a particular shoot a few days in advance, he tries not to have too fixed an idea in mind. “I’ll usually find that the first shoot of the day sets the tone and ideas for the rest of that set,” he says. “So I’ll usually take a cue from the environment or the theme that month. I do use props sometimes, as I did for a portrait of home brewers where I wanted to have them all holding their products, but I’ll usually try and show what people do, so you can see from the image what their story or profession is.”

With the project maturing nicely Adam has turned his thoughts to doing something substantial with the work, but nothing is set in stone yet. Exhibitions can be expensive to mount and a book would be on the back burner until there’s more idea how long the series might run. “I’d love people outside of Brighton and Hove to see the project,” says Adam, “In the meantime, however, I’m content to upload the images every month to my website and people can go there to see what I’m up to and to have a look. And it’s been great to see the project evolving over the past two-and-a-half years.”

Images Food van owners, selling anything from ice cream to Bratwurst, form part of Adam’s project on the working people of Brighton and Hove.

Professional Photo This article first appeared in issue 134 of Professional Photo, on sale now. It’s packed with inspiring images and tips for aspiring pros and those already making a living. absolutephoto.com

adambronkhorst.com

You’ll find more insight in the latest Professional Photo – the UK’s best magazine for full-time and aspiring pro photographers

Photography News | Issue 46 | absolutephoto.com

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Photography News Issue 46 absolutephoto.com

Interview Terry Fuller

We catch up with Terry Fuller, CIWEM’s chief executive, on one of the fastest growing photo contests and one that is aiming to make a difference

© Bolucevschi Vitali Nicolai

Environmental Photographer of the Year Interview by Will Cheung Please give our readers an insight into CIWEM and its connection with EPOTY. Few readers will know about CIWEM so what is this organisation all about and what is your role within it?

The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) is the institution of choice for water and environmental professionals. We are a vibrant, creative and dynamic organisation with bold ambitions for growth to support our aim, which is to nurture a safer sustainable world and our mission, which is to build a global community of professionals dedicated to serving the public. As CIWEM’s chief executive, I am responsible for the delivery of the institution’s strategic aims, its services to members and the public interest.

How did CIWEM get involved with EPOTY and what is your personal involvement with the contest?

CIWEM’s EPOTY competition was the creation of the late Nick Reeves OBE, the chief executvie of CIWEM from 1998 to 2013. Nick was a tireless advocate for the environment and also had a lifelong interest in the arts. The EPOTY competition brought his two passions together and enables CIWEM to communicate humankind’s fragile relationship with our environment to an international audience. Since it began, I have been awestruck by the stunning, engaging and challenging images submitted every year and I am very excited, as CIWEM’s current Chief Executive, to continue to grow the © Sudipto Das

Above Talking about stars by Bolucevschi Vitali Nicolai, winner in 2009.

Left Hard world by Sudipto Das, winner in 2007.

competition into its next decade and cultivate the legacy left

by Nick.

How long has EPOTY been going and what was the thinking behind its original launch?

This year we are celebrating EPOTY’s 10th anniversary and have just announced the 2017 esteemed judging panel, including Stephen Fry, Ben Fogle and Steve Backshall. The competition plays a vital role in enhancing our understanding of the causes, consequences and solutions to our most pressing global environmental problems, and is now one of the fastest growing photographic competitions in the world.

Since its inception are you happy with the contest’s progress and do you think it has fulfilled its original objectives?

Absolutely. The competition has grown to a renowned international photographic competition that engages photographers of all ages, providing an opportunity for environmental champions to share images with international audiences.

Viewing the images from the past 10 years together gives a unique view on humanity’s relationship with nature and the scale of the impact human development has had on our environment. Attracting 60,000 entries since its inception in 2007, every single image depicts an individual story and their collective impact truly inspires stewardship of the environment.

The wealth of themes portrayed not only communicates the intricate links humans have with the environment but also the

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Photography News Issue 46 absolutephoto.com

Interview © Chan Kwok Hung

Has the competition grown much since its launch? What sort of entry numbers did you achieve last year compared with its launch year, and are you expecting the same level of response in 2017?

It has grown phenomenally fast. Last year we received over 10,000 entries, compared with a few hundred in our launch year. We are certainly expecting similar numbers in 2017.

How are you evolving the contest in terms of the categories?

This year we have included a mobile phone category for the first time, as we have recognised that not all photographs are taken with a traditional camera. We are really interested to see how this category evolves and the types of images submitted.

In which categories are you keen to attract greater numbers?

I would like to see our young EPOTY category continue to grow.

We already attract a fantastic number of very talented young people to the competition but it would be wonderful to attract

Above Homeless by Chan Kwok Hung, winner in 2011.

Below Gone with dust by Michele Palazzi, winner in 2012.

© Michele Palazzi

innovative ways individuals and communities have responded to a changing environment, inspiring others to overcome the challenges to live sustainably.

There is no doubt that EPOTY has influenced CIWEM’s own internal motivations and direction of travel. We have surrounded ourselves with images from the competition by displaying them within our staff offices. Whether directly or subliminally, this has had a real impact on CIWEM’s activities.

For example, we have seen many images over the years depicting the issue of urban flooding and latest statistics indicate that by 2060, more than a billion people will be at risk of catastrophic urban flooding. It is very difficult to ignore this fact, especially alongside some of the most powerful and thought provoking images from across the world.

even more. CIWEM is dedicated to meeting the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, core to this is working together across the planet to improve life, in a sustainable way, for future generations. I hope by engaging young people in the competition we will not only give them a voice to highlight those issues most pressing to humankind, but to inspire new audiences of all ages to take care of our environment.

One big evolution is that you are using celebrity judges like Stephen Fry, Christine Lampard and Ben Fogle. What was the thinking behind that decision and what sort of positive benefit are you expecting?

The huge success of EPOTY has enabled us to attract people of high influence. Our judges such as Stephen Fry, Ben Fogle and Steve Backshall are all willing to get involved and champion the cause. These people are not environmentalists in the traditional sense but are now environmental champions working with organisations like CIWEM. The judges are actively engaged with and supportive of EPOTY. Words from Stephen Fry demonstrate this perfectly, “This excellent competition encourages all those with cameras (which is most of us these days, I suppose) to look at our environment with new eyes – to see the environmental impact of things around us, sometimes in the most surprising places. Our cameras can be turned from the narcissistic tool of the selfie into a weapon in the war on environmental destruction.”

We also have some fantastic talented photographers involved, Tim Parkin and Ashley Cooper, whose expertise will be invaluable at the judging stage.

What was the response from the celebrities when you initially approached them to get involved in the judging?

We had a very positive response from the celebrities. Most of

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Interview © Florian Schulz

those we approached understood completely what we were aiming to do with the competition and wanted to help. The celebrity judges will help us decide the category winners once we have shortlisted the entry numbers down to the 100s rather than 1000s. All are willing to judge and are very excited to be involved.

How long have you allocated to the judging process?

We have allowed six weeks from the closing date until we plan to announce the winner.

How did you go about choosing the celebrities that you have selected?

We wanted to approach celebrities who have a deep interest in and concern for environmental issues, as well as a big influence on those who follow them. We have a real mix of judges and all will have different views which will make for really interesting judging.

Do you feel that EPOTY has any end benefit to the environment?

Absolutely, viewing the images from the past ten years together gives a unique view on humanity’s relationship with nature and the scale of the impact human development has had on the natural environment. EPOTY provides an opportunity for environmental champions to share these images with international audiences, collectively enhancing our understanding of the causes, consequences, and solutions to climate change and social inequality.

The awareness raised by the EPOTY competition can be a powerful vehicle through which to elicit change © Mohammad Fahim Ahamed Riyad

Above In search of life by Mohammad Fahim Ahamed Riyad, winner in 2014.

© Uttam Kamati

Photography is a powerful medium, but do you think it is powerful enough to modify the behaviour of multinational corporations when it comes to profit and the environment?

Businesses are driven by change at all levels and the awareness raised by the EPOTY competition can be a powerful vehicle through which to elicit change. All companies are run by people. It is changes at the individual and grassroots level that inspires change at the industry and government level, and it is here that CIWEM is at the forefront of driving innovation and encouraging good practice.

© Abhijit Nandiut

Do you also see the contest as a way of educating the public?

You could view EPOTY as an educational vehicle and this fits in nicely alongside CIWEM’s role as a learned society, raising public awareness and working towards our aim to nurture a safer sustainable world. However, our ambition is more than this. We really want to see some tangible benefits and action as a result of the competition. It is true that EPOTY highlights such complex and big global issues and that there is not one simple solution. However, we would like to see EPOTY as part of the solution to tackling these challenges.

Clockwise from top Flight of the rays by Florian Schulz, winner in 2010; Watering melon by Uttam Kamati, winner in 2015; Happy in her own world by Abhijit Nandi, winner in 2008.

I’d imagine that most of the entries come from the UK. Is that true or has EPOTY got a broader base for its entries?

The entries for the competition come from across the globe, this is not better reflected than in the array of winners we have had over the past ten years of the competition. From India, Moldova, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Bangladesh and Sweden, our entries are truly international.

Have you got one previous entry in your mind that best sums up what EPOTY is all about?

Yes I do. The CIWEM Changing Climate Award 2016 was awarded to Sandra Hoyn for her moving photograph ‘Life Jackets on the Greek Island of Lesbos’, the image depicts the major humanitarian crisis of our time, with each of the life vests representing a refugee and their journey. The image portrays the very direct manifestation of climate change in the increased pressure on the supply of drinking water to all parts of the world. It is an extremely powerful image. I can say hand on heart that this has deeply stirred me to promote CIWEM activities to address water security across the globe.

When the 2017 contest has been closed and judged, what do you want the headline to be when announcing the results? Highest entry ever, maybe.

Yes it would be fantastic to be able to announce the highest number of entries ever. However the ultimate headline, for me, would be for EPOTY to be referenced or cited by someone of the highest influence, such as the Pope or US President Donald Trump. Just think of the impact this would have on the competition and the awareness this will raise amongst a huge number of people. That would be the dream headline.

Gazing into your crystal ball, have you anything that you want to share with us about next year’s contest? What sort of innovation can we look forward to seeing?

Following on from the introduction of the mobile category this year, it would be fantastic to take this to the next level next year and introduce some level of movement into the images. Perhaps we could introduce Animated GiFs into the category. Many of the images submitted have a time element and to be able to visually see this would definitely add a different dimension to this.

Thank you for your time, and have you any final message to our readers – and the world?

We welcome entries from amateurs and professional photographers alike of all ages from across the world. With our new mobile category the competition is even more accessible. Prizes for each category winner will include cash prizes of up to £3000, additional profiling opportunities in magazines, and photography equipment. This year we have partnered with Olympus, which is providing an OM-D E-M10 Mark II camera to the winner of the Young EPOTY category. I look forward to what will be another fantastic round of entries this year.

If our readers want to enter the competition, how can they go about it?

Further guidance on subject areas, categories and how to enter can be found on the EPOTY website. Entry is free and the competition closes on 8 September 2017. www.epoty.org

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Camera Club of the Year

in association with

Camera Club of the Year 2016-17

THE FINAL

To win, the members of our five finalists face the ultimate challenge of having to shoot their pictures within a strict time limit using cameras most of them have only read about. How did they get on? Actually, really, really well Words by Will Cheung

The final concept PN editor Will Cheung explains the thinking behind the final “For the CCOTY final, I wanted to do something a bit different and task the club members with producing images on the day, in a limited time and in set situations. Once we got Fujifilm on board as sponsors we saw an opportunity to make the challenge even more tough: contestants had to use Fujifilm cameras provided on the day to produce all images.

“I then needed a location. At the time, I had no idea where the qualifying clubs were going to come from so I was thinking of central England as an obvious starting point. As it happened I saw that Natural Light Spaces (NLS) studio near Northampton was opening.

“I contacted Tris Dawson and arranged a visit. NLS comprises two large studios. At the time of my visit, the second studio had no more than the beginnings of an infinity curve and a half-finished wooden floor, but its potential was clear.

“I wanted a location that would allow a number of different scenarios that could be controlled, to make things as fair as possible and without any need to travel between them.

The NLS and the site it was part of (the Depot, www.the-depot.co.uk) seemed to offer the ideal solution.

“Now it was simply a matter of devising five challenges that would make our finalists think and provide enough creative potential for a variety of different style approaches, that could also be reset to the original condition after each shoot. The exceptions were the two outdoor shoots. After discussion with Tris of NLS, we agreed on shoots, content, models and lighting.

“I know the cynics will say, ‘what, no landscape/nature/action?’ – all key subject areas for club photography. I get that, but I couldn’t see how it would be fair, feasible and manageable in a day’s shoot. If anyone has any suggestions for next year, feel free to drop me a line.

“However, I have to say fair play and well done to all our finalists who really got stuck into the tasks and produced, under pressure and well within the time limits, many truly excellent images.”

Photography contests, regardless of level, rely on existing pictures. But for the Photography News Camera Club of the Year 2016-17 final, in association with Fujifilm, we wanted to make things just a little more interesting: the photographers had to produce the best possible pictures with the five supplied subjects using cameras most of them had never used before – and all within a set time.

Before we talk about the final shoot-out, we should explain how our five clubs got there. Over the past several months we have been inviting clubs to enter our five themed monthly rounds. The winner of each round won a place in the final and once all five finalists were known, they simultaneously received details of the location, the subjects, the timelines and the cameras to be used. Each club was asked to name a team of four members to represent their club on the day.

For the final, five scenarios were planned: we provided a male character model, an aerial artist, a fashion model with a vintage car, an interior stilllife/macro situation and an exterior location shoot.

For each scenario, Fujifilm cameras were supplied together with technical support and an hour allowed for shooting and editing – missing the deadline meant that no points would be scored for that scenario. The clubs had been asked to bring their own laptops with up-to-date software.

Each member had to submit one image per scenario; at the end of the day, 20 pictures per club were ‘blind’ judged in a live session. Our judges were Andreas Georghiades of Fujifilm UK, Tris Dawson of Natural Light Spaces, and from Photography News, Adam Duckworth and Kingsley Singleton.

At the end of a long and exciting day, New City Photographic Society emerged victors, so huge congratulations go to them, and well done to all our finalists for their sterling efforts, too. It was a closerun thing and each club did well in the different scenarios. What impressed was the discipline, creativity and commitment of everyone involved.

New City PS’s prize includes six talks by Fujifilm X-photographers of their choosing over the coming season so all club members can reap the benefits of their win, plus a day’s shoot at Natural Light Spaces. Well done again to them, and thanks to all our finalists.

Above The teams were faced with five different scenarios, both interior and exterior. Expert technical advice was on hand from teams from both Fujifilm, the competition sponsor, and Photography News.

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Camera Club of the Year

in association with

The Fujifilm cameras used Each scenario came with four cameras, so there was no time wasted with camera sharing. Also, while the clubs had an earlier chance to get hands-on with each camera, a Fujifilm product expert was available to lend technical support and guidance. Cameras were set to shoot Raw and JPEG.

Scenario 1: Character portrait Camera used: Fujifilm GFX 50S The medium-format GFX 50S is a camera for location and studio shooting, but in this situation our photographers got to use it indoors with either natural, flash or continuous light with our model Ady.

Scenario 2: Outdoor car fashion shoot Camera used: Fujifilm X-Pro2 A vintage Riley and model Nicky Philips was an outdoor fashion shoot opportunity with natural light, with reflectors provided to modify what was available. The X-Pro2 and a choice of various prime lenses was the camera dedicated to this scenario.

Scenario 3: The Depot Camera used: Fujifilm X100F The X100F is a highly featured

premium compact, and with its fixed 23mm lens (35mm equivalent in the 35mm format) it was ideal for exploring the Depot’s varied architecture, whether general views or interesting details.

X-T2

X-PRO2

Scenario 4: The Booksmith Camera used: Fujifilm X-T20 The Booksmith’s photogenic, well-lit interior gave our photographers plenty of chance to flex their creativity with close-up details, with supplied 60mm macro lenses.

Scenario 5: Aerial artist Camera used: Fujifilm X-T2 In this set-up with model Em Theresa, lighting was studio flash and the X-T2 – with the option of various zoom lenses including the 18-55mm f/2.8-4 and 50-140mm f/2.8 – provided plenty of compositional variety.

X-T20

X100F

dorchestercameraclub.co.uk Number of members: 114 Why join? We are an active and successful photography club, with regular competitions, workshops and informal interest groups, plus talks from renowned guest speakers

© Stephen Jones

© R ichard Anders

Dorchester Camera Club

GFX 50S

Stephen Jones External competitions secretary

© Stephen Jones

familiar to one member of our team who uses Fujifilm cameras.

Overall, we quickly adapted to the different cameras and, in the end, we each had a favourite we would be happy to use.

© Penny Piddock

© Frances Underwood

The CCOTY event was a great challenge and we approached it with trepidation. Once started, we concentrated on the immediate scenario and were too busy enjoying the moment to think ahead. It was good fun and encouraged quick assessment and decision making – quickly adapting to getting a good image in just a handful of shots and having the discipline and confidence to go with the best.

We emerged with a sense of relief that we’d completed each scenario with a set of four images. A photographic ‘bake-off’ sorted out the finalists and produced a worthy winner.

For us, the challenge was post-processing the images. There was little time to spare so technical hitches had to be dealt with swiftly and workarounds found. Working with unfamiliar cameras and changing cameras for each scenario also put us to the test.

The final scenarios fitted well with the facilities available at the Depot and there was a good variety of subject (although three model shoots played more to the strengths of portrait photographers). Studio lighting and portraiture was completely out of the comfort zone for one of our team, but he surprised himself by gaining a great set of scores for his aerialist image. The scenarios were designed to be challenges, after all, and it was a great experience that we all enjoyed.

We enjoyed the five cameras, too, and managed to get some very good images despite the short time we had available. The controls are similar between the models and were very

Dorchester CC came second overall and performed especially well scoring highly with scenarios 1 (male character) and 5 (aerial artist). In fact, Dorchester top scored in scenario 1 with one member scoring a perfect 20 for this picture shown above – one of the very, very few maximums awarded by our panel of judges.

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Camera Club of the Year

© Mehran Ellis

www.exetercameraclub.co.uk Number of members: 132 Why join? The objectives of the Club are the furtherance of photographic art and technique, the exchange of ideas and mutual assistance amongst members in a friendly and open atmosphere. We also aim to organise and hold meetings, social events, presentations, special interest groups, field trips/outings, discussion/ critique evenings, workshops, exhibitions and competitions for the benefit of our members and also to reach out to the general public.

© Dave Snowden

Exeter Camera Club

in association with

Mehran Ellis Competition and exhibition secretary

© Alan Bastin

This sort of event was not something that many members of our club have done previously, so we found this to be an exciting experience. Additionally, this was a great way to put the photographers under pressure and test their skills.

The limited amount of time available was the most challenging aspect and was particularly noticeable when selecting the final images to submit. There was also a good variety of subjects, and it was a pleasure to work with such professional models.

The day was very well organised and a great experience. We look forward to participating in CCOTY next season.

Exeter CC came fifth in the final and performed really well in scenarios 2 and 5.

Exeter was top of the pile with scenario 2 (the classic car shoot), and did least well with scenario 1 (the male character model).

Natural Light Spaces

© Alan Bastin © Sheila Haycox

Natural Light Spaces (NLS) opened in October 2016 on the site of the Old Royal Ordnance Depot in Weedon. “It’s ideally suited to be a studio,” says Tris Dawson who co-owns NLS with aerial artist Em Theresa, “and offers huge, open shooting spaces. The first studio we got ready offers day-long natural light, so we called it the Natural Light Studio. Its high roof means a shoot height of up to 5.5m, suiting aerial training and performance. The small number of true natural light shooting spaces in the UK means we offer photographers and creatives the chance to stretch themselves in a unique setting. We’ve added professional lighting to give all-round flexibility so we’re a one-stop studio space for commercial and hobby photographers.”

The second studio, the White Room, was opened in April, bringing the total studio space to 5800sq ft. This studio boasts a 2000sq ft dance floor, 5.5m electric hoists and a massive 8x5x5m infinity curve. This studio is equipped with continuous and flash lighting, and the option of natural light.

Natural Light Studio offers on-site expert assistance and facilities, including a fully equipped kitchen and shower room plus fast broadband. A model directory to suit all photography needs is available.

Hire fees range from £20 to £40 per hour depending on usage, so pricing is competitive and facilities will continue to develop. “The aim is to become the premier commercial and private shooting and performance space in the UK,” says Tris.

naturallightspaces.co.uk Phone 01327 342661

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Photography News | Issue 46 | absolutephoto.com

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Camera Club of the Year

in association with

Great Notley Photographic Club

©Peter Hood

©Dave Greenwood

gnpc.co.uk Number of members: 35 Why join? We are a friendly ‘no pressure’ club which welcomes new members of all abilities

©John Buckley

Dave Greenwood External competitions secretary

©John Buckley

©Dave Roberts

After doing the first scenario we settled down and got into a rhythm of completing the tasks.

We thought there were too many ‘people’ shots and not enough broader subjects, and found scenario five the most challenging.

Fujifilm has an excellent range of gear and we were all impressed with it, especially the medium-format, although it took some getting used to using a different camera for each scenario. We did find some of the scoring to be a little out with judges not following the briefs specified, especially scenario two.

Other than that, hats off to the Photography News team for a great day’s experience; to Fujifilm for supplying the equipment; the fantastic studio location; The Booksmith for the free coffee and the Depot for putting up with us. We’d definitely do it again if we got the chance.

Great Notley PC finished in fourth place having delivered a consistent performance and doing best in scenarios 3 (the depot) and 5 (the aerial artist).

©Paul Johnson

©Colin Southgate

Harpenden Photographic Society harpendenphotographicsociety.co.uk Number of members: 80+ Why join? We’re passionate about photography, and provide something for everyone – a varied programme, special interest groups, competitions and exhibitions, and we’re involved in many of the cultural activities in Harpenden, including organising the town’s largest art fair. We cater for all levels of interest and skills, and provide a club that is fun and encourages members to develop and improve their photography. ©Colin Southgate

©Paul Johnson

©Torben Cox

Harpenden PS came third overall and top scored in scenarios 3 (the Depot) and 4 (the Bookmiths).

Peter Stevens HPS’s chairman Having to produce images under time pressure was a real test. It made for a long and tiring day, but it was definitely fun. Preparation before the event was essential, particularly in terms of getting the computers updated with the latest software, working out the timings, processes, who does what, and doing some preparatory work on lighting and poses for some of the tasks.

Many aspects of the day were challenging – the time pressure, new and unfamiliar cameras, five different shoots with subjects we were not always familiar with. But the biggest challenge was the need to be decisive. It was necessary to know when to stop shooting because you have got a good shot, and also when to stop processing because there is only so much that can be done and time is short.

The subjects were fine and provided some variety, but were definitely skewed towards studio-type themes. It would have been good to have included street or landscape, for

example, but I’m sure this would cause logistical problems. Maybe if the event started midday on Thursday, then the afternoon could have been in a landscape or street photography location, with the Friday at the Depot.

The qualifying rounds involved all club members, and winning through to the final provides a fun day and some prestige and pride for the club, which incidentally also helps with our recruitment of new members.

We enjoyed the opportunity to use the range of new Fujifilm cameras. They produce excellent image files and it was clear how much smaller they are in comparison with a typical DSLR. We also liked the idea of the prize of Fujifilm X-photographer visits to the winning club, since this allows all members to benefit.

Photography News | Issue 46 | absolutephoto.com

Photography News | Issue 46 | absolutephoto.com

Photography News | Issue 46 | absolutephoto.com

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Camera Club of the Year

in association with

©Mark Jones

©Jamie White

WINNERS! ©Jamie White

New City Photographic Society

©Dave Cromack

Camera Club of the Year 2016-17 WINNERS

newcityps.co.uk Number of members: 70 Why join? We like to think that NCPS is a bit more of a social club, the main interest of which is photography. Although we’re not really a teaching club we have a great deal of experience within the club and our members are only too willing to share knowledge.

Colin Mill External competitions and programme secretary We had no idea we’d won because right throughout the judging I felt the comments and scoring were fairly even, though we did seem to be getting a good few high scores. Jamie and Mark were keeping track of their own scores but we weren’t really able to track overall scores.

When Will did the big reveal at the end and you hear that you’re not fifth, not fourth, not third – hold on we’re in with a good chance here!

– and then you’re not called in second place.

Wow, mixed emotions or what! Thankfully, elation won through.

As soon as we knew we had won, we posted the result on Facebook and the congratulations began pouring in. The club is very pleased to have won and it’s a great end to my term as external competitions secretary.

We loved the diversity of the challenges and really enjoyed all of the subject choices. They were

geared more towards portraiture/modelling with three of the five centered around this theme, but we had a free rein to find something of interest with the other two.

Even though we were told the scenarios beforehand, some of them were completely different from what we had imagined, making it harder on the day. I’m not sure if it was deliberate but choosing a male model that wasn’t chiseled or a female model that was far too tall for the car made it very exciting.

Creatively, prior to the day we had set up five Pinterest boards, one for each scenario, and we posted images and techniques we thought would be useful for each scenario. Throughout the day we were able to refer to these as we progressed through the challenges, but the pressure of having to create, shoot and process an image in less than an hour really did concentrate the mind.

Over some beers the night before we’d talked about the time pressure aspect and agreed that in each hour we needed to be disciplined, with

about half our time working on getting the shots we wanted, the other half selecting and processing, to get a best image from each of us.

Surprisingly, learning how to operate unfamiliar cameras was not a challenge – the Fujifilm cameras were intuitive to use and the help on hand was excellent. More of a challenge was setting up each shot for each photographer, and then the editing in the time allowed.

In all, it was a great day all round and the help on hand from both the Fujifilm team and the Photography News team was greatly appreciated.

A lot of planning and organisation must have gone into making the day work.

All thanks to Photography News for setting up the competition, Fujifilm for the great kit, Natural Light Space for hosting the event, The Booksmith for their space and the coffee, all the models, the Depot for allowing us free rein to run around and, last but not least, the chap with the classic car. photographynews.co.uk

Below The four members of the New City PS team were (left to right, with PN editor Will Cheung in the middle): Jamie White, practical secretary; Colin Mill, external competitions and programme secretary; Mark Jones, internal competitions secretary; and Dave Cromack, external competitions secretary.

Our thanks go to…

©Colin Mill

The five camera club finalists who joined in the spirit of the event, and thanks to all the clubs who have supported the contest over the past six months.

The Natural Light Space team Tris, Kay, Paul and Robert.

facebook.com/Thenaturallightstudio The Fujifilm team Andreas, Laura, James, Samara, Nathan, Shanice and Liz.

fujifilm.eu/uk The Depot the-depot.co.uk

phone 01327 341303

The Booksmith thebooksmith.co.uk 227 391

phone 01327

Our Models KaosAdy

facebook.com/KaosAdy.model/ Em Theresa

emtheresamodel.com Nicky Philips

facebook.com/nicky.phillips.9047 See our new website for all the pictures produced by the finalists, plus behind-thescenes shots from the day

photographynews.co.uk New City PS clearly scored consistently highly throughout the challenge and did exceptionally well with scenario 5 (the aerial artist).

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Photography News | Issue 46 | absolutephoto.com

Technique Travel Photography

Project yourself You can take your travel photography a lot further by sticking to coherent themes and projects. Just ask previous Travel Photographer of the Year winners and the PN team if it’s the best way to succeed, and here’s what they’ll tell you...

As an enthusiast photographer, you’ve probably read lots of articles on travel shooting.

Places to go, what to pack, how to plan your trip, and ways to improve pictures when you get to your exotic location. If you’ve been through these a few times, and are still not getting the results you want, here’s something that can really help: a project.

Photo projects are a great fit for travel, because they’re a way to focus the mind and avoid the biggest mistake travelling photographers make; randomness. When you’re presented with new, exciting places, the overwhelming desire is to try to capture everything, and in this way your work can lack cohesion as you ricochet from one subject or style to the next. But stick to coherent themes and styles and you’ll be onto a winner.

Don’t believe us? Just ask Joel Santos (joelsantos.net) who was crowned Travel Photographer of the Year in 2016. Joel was born in Lisbon, Portugal and holds a masters degree in Economics and Management of Science and Technology, but has dedicated the last 15 years to his photographic passions. He writes and teaches on the subject as well as taking on commercial projects.

Joel was picked from thousands of photographers, winning on the strength of two portfolios he entered into the Land Sea Sky and Journeys & Adventures categories. The images from those sets can be found on these pages, and on the TPOTY website, and both speak volumes about the power of projects.

Take his Journeys & Adventures portfolio for instance, which gives the viewer an intimate glimpse of the life of Ghanaian

© Joel Santos

Words Kingsley Singleton Pictures various

Above Travel Photographer of the Year 2016’s winner, Joel Santos, chanced upon a project shooting the fishermen on Ghana’s Lake Bosumtwi. First he had to befriend the fishermen, who looked on photography as taboo, but finally got to go out on the water with them, allowing him this amazing water-level perspective.

© Joel Santos

When you’re travelling to these small villages in far off places, you can’t just give people pictures electronically.

I pack less underwear to fit a printer!”

fisherman on Lake Bosumtwi. How did that come about? “Actually it was by chance”, says Joel, “I was working on another project run by a Portuguese and an American NGO, documenting children who are purchased as slaves to work at a Lake in Northern Ghana. I was really focused on that project, but I always keep my eyes open.” Staying near a village, next to a different lake – Lake Bosumtwi – he observed a community of fishermen and felt a keen interest: “I’ve been photographing fishermen for a long time, all around the world; it connects with my Portuguese heritage. I wanted to tell their story, but it was difficult, because they saw photography as a taboo.”

This is where Joel’s background as an economist helped his approach, enabling him to be logical, overriding the passion of wanting to rush in and shoot, and working logically to achieve his goal: “If I wanted to document that story, I knew I couldn’t just push it; just show up and expect it to happen. So I stayed on the shore for three days, every morning before going off to my main job. From 5am to 7am, I would sit with my backpack, and the fishermen would always say ‘no’ from afar.”

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Technique © Joel Santos

Alison Cahill on finding a project © Alison Cahill

Above Rather than sniping pictures from a distance “like a hunter”, Joel says the best way to approach travel shots like this is to spend time with the subjects, getting to know them and winning their trust. © Joel Santos © Alison Cahill

But the waiting paid off and eventually, one of them came to the shore and spoke to him.

“That’s when I could explain, that I didn’t mean any harm and I was just fascinated; that my own country is full of fishermen and that I would really love to tell this story.”

“As I started to take photos they became more confident, and finally let me come out with them on one of their wooden planks.

You see, they believe the lake is an entity and can’t be touched by iron.” Getting that level of closeness, that access, made a huge difference to Joel’s images. Instead of a sniper’s view from the shore, they’re intimately taken at water level: “I’m laying down on the plank, trying to get as connected to them as possible.”

This process of integrating with the subjects is very important to Joel, and he says that there are unhelpful habits that many photographers fall into. “I’ve organised many tours to places like India; at first photographers can be afraid to shoot local people. But later, when confidence grows, they can get too cocky and disregard people’s privacy.” This shooting-and-running approach, he says, makes photographers more like hunters, collecting trophies, with no connection to the subject. “That approach

has nothing to do with telling a person’s story.

It’s not to say I don’t love the candid ‘first look portrait’. I do, but I always approach and show the person, trying to get to know them. If I’m asked to delete, I will. You have to be human, to smile and be respectful, not like a leopard waiting for prey!”

To help with this, he often takes a mobile printer with him: “when you’re travelling to these small villages in far off places, you can’t just give them pictures electronically. I take less underwear to fit a printer!”

A different perspective Shooting projects from a new perspective is also something that Joel evangelises. For some years he has been shooting from drones to do it. His second TPOTY 16 winning project was shot in Ethiopia’s Danakil Depression, and was the first TPOTY winner to be shot using a drone-mounted camera. “I wanted to show how hard this place is,” Joel says, “one of the hottest, harshest environments on Earth; it averages around 60ºC. So how can I tell this story? How do I show the camel trains, the volcanic landscape, and the colours and patterns of the salt? I had photos from the

© Alison Cahill

Above Even when people are suspicious of photographers, showing them the pictures you’re taking can win them over, says Joel. He even finds room in his bag for a mobile printer, so he can leave some of his work with the people whose stories he’s told.

Although she considers herself an enthusiast, Alison Cahill (alisoncahillphotography.com) has been recognised for her travel photography three times in TPOTY. In 2014, she was a finalist in the Tribes category, followed by a commendation in the New Talent section of TPOTY 2015 with a series of shots on street culture. In 2016 her Son & Dad Barbers project won the New Talent category of TPOTY. As her home is usually on her back, she travels light gear wise, with a Nikon D610 and two lenses; a 50mm f/1.4 and 24-120mm f/4.

For Alison, preconceived projects are extremely helpful: “when I started out in travel photography, I was documenting all my experiences as most travellers do, but as time has progressed so have my goals. Now I try to go to places with a clear idea of what I want to achieve. This comes through research, or because I’ve been there before and found something I’d like to explore further.”

Alison feels that the best projects come about this way; themes that ‘come from a photographer’s own passion for a subject or particular style of shooting’, but which also evolve and bear repeated visits.

For her Son & Dad Barbers project, she took a chance encounter and ran with it. “I was in Penang, Malaysia getting a visa for Indonesia when I got lost on my way back to my guesthouse,” she explains. “Then I saw a barber’s shop that looked really interesting. I went in to have a look and that’s how I discovered ‘Son & Dad’. I spoke with the owner, Elyas, and asked if it would be possible to come by the next day and take some photos.”

Thanks to this friendly approach, Elyas agreed and she went back next day, shooting for hours.

Reaching Indonesia, Alison sent some photos from the shoot to Elyas and asked if she could return to spend more time, making it a proper project. “Again he agreed and just over a year later I returned, spending around three months on and off at the shop trying to get a feel for daily life there. They were amazing, very welcoming, friendly and funny and just let me do my thing. It was a great experience and a learning curve.”

It sounds like a smooth ride, but Alison is quick to point out, this isn’t always the case: “I’ve realised that actually sometimes you just need to employ a ‘fixer’ to have more control over a completely foreign situation.” Even this doesn’t always go to plan, though. She describes visiting an island off West Sumatra called Mentawai where she wanted to shoot the ‘medicine men’ for part of her ongoing tattoo project: “It took me over a week to organise a suitable guide in Padang but when I arrived at the island he wasn’t there – he wasn’t even on the same island as me! It ended up being impossible to achieve my initial project concept, but I made the most of the situation – it was frustrating but also part of the adventure.”

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Photography News | Issue 46 | absolutephoto.com

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Technique © Joel Santos

© Joel Santos

Shooting old places in a new way

© Joel Santos

© Kingsley Singleton

Travel projects don’t just need to be about particular subjects; you can also choose to shoot your exotic surroundings in an unusual way. This could mean sticking to a particular focal length, camera type, angle of shooting, or even a processing style. It’s the coherent aspect that unifies the images and sets them above a random collection of snaps. This is a particularly good way to plan project if you’re going back to a location you’ve shot lots of times before.

For example, last year I spent a few days in Paris. Having been lots of times, I wanted to shoot the city in a different way, so decided I would take my infrared-converted Nikon D700 along with a single lens, a Sigma 24-35mm f/2 DG HSM Art. Forcing myself to stick with it, I took no other camera (apart from the one on my phone).

Shooting this way wasn’t only a creative exercise, it also meant I could learn a bit more about infrared work; what was successful and what wasn’t. I also got to enjoy the D700 again, with its satisfyingly brutal shutter sound and tank-like build (that’s enough now – Ed).

Changing the way you shoot can have as much of an impact on your travel photography as changing the subjects you’re shooting. In these images of Paris, I shot with an infrared-converted Nikon D700, but you can do the same by using a particular lens, focal length, or by sticking to a picture mode on your camera.

Similarly, on the right, Joel Santos changed his perspective on Ethiopian scenes, by shooting from a drone. It’s a look that won him the TPOTY crown.

Above Wanting to show how the people co-existed with the harsh geography of Ethiopia’s Danakil Depression, Joel Santos shot from a camera mounted to a drone.

© Kingsley Singleton

Versatility is more important to me now, and light lenses like Canon’s EF 50mm f/1.8 can be trusted

© Kingsley Singleton

ground, but I self-imposed using the drone. It was the most interesting way to show how the land and the people co-exist.”

Of course packing a drone and its batteries means you need to compromise on kit. “Weight is always the biggest concern; because the internal flights in these countries have very small ’planes. Normally, I take two Canon bodies, a 16-35mm, 24-70mm, and 70-200mm or a 100-400mm. But the drone is a big part of what I do now, so that can mean leaving the heavier glass. Versatility is more important to me now, and light lenses like Canon’s EF 50mm f/1.8 can be trusted. If I manage to go away without it all I feel like a feather!”

Are we there yet?

Part of shooting a project is knowing when it’s done – and also when to revisit it. Joel has a good example; “There are these cormorant fishermen in China. In 2006 I was shooting them and they were completely rare. Now they’re popular and you see many photos of them, but it’s really people dressed up for tourists. I thought I was done with it, because of that, but I found there was something else to say: the real community is diminishing.

China is growing so fast that this 500 yearold culture is collapsing; you can now buy the fish from the market instead, and work for the tourists. I found it great to follow that up and dig deeper, so another project was born.”

Enter and win a book!

If you’re about to go on an exciting trip, or you’ve got a great collection of travel pictures that you want to show off to a wider audience, it’s time to enter them into Travel Photographer of the Year 2017. The competition is open now, and you can enter online at tpoty.com.

There are categories to suit all photographers, including three portfolio sections which are perfect for your own travel projects as you can submit up to four shots together. The closing date for TPOTY 2017 is 25 September 2017.

If you need any further inspiration, why not take a look last year’s collection of stunning travel images, collected into Travel Photographer of the Year Journey Nine (110pp, £9.95). The book will be available from the end of July and can be bought direct from the TPOTY website or from the TPOTY exhibition at 10 Stockwell Street, Greenwich, London (runs 4 August to 3 September).

We’ve also got five copies of Journey Nine to give away, so just head to photographynews. co.uk/win to be in with a chance; the closing date to win a book is 13 August.

For more on the Travel Photographer of the Year competition, visit tpoty.com

Photography News | Issue 46 | absolutephoto.com

Photography News | Issue 46 | absolutephoto.com

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Accessories test Buyers’ guide

Travel right

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You’ve booked your ideal photo trip and waited for the opportunity; now it’s time to take some great shots. But hang on – is your kit up to the job?

Take a look at this month’s list of recommended travel gear, and you’re sure to find something to improve your travel shooting...

1

Nest Explorer EX50 Shoulder Bag £30

There’s a lot to be said for travelling light, and Nest’s Explorer EX50 shoulder bag is a great choice if you want to streamline your kit. With internal dimensions of 20x10x16cm, it’ll fit a small DSLR or CSC, plus an extra couple of modestly sized lenses and a 7in tablet. At 365g it’s light, so won’t contribute much to the weight of your kit, but that doesn’t mean it lacks features or build quality: the outer is water-resistant 210D rip-stop nylon, and its zips are premium YKK branded; and it has a proper rain cover for the worst of the weather. The bag is available in photographers’ favourite black, or vibrant blue, lime green or orange.

Nest-style.com

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Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC Macro OS HSM £290

Rather than taking several lenses on your travels, there’s a lot to be said for a single, shoot-anything option: the travel zoom. The variety of focal lengths on offer mean you can shoot most subjects from landscapes to wildlife without switching glass, and while there are compromises to using a single lens, if you pick a model such as Sigma’s 18-200mm f/3.56.3, you’ll be assured of sharp, contrasty images throughout its extensive focal range. Fitting Canon, Nikon, Sigma, Sony and Pentax mounts, it’s designed for APS-C sensors and is small (86mm long) and light (430g), but keeps build-quality high. Sigma’s Optical Stabilizer will help you out in lowlight conditions, and what’s more, its macro feature enables focusing as close as 39cm for detailed shots. sigma-imaging-uk.com

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Lee Filters’ 100mm Super Stopper ND £99

ND filters are a vital part of the travel photographer’s arsenal, enabling you to use long exposures when the light wouldn’t normally allow. And this means you can, for instance, blur crowds of people at tourist hotspots, allowing you to focus attention on architecture or monuments. Lee Filters’ Big Stopper pretty much revolutionised the use of long exposures, and now there’s the Super Stopper, which gives even more light-dimming potential. The Super Stopper is an ND glass filter rated at 15 stops, so you can get slow shutter speeds even in the brightest sunlight; for instance taking a 1/1000sec shutter speed as low as 15 seconds. It’s available in 100mm size to fit most filter holders, and also in larger SW150 (150x150mm) and smaller Seven5 (75x90mm) fits.

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leefilters.com

4

Joby GorillaPod SLRZoom plus BH1 head £65

If you want to keep your kit to the absolute minimum, but still have the option of creative effects like long exposures or time-lapse, why not try a mini-tripod? The SLRZoom tripod from Joby’s GorillaPod range is the second biggest in the line-up, but still weighs only 340g (with ballhead) and supports up to 3kg. That means you can mount a large DSLR and lens pretty much anywhere the flexible legs can be wrapped around. Non-slip rubber feet mean the legs can also be used in a regular stance, at a maximum height of 25cm, or splayed to shoot as low as 5cm. The legs are available alone for around £40, but for an extra £25 you get a BH1 ball head and quick-release plate included. joby.com/gorillapod

5

Rogue Flashbender 2 XL Pro Lighting System £125

Shooting portraits on your travels usually means responding to the natural light as best you can, or if possible bouncing your flash off walls or ceilings to improve the look. If you want more control, the Rogue Flashbender 2 XL Pro Lighting System is small and light enough to take with you.

The kit includes a Pro Reflector, Pro Soft Box Diffuser and Pro Strip Grid, allowing you to shape the light perfectly and with its folding design it can be flattened, fitting into an included bag or a 15in laptop compartment. It’s incredibly light, too, weighing only 391g, yet expands to a whopping 254x280mm, creating a large light source and therefore lots of lowcontrast, soft illumination.

Gb.colorconfidence.com

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Kenro Karoo Ultimate Travel Tripod Kit £185

On your travels, making efficient gear choices is important – you need as many creative options as possible at the minimum weight. For instance, your tripod needs to be light, strong and pack down small. The Karoo Ultimate Travel Tripod kit ticks all the boxes in this regard. Made of strong, eight-layer carbon fibre, it’s still light enough to carry with ease at 1.93kg, including its BC2 ball head. It reaches a maximum height of 187cm and packs down to 48cm, while the centre column can swing out or be fully reversed. One of the legs can be detached for use as a monopod, too. The maximum load is a hefty 10kg, so it’s no compromise, and it’s guaranteed for six years. A short centre column, spiked and rubber feet and a carry case are included. kenro.co.uk

7

Tamron SP 45mm f/1.8 Di VC USD £600

While the versatility of zoom lenses can make us a bit lazy, using a prime lens on your travels is a great way to focus your mind, particularly a standard focal length, which gives a view similar to the human eye.

Check out Tamron’s 45mm f/1.8, part of the company’s high-quality SP line-up, offering classy build, performance and image quality.

Coming in Canon and Nikon fits, it’s useful for a wide variety of subjects, like landscapes and street, while the f/1.8 maximum aperture is perfect for low-light city scenes and portraits. A 29cm minimum focus distance also makes it great for detail shots on your travels, while the lens’s Vibration Compensation feature helps keep everything pin sharp, even at slow shutter speeds. tamron.co.uk

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Accessories test

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Hahnel Extreme HLX-E8 camera battery £35

Being away from home means you won’t be able to charge your camera’s battery as easily as normal, so if you’ve booked yourself on a photo-friendly trip, it’s a good time to buy a spare (or three); you can shoot with one, take a spare with you, and leave the other charging at base. Hahnel produces a superb range of batteries for all leading brands under the Extreme banner.

The Hahnel HLX-E8 rechargeable Lithium-ion battery pack, for instance, fits many of Canon’s enthusiast level EOS DSLRs including the 700D, 650D and 600D. Twin this with a Hahnel Pro Cube DSLR battery charger (at around £65) and you’ll be able to charge two batteries at once and see the level of charge as it increases. hahnel.ie

9

GGS Camera Strap FS-4 Fox £55

Buying a new camera strap might not be top of your shopping list, but it has advantages. After-market straps can be more comfortable than those supplied with your camera; they often have special features, and don’t display the camera maker’s name, which can attract unwanted attention. The GGS FS-4 Fox strap is a durable slider style model, meaning when released, your camera will slide smoothly up the strap to eye level for shooting. An integrated brake holds it to the strap when not required, and a spring loaded quick-release mechanism removes the camera when required.

Completing the picture, the FS-4 has a comfortable shoulder pad of soft neoprene, kept in position by an adjustable under-arm strap. cameraclean.co.uk

Fujifilm X100F premium 10 compact £1250

Part of Fujifilm’s X Series, the X100F has a host of brilliant features, making it a superb travel companion, either alone or as a backup to your DSLR or CSC. The camera’s 24.3-megapixel X-Trans CMOS III sensor employs Fujifilm’s tried-and-tested design; no optical low-pass filter and a special pixel layout on the sensor give full-framerivalling image quality. The X100F mixes traditional manual handling with very modern features, such as hybrid EVF/optical viewfinder, 8fps burst shooting, a 90-point phase/ contrast detection AF system, full HD video and easy wireless connectivity. The fast 23mm f/2 lens is perfect in low light, too, and can be used with a built-in three-stop ND filter to help deal with strong light. fujifilm.co.uk

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Camera insurance from Photoshield from £99

If you’re sensible, you’ll already have travel insurance for your holidays, but if you break a bit of your valuable kit on tour and make a claim, you may be disappointed. Standard insurance will only cover you up to a certain point, so it’s fine for cheap compacts, but not your pricier cameras, bodies and lenses. That’s where specialist companies such as Photoshield come into their own. Photoshield specialises in camera insurance for enthusiasts and pros, and packages start from as little as £99. A £199 package sees you covered for up to £5000 of equipment worldwide, as well as for up to £100,000 of legal expenses, and public liability of up to £2,000,000 in case someone is foolish enough to fall over your tripod and blame you for it. photoshield.co.uk

Manfrotto Manhattan 12 Mover-50 backpack £130

If you want to take a decent amount of kit on your travels you need a durable, fully-featured backpack. Step forward Manfrotto’s Manhattan Mover-50. The bag has a modern look, so isn’t immediately identifiable as a photo backpack, and, if required, its protective Flexy Camera Shell insert can be removed turning it into a regular bag. Size-wise, it’s carry-on safe, and with internal dimensions of 49x30x18cm, it’s big enough to fit a large DSLR with a 70-200mm f/2.8 zoom attached, plus four or five extra lenses or accessories. Its top section allows even more storage, and you can slide in a 15.6in laptop.

A tripod can be strapped to the rear, the outer is water-repellant, and a raincover is included. manfrotto.co.uk

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Camera test

Nikon D7500

The latest in Nikon’s DX line-up reads like a D500 lite on paper, but how did it get on in an extensive PN field test?

The D7500 is well crafted and weather sealed. It lacks the metal, but saves 120g in weight that way

Prices £1299 body only, £1599 with AF-S DX 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR Sensor 20.9-megapixel CMOS Sensor format 23.5x15.6mm (APS-C), 5568x3712 pixels ISO range 100-51,200, 50-1,640,000 extended

Words and pictures by Kingsley Singleton Nikon’s most recent DSLR release is the D7500, an APS-C format body that fits snugly into the line-up just below its flagship DX camera, the D500. While the latter is like a baby D5 in its looks, the D7500’s design shares more with Nikon’s enthusiastlevel bodies such as the D7200 it supersedes, and also the full-frame D750 – in fact, cover up a zero on the D7500’s logo and those two would look almost identical. In that regard, it has a locking mode dial instead of a single mode switch, below which sits a drive mode selector. On the rear, the layout is familiar, too, with a slew of inputs surrounding a large, 3.2in tilting touchscreen.

Although there are no plans to discontinue the D7200, the D7500 is certainly a significant upgrade to that two-year-old camera. Kicking off with a glance at the resolution, though, you might not think so.

The pixel count has been lowered to 20.9-megapixels, but the D7500’s image quality proves that’s a sensible move. The slight drop in resolution has led to better noise performance, and you can still make prints up to 47.14x31.42cm at 300ppi, which is larger than A3 and therefore plentiful for most shooters.

That 20.9-megapixel sensor is borrowed from the D500, as is the Expeed 5 processor, and therefore the two are matched in terms of image quality. Like most modern DSLRs, the traditional optical lowpass filter has also been removed in favour of increased sharpness, which results in rich detail. The D7500’s ISO spans 100-51,200 (expandable to 50-1,640,000) and noise is well controlled up to about 12,800. Take a look at the image quality panels for more on that.

Of course, being a DX camera, the D7500 has a crop factor to recognise, with traditional focal lengths being extended by roughly 1.5x. Therefore a 70-200mm f/2.8 becomes a 105300mm f/2.8 – an advantage in that you can get the look of a 300mm f/2.8 without the weight such a lens would add. If you want further extension,

Specs

Shutter range 30secs to 1/8000sec Drive modes 8fps allowing up to 50 Raws, or 100 JPEGs Metering system 180k-pixel RGB metering sensor, multi (3D Color Matrix Metering III), spot, centre-weighted, highlight weighted Exposure modes PASM, plus auto, scene, effects and User 1/2 options Exposure compensation +/-5EV in 1/3 or 1/2EV steps Monitor Tiltable touchscreen 3.2in, 922,000 dots Viewfinder Pentaprism type, 100% coverage, 0.94x magnification Focusing modes 9, 21 or 51 point Dynamic-area AF, single-point AF, 3D-tracking, grouparea AF Focus points 51 points (15 cross-type; f/8 supported by one sensor) Video Up to 4K UHD 3840x2160 at 30fps or 1920x1080 at 60fps. Up to 29min 59sec or 4GB file

the D7500 has is own 1.3x crop mode on top, cutting file size to 4272x2848 (12.1mp), but turning that 70-200mm into an effective 135-390mm f/2.8 lens.

The D7500 also boasts decent autofocus and shooting speed. It can’t quite keep pace with the D500 in that area, but it’s close, with a very zippy feel, and little slowdown to be found anywhere. It uses the same Advanced Multi-CAM 3500 II 51-point array as in the D7200, which is accurate to -3EV, and building on this adds the Group Area mode, as on the D500 and higher-end full-frame Nikons such as the D810. Therein you get five points in a diamond, helping to prevent misfocusing.

It’s highly effective, as is the nowfamiliar 3D tracking mode; I tried both out on some fast-moving dogs during agility training, together with the AF-S 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens, and got a lot more hits than misses. Switch to the Auto area and the system does a really good job of picking out human faces, too. The AF Fine Tune mode has also been added from the D5/500.

Allied to the strong AF performance, the 8fps burst mode is rapid enough for most situations.

I got 100 large-fine JPEGs and 50 Raws in a burst, though that was

with a fast 90Mb/s card; with an 80Mb/s card this fell to 35 Raws and 86 JPEGs. Compared to the D7500, the D500 uses the same -4EV sensitive 153-point system as the D5 and shoots at 10fps for about double the frames.

Whether you need the extra oomph depends what you’re shooting.

For video, the camera shares identical specification with the D5 and D500, having a maximum res of 4K (at 30p), with up to 60p in Full HD mode. Like those other bodies, the D7500 also features the all-important 3.5mm mic input and headphone ports for recording and monitoring high-quality sound.

There’s uncompressed HDMI output and electronic vibration reduction for steadier movies, too. The D7500 scores well here.

In terms of build quality, it’s not so long ago that the D500 set the benchmark for DX cameras, using full weather-sealing and a magnesium alloy/carbon-fibre shell.

The D7500 is less of a brute, but still well crafted and weather sealed.

It lacks the metal, but saves 120g in weight that way. The grip is deep and comfortable to hold for extended periods, and the rubberised contact points are clutter-free. Button layout is good, too, with the most common

Above The D7500 is very similar in looks to the D7200 it supersedes, boasting a tough, reliable build and buttons where Nikon users would expect to find them. Below The back is dominated by a clear, 3.2in tilting touchscreen. The touchfocusing came in particularly useful for still life and landscape.

Connectivity Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Hi-speed USB, HDMI Type C mini, 2x3.5mm mini-jacks (microphone and headphones), remote Storage media 1xSD, SDHC, SDXC Dimensions (wxhxd) 135.5x104x72.5mm Weight Body only 640g Contact nikon.co.uk

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Camera test Performance: ISO The D7500 is an excellent performer when it comes to digital noise – something that becomes increasingly obvious when moving into the higher ISO settings. This is, in part, thanks to the drop in resolution from its predecessor and the use of Nikon’s most advanced image processor, Expeed 5. To test the noise performance we shot throughout the range, leaving High ISO NR at the off setting (NR performance is tested on the following page).

Images appeared very clean up to ISO 800, and from there to 12,800 the grain built but wasn’t much of a

problem, with only a minor loss of sharpness at the top end. Colour noise was well marshalled up to 6400, but beyond that started to become more disruptive, where a loss of ‘real’ saturation was replaced by blotches of false colour.

The top-end 51,200 setting is a bit grungy but quite usable at a push, especially if you can work the shot in mono. Jumping into the Hi settings, Hi1.0 was respectable but quality quickly falls off after that. Beyond Hi2.0 I felt pictures were unusable.

That’s not a surprise, and in its regular ISO range the D7500 is excellent.

settings, such as metering, image quality and white-balance, falling easily to hand. There’s a dedicated ISO button, which sits behind the shutter button and between the exposure compensation and movie rec buttons, but only one SD card slot, so you can’t back up your shotsor extend capacity.

The D7500 has a good level of customisation: for instance, I set the AE-L/AF-L button on the rear to AFOn for back-button focusing, and there are two Fn buttons on the front supporting such changes, too. The Fn1 button sits where you’d expect to find a traditional depth-of-field preview button, naturally under the middle finger; the Fn2 button, closer to the lens mount, is a bit more of an uncomfortable stretch. The D7500 has two User modes accessible from the mode dial, and makes full use of Nikon’s SnapBridge feature for sharing photos via your phone or tablet. The overwhelmingly good handling and lightness add up to a comfortable and responsive camera.

The viewfinder is really good.

Unlike many APS-C bodies it’s a proper pentaprism, not a pentamirror, and has 100% coverage with a 0.94x magnification, so composition is accurate and it doesn’t feel like looking down a tunnel. On

ISO 12,800

ISO 400

ISO 25,600

ISO 1600

ISO 51,200

ISO 3200

ISO Hi1.0

ISO 6400

ISO Hi5.0

© Kingsley Singleton

Original image

Images For the ISO test images I shot in Raw mode, so that no noise reduction was applied, giving a true impression of interference.

The D7500 performed very well overall. It was only beyond ISO 12,800 that noise became a problem, but even up to ISO 51,200 pictures were usable. You’d need to be desperately short of light to use the Hi settings though.

ISO 100

Battery life is very decent: the D7500 uses a new EN-EL15a cell, which has been upgraded from the EN-EL15 and is quoted at 950 shots. In practice, of course, energy consumption depends on how you shoot

the downside, the lack of contacts on the base means no battery grip for the D7500. If you’re used to the benefits of vertical shooting with a grip, or an integrated second shutter button and associated controls, this is going to feel like a loss. Nikon don’t list a grip for this reason, but some third-party boffin may invent one if we’re lucky.

The flip-out touchscreen is a definite plus point. I found using it for menus took a little getting used to, but it’s soon second nature and you start to miss things like swiping and pinch-and-zoom on non-touchscreen models. There’s also touch-focusing, which works faultlessly and I found this helpful for still life in particular, and on landscapes for focus stacking where you can focus at the frame edge without recomposing.

Battery life is very decent: the D7500 uses a new EN-EL15a cell, which has been upgraded from the EN-EL15 and is quoted at 950 shots. In practice, of course, energy consumption depends on how you shoot, so the number will vary, but I found performance was excellent, far outstripping many others. You can still use an EN-EL15 cell in the camera, so in terms of the D7500 being a second body there’s excellent commonality with other Nikons such as the D810, D610 and D750.

Photography News | Issue 46 | absolutephoto.com

Photography News | Issue 46 | absolutephoto.com

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Camera test Performance: exposure latitude The amount of exposure latitude in a camera’s Raw files is important because it enables you to tweak exposure, hopefully without too much loss of quality. To test the D7500, we found a scene with plenty of highlight and shadow, shooting it using exposure settings of up to five stops over and under in mvanual mode.

The Raw files were loaded into Nikon’s Capture NX-D (Adobe Camera Raw had not been updated to include the D7500 at the time of testing). Exposure was then corrected and the files exported as JPEGs. TIPA’s dynamic range testing measures the D7500’s sensor at an

impressive 11.8 stops, so it was no surprise to see it perform well.

As in most cases, underexposed Raws recovered well, even at -5.0EV. In that file, noise was pronounced and detail suffered but there was no visible banding, and only a minor colour shift to cool.

From there, things improved, and the -2EV underexposed Raw was almost indistinguishable from the correct exposure.

Overexposure was good, too, holding highlight detail well up to +3.0EV. Beyond that there was clipping in those areas, and greying of other highlight tones.

+4EV

+3EV

+2EV

+1EV

0EV

-1EV

-2EV

-3EV

-4EV

-5EV

Images The D7500 did very well in our exposure latitude tests.

Underexposed shots were usable right down to -5EV if you ignore the grain. Highlight detail was lost at +4EV, but this was on the brightest sections of the scene.

Original image

Performance: High ISO noise reduction

+5EV

Verdict

Off

The D7500 is around £450 cheaper than the DX flagship D500, and does well to compete with it. It’s a little slower in shooting and build quality isn’t quite as good, but overall it’s a great photographic tool. AF and image quality are good and the viewfinder is a pleasure to shoot with; the lack of a second SD card slot and no support for a vertical grip are the only disappointments.

The D7500 has four High ISO Noise Reduction modes: Off, Low, Normal, and High. Putting these to the test meant picking a high ISO setting (we used ISO 12,800 here), and shooting JPEGs of the same scene in each of them to see how images were affected.

Across the board the D7500 performed very well, so the real question is finding which of the modes looks best to your own eye. Even in the high mode, detail isn’t overly suppressed in favour of low noise, but it’s obvious that NR has flattened things somewhat.

Images The D7500’s High ISO Noise Reduction is very efficient, and even at its High setting, details are fairly well preserved against the flattening effects of reducing interference. There is a slight waxiness in this setting, but nothing too compromising. That said, Noise Reduction often comes down to personal preference; mine would be to leave it on Low or Normal and accept a little graininess as part of the picture.

Features 24/25 Great; pretty much everything you’d expect on an enthusiast DSLR Performance 23/25 Not quite up there with the D500, but not much to complain about Handling 23/25 A solid, grippy feel and mostly good button layout; excellent viewfinder Value for money 21/25 Welll priced, but £450 more for the D500 is still appealling Normal

Low

High

Overall 91/100 The D7500 is a classy addition to the DX lineup, with plenty of cutting-edge features to appeal to upgraders as well as reliable DSLR performance and handling.

Pros Image quality, speed, AF, handling, viewfinder Cons Only one SD card slot, no accessory grip

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First tests Accessories

First tests

We get our hands on the latest kit and share our first impressions – so you know whether or not to add it to your wish list Reviews by Will Cheung, Kingsley Singleton and Daisy Dickinson

PNY 4-in-1 Lens Kit £24.99 It is probably stating the obvious, but more pictures are taken on camera phones than any other image recording device and we’re talking millions, probably billions every single day. For many people, a phone is their main image capture device.

This lens kit from PNY is a neat idea. Basically, it is a clip to which the lens is attached, and then this clip holds the lens in front of the phone’s lens. It is very simple, it works and means you don’t need a special case or screw-in thread on the phone to hold the auxiliary lens in position.

The clip is like a tightly sprung clothes peg and at the end on both legs there is a simple slip-in lens mount.

The lens just slides into the mount and positively clicks into place. In my test, I never had a lens slip off the clip and the beauty of this system is that you can have two lenses in place and swapping between them just means removing the clip, reversing it and putting it back into position.

Three of the four lenses give a wide view while the fourth one is a macro.

There is no telephoto option but PNY could easily add such options to the system in due course.

The 180° fisheye and the 0.4x super wide-angle are the two larger lenses, which I found easier to handle. The macro and the 0.65x wide-angle are both much smaller and more fiddly to use as a consequence. The last two have to be used in tandem to achieve the wide effect, ie. the macro is fixed onto the clip and the 0.65x just screws into the macro’s front thread.

The other two lenses are used on their own.

I used the lenses on an iPhone 5C. The iPhone’s protective case/cover was not a problem with the PNY clip system and its design means the lenses can be probably used on the fattest phone/case combination.

I also tried the lens kit on a couple of tablets: an iPad Mini and an Amazon Fire HD 10. They worked fine on the former and not very well on the latter.

The clip does have a good grip but on the phone’s very smooth surface it

Specs Price £24.99 Kit includes: Super wide-angle, fisheye, wideangle, macro, reversible clip, storage pouch, cleaning cloth.

Contact pny.eu

Original iPhone lens

0.65x wide

0.4x super wide angle

Fisheye lens

Verdict

Above These shots were taken on an iPhone 5C from the same spot. can slip or slide under its own weight.

You soon learn to get around that by resting the clip’s arm on the phone casing itself to stop this. Correct positioning is of course crucial, so with the camera active, you just slide the clip around to ensure you get a clear, unvignetted view.

At this price, you’re probably not expecting too much in the optical quality department, which is just as well. The lenses do significantly impact on the optical performance of the main lens, so expect less good sharpness, contrast loss, chromatic aberration and field curvature. All three wide

attachments suffer to varying degrees from those issues, with the wide being the best and the fisheye the least good, an order you probably won’t be surprised by.

The macro lens lets you get to around 1cm from your subject, so that gives a good degree of magnification but does mean the phone’s shadow is liable to fall across the subject, so you need to watch for this.

Although the optical quality of these phone lenses is not great, they do give your images a ‘toy’ feel which is an attraction of its own: and what do you expect for the price? WC

Three of the four lenses give a wide view, while the fourth one is a macro

The PNY 4-in-1 Lens Kit is certainly fun, versatile and delivers what it says on the tin. In use it’s a tad fiddly and optically the results don’t impress hugely if you want high sharpness but they do the job and at a nice price. The lenses do increase the versatility of your camera phone without being a burden. I have my set in my workbag so when I am not armed with my ‘real’ camera, I use this set of PNY lenses to expand my phone’s potential.

Pros Good solution, fits many phones/tablets Cons Fiddly, needs correct positioning, no telephoto option, image quality

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First tests

Fotospeed Platinum Gloss Art Fibre 300 From £31

The vast choice of inkjet printing papers means almost every possible taste is catered for. So if you prefer your portraits on a lustre, your scenics on a matt and your building images on a gloss, it’s no problem at all. The options are plentiful, yet the paper makers continue to innovate and bring us even greater choice.

Fotospeed’s latest material has a glossy finish with the look and feel of a heavyweight darkroom paper. We have glossy finishes that can be almost mirror-like while others have a smooth, lustrous sheen often likened to airdried darkroom fibre papers – all have their place depending on taste and how the prints are destined to be used.

Fotospeed’s paper belongs to the more subtle glossy finishes, although it is worth noting that the paper’s sheen is greater once printed.

The 300gsm base gives the paper a lovely heft and it lies completely flat out of the box. Not even the slightest amount of corner curling on my sample pack of A3 paper, so head strike shouldn’t be a problem. The base itself is a clean white with a warm tinge and the subtle gloss is a benefit when it comes to handling. Of course, printing papers should always be handled with care and fingers kept off the picture area to avoid smudges, but should a stray finger catch the surface of this paper it won’t be too much of a problem.

Fotospeed offers free custom profiles with its papers; profiles for Canson and Hahnemuhle papers bought from Fotospeed are also free. Just download the Custom Profiling Pack, make a print using your printer from the test file on your new Fotospeed paper/s, fill in the form and return it and the

test prints to Fotospeed. Your custom profile will arrive in due course with full installation instructions for Mac and Windows.

Prints made for this review were done using a generic profile through Photoshop CC and using an Epson SureColor SC-P800 printer with Epson inks. I tried printing a wide variety of subject matter to test its suitability for different subjects, from richly saturated colour shots to delicate, high-key monochromes.

Let’s start with the monochrome performance. I really liked the effect the paper gave. The marginally warm white base comes across really effectively, giving welcoming mono results. This warmth is delicate and not at all overstated and I loved the way it enhanced portraits and scenic shots.

Highlights are smooth, mid-tones

crisply defined and shadows rich. I like monochromes to have decent contrast with solid blacks and some tonal snap in the greys: Art Fibre 300 certainly delivered. There was plenty of depth in my fully toned test prints but it also worked for high-key studies where the tonal range was limited to the lighter tones, so a delicate touch was essential.

My colour test prints were equally impressive and successful. You could say that a couple of shots were actually too in-your-face if your preference is for a more restrained colour rendering.

A couple of warmly lit red rocks scenes taken on a recent trip to south-west America showed evidence of this and if I reprinted I’d desaturate a tad in editing to suit this paper – using a custom profile would probably help, too. This is not a criticism of the paper, but as with any product there is always the need to get used to something new.

This new Fotospeed paper is a great asset to its already extensive range and works well with colour and monochrome. WC

Specs Prices A4 25 sheets £31/£1.24p a sheet, A3 25 sheets £61.99/£2.48p a sheet, A3+ 25 sheets £71.99/£2.88 a sheet, A2 25 sheets £121/£4.84 a sheet. Rolls also available: 17in, 24in, 36in and 44in in 15m lengths Weight 300gsm Base 100% alpha cellulose pulp Features Instant dry, water resistant, archival quality Paper type Heavyweight exhibition quality paper Compatability Dye and pigment inks Contact fotospeed.com

Verdict Above Fotospeed Platinum Gloss Art Fibre 300 paper offers great depth in monochrome images and impressive saturation in colour shots. Left Finish is a lovely sheen rather than a high gloss so ideal for exhibition work.

The warm white base comes across really effectively giving welcoming mono results

If you want a glossy inkjet paper that has a delicate sheen rather than a more shiny, glossy finish in the traditional sense, Fotospeed’s Platinum Gloss Art Fibre 300 could be right up your street.

Certainly its skillful reproduction and tonal treatment of a wide variety of subjects is a very positive characteristic.

Pricing is comparable to other gloss finishes so it competes well in this respect, with a sheet of A3 working out at £2.48.

Pros Rich colour saturation, great for mono and colour work, heavyweight base, lie flat properties, smooth finish Cons Nothing

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First tests

SRB Full Neutral Density Set £39.95

Without filter

With one filter

With three filters stacked

Specs Prices £39.95 for the three filters and case (£14.95 individually) Type Neutral density filters Mounting Square filters for holder Factor ND0.3, 0.6 and 0.9 (1, 2, and 3 stop) Size availability A (67mm) and P (84mm) Material Optical resin Coatings Unknown Contact srb-photographic.co.uk

When you’re starting out in photography, especially landscape photography, neutral density (ND) filters are really important. All NDs are used to lower the amount of light entering the camera, and in that way they can make the difference between average and excellent shots.

NDs come in two main types: graduated, and full. For the latter, the light-stopping power allows longer exposures, creating softer, flowing water or motion-blurred clouds in landscape shots. And at the other end of the scale, full NDs are instrumental in allowing you to shoot at the widest apertures in bright light, so portrait photographers need them, too.

Prices of high-end filters and holders can be offputting though, especially as for the proper amount of control, you need more than one strength; you can easily spend as much on a set as you would on a lens. At the budget end of the market the presumption is often that quality

Below SRB’s Full ND kit comes with a padded wallet to protect the filters when not in use – a very welcome inclusion.

suffers. So what can SRB’s latest Full ND Filter Set do about that?

I tested the new set on a seaside trip to Spurn Point (now Yorkshire’s only coastal island at high tide), looking closely at the filters’ performance, especially in terms of exposure accuracy, image sharpness, and colour rendition.

The set has recently replaced SRB’s previous models and makes the claim of improved image quality.

The full ND filters I tested were Cokin P sized 84mm square versions (though they’re actually more oblong to make handling easier, and keep fingerprints towards the top and bottom), but you can also get them in the smaller A size (67mm) for the same price.

I tested them using a standard Cokin P holder as SRB’s own holder was unavailable for loan. Just as you’d hope, the filters slotted in easily and sat securely in the holder.

The ‘cut off’ corners of the filters helped quite a lot when inserting, as you don’t need to be as accurate as you do with the very squared off versions. This will certainly help when fumbling around in the predawn light, or when wearing gloves on location.

The SRB Full ND set includes 0.3, 0.6 and 0.9 NDs, equating to one, two and three stops of light dimming power. To test the accuracy of this, I set up a Nikon D810 camera in controlled lighting. I set the camera to aperture-priority and metered the scene; the filters were then inserted individually, and were true to their quoted strengths, cutting the exposure from an initial 1/250sec to 1/125, 1/60 and 1/30sec respectively.

In a second test using manual exposure mode, I dropped the shutter speed each time to pre-empt what the filter should allow. Viewing those images on screen revealed slight changes in the expected brightness, but these weren’t enough to tip the exposure by more

Left Though each filter saw a very slight colour shift, it became more obvious when the three were stacked, with a subtle warming look. The effect wasn’t unpleasant though and easily correctable. that 0.3EV, until the strongest of the filters, which showed fractionally more variation.

I tested image detail on location, again with the D810, and a 1635mm f/4 lens, shooting at f/11 for maximum sharpness and comparing an unfiltered control shot with each of the NDs in turn. In all cases sharpness was seemingly unaffected. According to its catalogue, SRB’s own regular P Size Filter Holder fits two filters, but the Cokin one I was using took all three. Therefore you can mount all three at once and get an effective six stops. You’d expect stacking filters in this to cause a noticeable loss of sharpness, but that didn’t seem to be the case. A really good performance by the filters there.

I also checked for any colour cast produced. For this, I shot sequences of images in auto white-balance and in manual white-balance, making a control exposure, then adding the filters in turn. Shooting in auto produced a slight warm up, but it wasn’t unnatural or unpleasant.

Shooting with the white-balance set manually to 5500K the difference was less far less noticeable, just a slight cooling.

When it comes to suppressing reflections, the filters were also very good, and the only time I noticed one was when stacking all three to produce a two second exposure.

In terms of wear and tear, the fact that the filters are made of resin is a double-edged sword. On the upside, resin keeps the cost and the weight down, and it also means the filters are far less likely to shatter when dropped than glass. The main drawback is that resin scratches more easily. After a week’s use, I could already see small scratches appearing at the very edges of the filters, simply from regular handling like slotting them in and out. A nice padded case is included in the set, to keep them safe and sound. KS

The SRB Full ND Set includes 0.3, 0.6 and 0.9 NDs, equating to one, two and three stops of light dimming power

Verdict This three-ND set represents all you need to get started with creative exposure control. Image quality is good, as is the price and, while as resin filters they’re more likely to scratch than glass, careful handling should see them last a long time.

Cheap and very cheerful, so it’d be nice to see these produced in a 100mm set soon.

Pros Overall image quality, case included, price Cons Slight colour shifts, resin materials, nothing major

Photography News | Issue 46 | absolutephoto.com

Photography News | Issue 46 | absolutephoto.com

Photography News | Issue 46 | absolutephoto.com

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First tests Specs Prices £250, instax film 10 shots, £14.99 Sensor 1/4-in, CMOS with primary colour filter ISO range ISO 100 to 1600 (Auto) Shutter range 1/29500 sec to 1/2 sec (Auto), maximum 10sec in Bulb mode Metering system 256-segment through the lens (TTL) metering, multi metering Exposure modes Program AE Monitor 3in TFT colour LCD monitor, approx. 460k dots Focus Single AF, contrast-detect TTL, equipped with AF illuminator Storage media Built-in memory approx. 50 files, microSD/microSDHC memory card Dimensions (wxdxh) 119x47x127mm Weight 450g including film and battery Contact instax.co.uk

Once the image has been taken, the software allows you to go back and edit as many times as you like

Images The instax SQ10 lets you enjoy digital capture with the option of instant print output of your favourite pictures.

Fujifilm instax SQ10 £250 Combining a digital sensor with the ability to print instant pictures in one small camera body, is the new instax SQ10 bridging the gap between analogue and digital, and just how well does this little hybrid perform?

Since the first production of the Fujifilm instax 100 in the late 1990s, this easy to use, fun-loving format has gone from strength to strength, offering users the ability to enjoy instant pictures without the artistic headache of real analogue photography. The new SQ10 hybrid camera takes its place as the 20th camera produced by instax – not including the two instax printers – and comes with two firsts for the brand; the ability to shoot digitally, edit in-camera and print when you choose, and a brand new square film format.

With a screen size of 62x62mm, the new Instagram-worthy film provides perfect 1:1 dimensions, but what’s the camera like to shoot with?

As well as having digital experience, I was brought up on 35mm, and have since dabbled with a mediumformat Lomography, and got to grips with Polaroid, using the SX70 Land camera, and so I was keen to put this new toy to the test.

The SQ10 has a more sophisticated design compared with its cuter predecessors, with a shaved metal on/off ring to the front, and is available only in black.

Two buttons to the front can be set to either shoot, or as a shortcut to change shooting mode, which is great for lefties! Turn it around and you’ll find six dedicated buttons around a dial, with a menu/OK button to its centre. At the top are easy-to-access filters, with ten to choose from and here you can fine-tune saturation and tone. Next up is a brightness – or exposure compensation button – which allows you adjustment with 19 levels. There’s also a vignette mode where the peripheral light can be altered between 19 levels. Other buttons include playback, and print.

As you’d expect from instax, the menu is pretty basic but there is the

addition of bulb and double exposure modes. Flash can also be adjusted, as low-light handheld isn’t the most effective. There’s also a self-timer mode of two and ten seconds and an AF illuminator function.

The square film comes in packs of ten shots, which is easy to load into the camera back.

Importantly, a switch to the side offers auto and manual shooting.

Not to be confused with focus or lens control, this switch actually determines whether an instant print is created straight after pressing the shutter button (as on previous instax models) on auto mode, or by choosing manual, you’re able to snap away without printing, instead choosing to browse and print later. For me this is one of the biggest plus points of the SQ10. A little like the benefit of having a Kindle when you want to take loads of books on holiday but can’t fit everything in your hand luggage, the SQ10 allows the triggerhappy photographer to shoot all day (and night) thanks to a decent battery life of around 160 shots, without worrying about wasting any precious film – prints work out at around £1.50 a picture. You can store up to 50 images internally, and more when using a Micro SD card. But like the Kindle, this does come at the sacrifice of that tangible medium; real books, real film and one-off shots.

But for those who want to enjoy all the fun of instant pictures, and also take ultimate control, the SQ10

ticks many boxes. The filters suit the rich, vibrant colour reproduction of the film, giving punchy, satisfying results. When shooting, you can either apply filters, vignette and brightness control before pressing the shutter – viewing the scene on the 3in rear monitor – or shoot on normal mode and apply whatever you wish post-shutter release.

Once the image has been taken, the software allows you to go back and edit as many times as you like.

On screen the pictures look great, and printed even better, appearing fully thanks to instax magic within just a few minutes; but what about the files?

The SQ10 isn’t about to win any digital camera awards, and should be treated as the hybrid it is. With a 0.25in sensor, that’s about half the size of the dinky sensor used in the iPhone 7 and when you download your shots from Micro SD card, the pixel count is just 1920x1920, offering up files around 850KB. While they would be fine for Instagram, the edits are not saved onto the card however, leaving you with flat digital files which had me reminiscing about my first twomegapixel camera phone (in a bad way), but having to upload via Micro SD adaptor to a computer is a lessthan-instant method, which brings me to my biggest question mark on this curvy camera, and where some may sit on the fence. No inclusion of Wi-Fi. To ultimately bridge the gap

between analogue and digital, I’d like to see the SQ10 offering the ability to shoot and share as instantly as you can print, by using the excellent Wi-Fi functionality available with the SP-Share printers, and select Fujifilm X-series cameras. However, this could ultimately take away from the purpose of the camera, which prides itself on prints first, and with a noted firmware update option in the menu system, there’s nothing to say this won’t be introduced at a later date. DD

Verdict The instax SQ10 is one of the most interesting photo gadgets to launch this year, and certainly unique in what it offers. What it lacks in Wi-Fi functionality, it more than makes up for in beautifully vibrant, colourful instant prints.

Plus, with the introduction of Bulb and double exposure modes, the camera makes it all the more fun to play with and perfect, thanks to the pressure being taken off printing. If you love instax, but crave more control, this camera won’t disappoint.

Pros Lots of shooting capacity, filters, fun, instant prints when needed Cons Wi-Fi would be nice, small files

Photography News | Issue 46 | absolutephoto.com

Photography News | Issue 46 | absolutephoto.com

47

Technique PART 11

Camera School

Here we lift the lid on all things camera related, showing how to get better results from your CSC or DSLR, and providing all the info you don’t find in the manual. So, stick with us and you’ll soon be wielding your camera like a pro. This month, how to deal with digital noise from increasing ISO sensitivity, and how to use Auto ISO Words & pictures by Kingsley Singleton Along with aperture and shutter speed, ISO is one of the three exposure variables and, as you’ll have seen in last month’s Camera School, it essentially increases or decreases the camera’s sensitivity to light. This allows you to adapt to dim or bright conditions and use the aperture or shutter speed that’s appropriate for the subject, or your intentions.

The downside to increasing the ISO is digital noise. Essentially, this is interference caused by boosting the signal from the sensor. It’s a bit like amplifying an audio signal by turning the volume up, except in photography the signal you’re turning up is the light that’s hitting the sensor. When you amplify an audio signal you get ‘hiss’; and when you amplify a light signal you get random, grain-like speckles on the image – digital noise.

The random pattern of high ISO noise shouldn’t be confused with fixed-pattern noise and banding, which are linked with very long exposures (we’ll cover this during a future Camera School).

Collectively, this relationship between the amount of light and the amount of interference is called the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). In dim conditions the signal (light) is weak, and in bright conditions the signal is strong. A high SNR, which tends to occur at low ISOs, is good,

and will produce clean images; a low SNR, which tends to occur at high ISOs, features lots of noise and is more problematic.

When does digital noise appear?

For the most part, digital noise goes unnoticed.

It’s present in all digital images, but only becomes visible beyond a certain point in the ISO range – that is, at a certain level of amplification. This point of visibility depends on your camera and how you’re viewing the image, and of course, some models perform better than others when it comes to high ISO digital noise.

Cameras with larger sensors can have better noise performance (DSLRs with fullframe sensors V APS-C chips, for example), though this isn’t always the case. Broadly, each generation of camera tends to deal with noise more efficiently, so you might get the same noise performance at ISO 6400 as you did at ISO 3200 on the previous generation.

Noise can also become more apparent when lightening a photo in editing software. An image with apparently no noise can suddenly look quite grainy when excessively brightened, especially in shadow areas where the SNR is lower. Broadly, the higher the ISO, the quicker the noise will appear when brightening a picture in software.

Right These two pictures, taken only moments apart, show the potential difference between using a high and a low ISO: the top picture, for which a low ISO was selected, displays a high signal-to-noise ratio – the picture is clean and noise free.

It’s a high-quality image suitable for every purpose The bottom shot, taken with a very high ISO, displays a low signal-to-noise ratio – and it really shows! The level of noise or grain is high and that affects fine detail and colour saturation. Overall, it is less acceptable.

ISO 400

100%

ISO 12,800

Using Auto ISO

100%

When shooting in your camera’s creative exposure modes – aperture and shutter-priority, manual and program – the ISO can be set manually. This gives an excellent level of control and helps you to adapt to different lighting conditions, as well as achieving creative effects such as long exposures.

But for situations where you need to be responsive and act quickly, it’s sometimes an exposure variable that you can do without.

That’s when the Auto ISO setting comes in handy. You can normally activate it from the same menu as the manual ISO settings, and it can often be found at one end of the ISO range or the other – for example, if you push the ISO setting beyond its lowest or highest setting you’ll find it (on some cameras it’s a separate setting). On camera bodies with lots of manual inputs, such as Fujifilm’s X-series, it’s marked an A on the ISO dial, just the like automatic aperture and shutter speed settings.

Once activated, the Auto ISO will modulate the setting based on the light levels in the scene.

If it’s dim, for example, it will set a higher ISO, meaning a faster shutter speed can be used; and if conditions are bright, it will set a lower ISO so that wider apertures can be used.

Depending on your camera model, you’ll also be able to limit the upper ISO to be used in Auto mode. So, if you know at what point the ISO setting of your camera gives pictures that are too grainy and desaturated, you can set the top limit in this way. Often a setting of 1600, 3200 or 6400 is a good compromise in terms of performance and avoiding poor quality pictures.

On some cameras the minimum shutter speed can also be set; herein you can dictate how low you’ll allow the shutter speed to fall, and the camera will adjust the ISO setting to make sure it doesn’t go any slower.

When does noise become a problem?

Digital noise only becomes a problem when it starts to affect fine detail and colour in an image. There are two types of noise which affect the image in different ways: luminosity and colour (or chromatic) noise. As the grain (luminosity noise) becomes more intense, textures and sharp lines get distorted and lose definition. Even when this is occurring it can still look good, in the way that fast film had a certain rough charm.

Colour noise can be more of a problem.

Images can lose saturation, with false colour appearing, and at very high settings, pictures can start to look blotchy, with smears of red, green or blue.

Know your limits The key to knowing which ISO to use in terms of noise is to test your camera and work out at which point the interference becomes problematic to you. Knowing what looks okay to your eye will mean you can avoid pushing the setting over that level.

It’s important to remember, though, some grain is preferable to an image that’s blurred by slow shutter speed camera shake.

NEXT MONTH How to use high ISO noise reduction in camera and in software.

Photography News | Issue 46 | absolutephoto.com

48

Competition

Editor’s letter

Postcard from America

WIN!

A Samsung memory card!

Capture life’s special moments across all devices with the ultra-reliable Samsung PRO Plus 128GB microSD memory cards. Samsung’s latest cards feature recently upgraded fourproof features; they are water, temperature, X-ray and magnetic proof, so shooting in the most challenging conditions isn’t an issue. We have one massive 128GB Samsung PRO Plus microSDXC card and SD adapter to award to an eagle-eyed winner.

Just complete the word search below, and you’ll find one word in the list that’s not in the grid. Email us on puzzle@photography-news.co.uk with that word in the subject box by 13 August 2017. The correct answer to PN44’s word search was Media and the Samsung 128GB card was won by Kevin Woodall of Hull. Congratulations to him. samsung.com/uk/memorycards/

“Photographers, your two minutes start now… you have 90 seconds left... one minute to go…just 30 seconds to go... last few seconds so you need to be taking your final shot now… okay time’s up... close your tripod legs and follow me.’’ I have taken pictures in a great many situations but never have I done landscape photography with the clock ticking quite like this. But this is how it is done in Arizona’s Antelope Canyon, probably America’s most photographed slot canyon.

I was on photography holiday and booked on the Guided Photographer’s tour which is two hours in the Upper Antelope Canyon (it costs $120) and while being counted down and herded about was a shock to the system, it was rather fun. Well, it was fun once you accepted that there was not a second to lose and getting your tripod kicked or having people walking in front of the camera during the required long exposures was part of the experience. I also had to accept that I was very unlikely to get a shot like Peter Lik’s Phantom, a print of which sold for $6.5million in 2014 – see lik.com for details.

Our group comprised 12 tripod-toting photographers, so we were organised into two sub groups. Six with very wide-angle lenses were to shoot low-down from the front row and the rest with less wide lenses shot from behind standing up. I was shooting on a Fujifilm GFX 50S with a 32-64mm zoom, so I was in the back row shooting over people’s heads.

With so little space, tripods could not be used with legs fully splayed out and on loose sand someone’s twitching foot was enough to ruin an exposure; I got a few backs of heads too, as people stood up.

It was tricky enough just with our small group, but there were several other sightseeing groups in the canyon at the same time. The other groups had cameras and phones but not tripods and of course they wanted their shots too, so all in

all it was a bun fight – but a very organised one.

The Upper canyon didn’t seem that long either and groups did go back and forth for different viewpoints of the same canyon section.

However, it is fair to say that the guides did a great job keeping groups together and making sure everyone got pictures. In the case of our group, one of the guides seemed to be a very keen photographer himself and the other one knew his full-frame from his APS-C and between them they got us to the right spot at the right time for people-free shots of particular light shafts. They were also well practised at throwing sand into the air to catch the light beams too. That meant plenty of sand in hair and on cameras too, but I got a couple of shots I liked.

I had read a few reviews on the web about the canyon tours before I went, but nothing could have prepared me for the reality. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it; I did, despite the frustration of not getting the desired camera viewpoint.

Would I do it again? Yes, most definitely, even though I know I’m not going to have a contemplative landscape experience. In fact, I’d probably do an all-day tour taking in other slot canyons too.

I am already thinking of a return trip to the area because the scenery is amazing. I’d love to spend some quality time at Monument Valley, as I literally only had a few hours on this occasion and the best sky colour was shot from a moving car. Over the years I’ve seen many images of the place and now I’ve seen it in the flesh I can’t wait to return, so I’d better start saving my pennies.

Wherever you spend your summer hols, have a safe, fun time and take lots of great pictures.

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