Photography News 57 by Bright Publishing

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Issue 57 16 July – 12 August

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Air shows

First tests

All the advice you need for fabulous shots at these big summer events See page 20

Lots of lovely, lovely kit for your delectation Starting page 36

Your FREE newspaper packed with the latest news, views and stories from the world of photography

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There’s something in the air. Find out how to join in the fun on page 18

Enter the competition on page 48

Sizzling shutters Over 200 Photography News readers braved heatwave conditions to indulge their passion for creating pictures in one of the world’s most photogenic cities © Peter Karry

Photo 24 is a free day-long camera festival for Photography News readers and sponsored by Fujifilm. Now in its sixth year, the 2018 event proved a great success with hundreds of readers combing the streets of London for opportunities to use their cameras. Guided photo walks,

studio sessions, a location steampunk shoot and a 24-hour shooting challenge were some of the activities that took place. And for those readers keen to experience mirrorless photography, Fujifilm offered free loans of its X Series cameras and lenses.

Exclusive free prints offer “A great day was had by all, despite the heat,” says Will Cheung, PN’s editor, “and we saw some exceptional images for our 24-hour shooting challenge. Thanks to everyone who supported Photo 24.” See page 12 for the full story

PN has joined forces with One Vision Imaging and Fujifilm to offer you three prints for free – all you pay is postage. See page 3 for details

Photography News | Issue 57 | photographynews.co.uk

News

Exclusive reader offer How to order •

• • •

•

There’s nothing more satisfying than seeing a beautifully finished print and that’s why we have joined forces with professional lab One Vision Imaging and Fujifilm to bring you this exclusive free print offer. The Print to prove it! campaign is not just about the final print but also about the benefits of using a professional lab such as One Vision Imaging and the ways it can help your workflow, culminating in exceptional quality prints. Every Photography News reader can each claim three free 10x8in or

• •

For full terms and conditions, visit the One Vision Imaging website.

12x8in prints with the Print to prove it! campaign. Using Fujicolor Professional Crystal Archive Type DPII paper with a choice of lustre or gloss finish, One Vision Imaging will

print your images for free; all you need to do is to pay for the postage. To claim your free prints and discover the unprecedented quality for yourself, simply upload your images to the website and follow the online instructions. JPEGs and

Reader opportunity

Switch to mirrorless More and more photographers are going mirrorless and if you’re thinking of switching from your DSLR kit to the Olympus Micro Four Thirds system but haven’t quite decided yet, we have the perfect opportunity for you Photography News has six places available on an exclusive Olympus experience that will take place at Park Cameras main store in Burgess Hill, West Sussex. It offers you the chance to get familiar with Olympus OM-D cameras and lenses in a real shooting situation with full technical support and Olympus ambassador Jay McLaughlin offering inspiration. This is a studio shooting experience with a professional fashion model and you will have plenty of time to direct the model, try different poses and lighting styles, and get to use a variety of cameras and lenses. Lunch and refreshments will be provided at this exclusive event so your only cost on the day will be to make your way to Park Cameras at Burgess Hill.

Go to the One Vision Imaging website, onevisionimaging.com Click on Photographic Printing Follow the online instructions Upload your files – TIFF and JPEGs are eligible, any colour space Prints will be professionally printed to One Vision Imaging's usual high standards using Fujicolor Professional Crystal Archive Type DPII paper Enter the code PPOFB18 at the checkout The offer ends 31 August 2018

How to enter Please send your best portrait to willcheung@bright-publishing. com. JPEGs should be 1500-1800 pixels on the longest dimension and in any colour space.

The shoot will also be featured in a future issue of Photography News, so perhaps you will get to see your work in print too. There will be a competitive element to the event to add to the excitement – more details of this will be given to the six participants on the day. If you want to join us for this unique inspirational event, all you have to do to be considered is send us your best portrait. The closing date for entries is 9 August 2018.

Closing date for entries is 9 August, and you will know if you're selected by 13 August. Event date 10am start, 23 August 2018 Venue Park Cameras, Burgess Hill, York Road, West Sussex, RH15 9TT

TIFFs are fine and use any colour space – One Vision Imaging will add its own colour profile as well as finetune contrast and colour balance. Finally, enter the voucher code PPOFB18 when prompted. Then it's simply a case of waiting for

your prints to drop through your letterbox – ready to marvel at the cost-effective quality.

Photography News | Issue 57 | photographynews.co.uk

News

manfrotto.co.uk/ summeressentials A long one from Nikon Nikon announced that it is developing the AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR, a prime super-telephoto lens featuring a PF (Phase Fresnel) lens element to keep size and weight down compared with lenses of the same focal length. The benefit of that technology can already be seen in another Nikon lens, the AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4E PF ED VR, that came out in 2015. No price or availability details as yet.

Laowa has brought us many fascinating optics and its latest offerings are no exception. The Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero-D is a compact ultra wide-angle with a coverage of 113° on APS-C mirrorless cameras and is available in Canon EOS M, Fujifilm X-series and Sony E fittings. It features a 15 elements in 10 groups construction which includes two aspherical and three extra-low dispersion lenses to combat chromatic aberrations and distortion. With a minimum focusing distance of 12cm you can get in close, and despite its wide field-ofview it accepts 49mm filters. Stocks are available now and it costs £499. The second lens is even more interesting, particularly if you enjoy close-up shooting. The Laowa

25mm f2.8 2x-5x Ultra Macro is a compact, high magnification lens designed for shooting between 2.5x and 5x lifesize together with a comfortable shooting distance. For example, at 2.5x you can be 45mm from the subject, which helps with lighting and to avoid the camera’s shadow falling across the subject. Minimum focus varies from 17.3cm to 23.4cm. The lens construction comprises eight elements in six groups with an aperture range from f/2.8 down to f/22. Weighing in at 400g it is also a lightweight and compact lens. This lens sells for £399 and is available in Canon, Nikon, Pentax and Sony E mounts. laowalens.co.uk

H&Y framed attraction H&Y’s Quick Release Magnetic Filter Frame system offers a fast and effective way of enjoying your creative filters. Initially, adapter strips are available for Lee 100mm and Formatt-Hitech holders, with B+W, Cokin, NiSi and H&Y’s own K-series to follow later this year. The system speeds up filter mounting and adjusting the filter’s position. The framed filters are easier to handle without fingerprints marking the filter edges and several filters can be stacked together for easier transportation. Also, using several filters is easy with no gaps between them. You need an Adapter pack

nikon.co.uk

which replaces the filter slots on the Lee holder and when each filter is framed, to attach all you do is offer the filter to the holder and magnetism does the rest. It is a neat and practical innovation. Prices for the system are: 100x100mm filter frame £23, 100x150mm frame £25, Adapter Strips for Lee 100mm and FormattHitech filter systems £15, Lee Filters triple pack £80 – this includes three 100x150mm frame and Lee Filters Adapter frame pack. There is a First Test of the H&Y system in this issue of PN. Johnsonsphotopia.co.uk

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To The Customer: Simply cut out this coupon and hand it to your WHSmith High Street retailer to claim your copy of Professional Photo for £3.75 instead of the usual £4.75. This coupon can be used as part payment for issue 147 or 148 of Professional Photo on sale between 21 June and 15 August 2018. Only one coupon can be used against each item purchased. No cash alternative is available. Not to be used in conjunction with any other offer. To the WHSmith Retailer: Please accept this voucher as part payment of one copy of Professional Photo on sale between 21 June and 15 August 2018. This voucher is worth £1 plus a 2p handling allowance. The offer is valid to the consumer up to 15 August 2018 and must be returned to your clearing house to arrive no later than 15 August 2018 (issue 147), 13 September 2018 (issue 148). As your shop belongs to a multiple group, please handle in the usual way. This voucher is not redeemable against any other item and is only valid in the UK.

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News in brief

Photography News | Issue 57 | photographynews.co.uk

News

More goodies from Manfrotto The Lastolite by Manfrotto Ezybox Pro Strip 25x150cm will appeal to all on-location flash photographers. Its unique, patent pending design allows you to set it up for use in very quick time and with minimal effort. The softbox fabric stays attached to the RapidExoframe and this just slides out and is clipped into position at both ends. No straining and bending of supporting rods needed, and the collapsed form is compact so ideal for travelling around. The stripbox itself offers a 6:1 ratio so ideal for edge lighting and it can be used vertically or horizontally and will fit most flashheads and flashguns via a speedring mount. Two internal diffusers and a fabric grid are supplied as standard too. The Ezybox Pro Strip 25x150cm’s guide price is £329.95 and stock will be available soon.

Manfrotto has added the Noreg bag system to its range. Two bags are available, the Camera Backpack-30 and the Camera Messenger-30, priced at £159.95 and £129.95 respectively and each designed to carry a mirrorless camera and two lenses. Modular is the key word with both products. Each bag is made up of two parts and each of these can be used separately. So, for example, with the Backpack-30, when you don’t need your camera kit, the internal insert can be removed and the bag becomes a roomy daypack. Made from premium materials and boasting contemporary good looks the Noreg range is worth a look. Finally, from Manfrotto this month are three additions to its Befree tripod range, the Befree Advanced Carbon (£319.95), Befree Live Carbon (£349.95 ) and the Befree GT (£399.95

for the carbon version and £239.95 for the aluminium version). The Advanced Carbon features the Advanced 494 Centre ball head and the combination weighs just 1.25kg so ideal for those long walks. The Live Carbon is designed for video use and includes the Befree Live Fluid head and this support weighs 1.39kg. Both versions of the new Befree GT come with the 496 aluminium ball head and have a maximum payload of 10kg. The legs feature quick to use, secure twist M-locks, have the Easy Link facility to fix various accessories, and have three independent leg angles. The Advanced Carbon is reviewed in the First Test section of this issue, so check that out. manfrotto.co.uk

Pentax’s fast standard Pentax has added a fast aperture standard lens to its range. The HD 50mm f/1.4 SDM AW is a dust proof, weather resistant lens that boasts state of the art technology including Pentax’s Aero Bright Coating II, a lens coating technology that coupled with HD Coating effectively reduces flare and image ghosting to a minimum. It is available from July onwards and costs £1199. ricoh-imaging.co.uk

Sony’s long ’un

Samyang goes fast AF Sony has announced the availability of its FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS Master lens for its E-mount camera system. Key features include its fast precise AF using two highspeed XD (extreme dynamic) linear motors to drive the len’s

focusing group of elements and its optical design. The FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS is built to order and is available from this September. Approximate cost is £10,500. sony.co.uk

Samyang’s march on the autofocus lens market continues with its AF 85mm f/1.4 EF. This weather-proofed lens is full-frame compatible. Weighing 485g and measuring 72mm long, it should make a fine companion to fullframe and APS-C format DSLRs. The 85mm focal length is popular among portrait photographers

and with a minimum focus of just 90cm you should enjoy some lovely bokeh effects. Its optical build comprises nine elements in seven groups and features Samyang’s Hybrid aspherical glass to maximize fine detail resolution and deliver corner to corner sharpness. Flare is kept under tight control thanks

to the lens’s Ultra Multi Coating. However, top of its features set is its autofocus skills. The lens uses Samyang’s dual LSM motor for fast, accurate and very quiet autofocus. The lens is priced at £599.99 and available from July onwards. Intro2020.co.uk

Photography News | Issue 57 | photographynews.co.uk

News

Sell yourself Photo Mobile Apps by OnlinePictureProof.com could be one of the best marketing tools for your photography business. Photo Mobile Apps help boost your word-of-mouth marketing and increases referrals for your business. The main purpose of the app is to bring you new clients and get you in touch with your old customers to get repeat business.

You can create unlimited mobile apps for your clients. Online Picture Proof provides a one-stop solution for freelance photographers. This includes a beautiful HTML5 website, very easy-to-use online proofing and a shopping cart. You can try the app for free for 30 days. onlinepictureproof.com

Voigtländer get in close

Canon on the upgrade Canon has upgraded two of its popular zooms, with the launch of the EF70-200mm f/4L IS II USM and EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS III USM. Priced at £1299.99, the EF70200mm f/4L IS II USM is the ideal telezoom when you need superb image quality in a compact body form. It’s weather-sealed for

Shoot anywhere with Rotolight The Rotolight NEO 2 Explorer kit weighs just 6.8kg and costs £1199.99. The kit includes three NEO 2 units, three four-piece filter kits, three power supply units, three stands and one tenpiece colour filter set, all in a bespoke soft case complete with shoulder strap. Rotolight.com

reliable performance in challenging conditions and features a new Image Stabiliser unit giving a 5EV benefit – the previous model had a 3EV benefit. The new lens has new firmware and control CPU for even better AF performance. The EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS III USM sells at £2149. Key features

include its constant fast aperture, weather-proof construction and fluorine-coated front and rear lens elements. Its IS performance has a 3.5EV benefit. Both lenses will be available later this year. canon.co.uk

Voigtländer’s Macro ApoLanthar 110mm f/2.5 is designed exclusively for full-frame Sony-E mount cameras. It is a high performance manual focus lens that offers lifesize magnification and is optimized to get the most from Sony mirrorless camera sensors. Its apochromatic design means the red, green and blue light is focused at the same point so chromatic aberration is kept to practically zero. With 14 elements in 12 groups and a three-group floating mechanism, this lens delivers high image quality across its focusing range and enables 1:1 magnification

without the need for any extra accessories. Its minimum focusing distance is 35cm so you get a good working distance from your subject. The lens does not include image stabilisation but it does have a distance encoder to support fiveaxis image stabilisation on cameras with that feature. Focus peaking is also supported and aperture data is transmitted to the camera so you get full EXIF data on your files. The Macro Apo-Lanthar 110mm f/2 is available from August and priced at £849. flaghead.co.uk

Photography News | Issue 57 | photographynews.co.uk

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

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

Clubs Deadline for the next issue: 2 August 2018

We need words and pictures by 2 August 2018 for the next issue of Photography News, which will be available from 13 August 2018. 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

Maidstone CC Monmouth PC © Steve Foreman

Bearsted, Kent ME15 8LH from September to May and has a very varied program. In addition to regular club meetings, special interest groups meet once a month covering natural history, portraiture and audio visual sequencing. The club’s Digital group covers everything technical

Heswall PS

vote for their favourite image. Last year’s visitors’ choice winner is shown here. It is an excellent opportunity for visitors to chat to club members and find out more about HPS and what the club offers. Meetings are held from September to May at St Peter’s Centre, Lower Heswall Village. Enquiries and potential new members are very welcome.

monmouthphoto.co.uk

from camera craft to using post processing software. New members are always welcome and further information is available from Tony White 07792 037908 or Peter Brook 07828 133508 or on the website. maidstonecameraclub.org.uk

Amersham PS

Amersham PS has a long history of extremely able women members whose impressive work has helped bring distinction to the club. However, in recent years the numbers of new women members has grown significantly and from these intakes has come work that has dominated this year’s club awards in both printed images and PDI. Moreover, these achievements have occurred in a variety of genres.

month between September and May at Mitchel Troy Village Hall, Monmouth NP25 4BD, starting at 7.30pm. The club’s first meeting of the new season is on 7 September 2018 with a presentation by Sleepy Robot (sleepyrobotphotogr.wixsite. com/sleepy/composites) for which there’s a small entry fee for non members. Other guest speaker highlights for the season include Alyn Wallace and Roy Carr.

Maidstone CC is holding its annual exhibition in The Mall, Maidstone from 27 August to 2 September. More than 100 prints will be on display from a wide cross-section of members and entry is free. Maidstone CC meets every Tuesday evening from 7.30pm to 10pm at Madginford Hall,

Monmouth PC is a small, friendly club that meets on alternate weeks. Being so close to areas such as the Forest of Dean, Wye Valley, Brecon Beacons National Park and the South Wales Heritage coast gives members plenty of variety for photo trips out. Previous guest speakers last season included the renowned Magnum photographer David Hurn (shown here) and landscape photographer Nigel Forster. The club meets on the first and third Fridays of each

These and many more strong images from all club members may be seen at the club’s 66th annual Exhibition to be held 23-25 August at

St Michael and All Angels church, 70 Sycamore Road, Amersham. amershamphotosoc.com

Heswall PS’s annual exhibition takes place at Ness Gardens, open from 17 September and running for seven days. Entry into the exhibition is free. A selection of members’ printed and digital images will be on show. Last year, the exhibition attracted over 600 visitors and each was invited to

heswall.com

Photography News | Issue 57 | photographynews.co.uk

Photo 24

Photo 24 2018: the day

Ironman for photographers

Over 200 readers joined Photography News for its Photo 24 reader event on Friday 29 and Saturday 30 June. It was 24 hours of friendship, great photography, blue skies and scorching temperatures

Our Photo 24 is a free photo festival that takes place in London, this year starting at 3pm on 29 June and ending 24 hours later. This year’s event was – literally! – the hottest yet, but that didn’t deter our readers from immersing themselves in their photography, many of them for the full 24 hours. While Photo 24 lasts a whole day, how long participants

actually stay for is entirely up to them and this year we had close to 150 readers turning up for the event’s official sign-off. An impressive feat given the heatwave conditions. Photo 24 offers guided photo walks, shoots and the chance to loan a Fujifilm camera for free. There are also themed contests; this year, two to enter after the event, Best Street Image

and Best London Scene, and a Challenge that ran throughout the 24 hours. All three contests had the same prize: £1500 of Fujifilm camera equipment of the winner’s choice. The Fujifilm Super 24 Challenge had a new theme on the hour, every hour starting at 4pm on the first day and ending at 2pm on the next, so 23 different subjects to be shot

and uploaded for judging with the winner announced at Photo 24’s closing meeting. For more see the panel on the Fujifilm Super 24 Challenge. The next three pages will give you a flavour of this popular reader event and if you couldn’t make it this year, perhaps we’ll see you in 2019.

Photography News | Issue 57 | photographynews.co.uk

Photo 24 Photo 24 activities © Alex Lloyd Duckett

Free photo walks We had free photo walks on Photo 24 guided by ace street photographers, Alex and Brian Lloyd Duckett from streetsnappers. com. Camera set-up, use of light and the art of composition were key techniques.

The Fujifilm GFX studio Readers could enjoy free 45-minute model sessions in the company of Fujifilm X-Photographer Wayne Johns using a Fujifilm GFX medium-format camera and Profoto lighting. © Mark Stimpson

Above “I was rather excited when told we would be using the Fujifilm GFX with a range of lenses,” Mark Stimpson says. “I was expecting the Fujifilm GFX to be big and heavy, but it is not. I was surprised just how light and small it is. In fact, it’s no bigger than my full-frame DSLR and it’s very user-friendly. Overall, I found the GFX easy to use and really enjoyed it.”

Shoot steampunks Becks and Paul were our models in the Leake Street graffiti tunnel with the option of using Profoto lighting equipment, but it was bright enough for ambient light photography.

Photography News | Issue 57 | photographynews.co.uk

Photo 24 How readers approached Photo 24 © Chung Hau

Photo 24 is very much a free-form event so how long people stayed, where they went and what they shot was down to each photographer. Many had their own plan of what they wanted to shoot or a timetable for their Photo 24, while others – perhaps with less knowledge of the capital – buddied

up with fellow photographers. Maps were provided in our special Photo 24 guide so self-guided walks was another popular option. Here are a couple of different perspectives from readers Chung Hau and Peter Karry.

Chung Hau “For Photo24, I decided to focus on Brutalist architecture in London. For my day job, I’m lucky to visit the new steel/glass skyscrapers and whilst I admire these new buildings, they do not present themselves to be inclusive of the general population. They consist, mainly, of luxury apartments or they are the domain of multinational corporations. The Brutalist ideals of living/working spaces were intended for all and promoted community within its population. It can be argued that use of building materials such as concrete may not result in the most (aesthetically) pleasing of appearances but there is no doubt that the buildings show a post-war London at a crucial turning point

its history – just like the glass skyscrapers will define the present era. Personally, I felt that the shapes and symmetry present, in these buildings, also lend themselves well to good imagery – not to mention the accessibility aspect (try gaining access into The Gherkin, for example!). My iPhone was my camera choice: two built-in lenses and light enough to carry around the various locations. “Whether you picked up a camera 20 minutes or 20 years ago, Photo24 offers a wide range of experiences for all. It will always have my support.” chunghauphotography.com

“Next morning I went on the PN organised Thames Boat trip starting at Westminster Pier and ending at Canary Wharf. I went to one of my favourite places – the Crossrail Place Roof Garden. Then on by DLR to Greenwich where I shot in the market and in the park. Back into London via DLR and Overground train to Shoreditch for Brick Lane and Spitalfields Market. I walked to Aldgate (Whitechapel) where I bumped into a Jamaican wedding before returning to Photo 24 HQ for final a get-together and received a souvenir T-shirt. “On my Photo 24 I met some interesting folk and had some super food – lunch before the start was at Yori Korean restaurant near Leicester Square and I can highly recommend

the set lunch; dinner was at Locale on Belvedere Street (good but pricey), and second lunch was in the Brick Lane bagel shop – its salt beef sandwich is to die for, but so huge even I could not finish it, and at such a reasonable price. “From a photographic perspective, I am really happy to just have the opportunity to concentrate on taking diverse images over 24 hours and to do this in a location like London with so many different cultures, activities and architecture is the icing on the cake. “In hindsight, I probably could have benefited from spending more time in fewer locations, and also from participating in at least one of the organised P24 walks.”

“My itinerary was, after the introductory meet at the National Gallery, to Pineapple Dance studio in Covent Garden but I failed to obtain permission to take shots, so went to King’s Cross for the multi-coloured tunnel which connects to St Pancras. I also decided to try out the new development area, Granary Square before returning to the PN organised steampunk shoot in Leake Street with models in front of Banksy style murals. Next I went on to Mirror Maze in the Olympic East Village, and returned to my hotel near Westminster Bridge for a meal and some kip.

Peter Karry

Photography News | Issue 57 | photographynews.co.uk

Photo 24 Reader feedback on Photo 24

Fujifilm Super 24 Challenge Every hour, on the hour, during Photo 24 a new photo challenge was unveiled and the best image, as judged by the Photography News team and Fujifilm, would win £1500 of Fujifilm camera equipment of their choosing. The theme could be photographed at any time during the 24 hours and the themes were open to creative interpretation. The Challenge proved hugely popular with over 1500 images uploaded during Photo 24 and the overall winning picture was judged to be from Catherine Peakman for her brilliant

“Can’t thank the PN team for what was a wonderful two days of photography, not to mention the hotel staff who were great too.” John Nield “It was terrific fun. A big thank you to you and your colleagues for organising.” Ryan Hill “Thanks to you all for all the hard work – it’s the reason we all enjoyed it.” Gary Carter “Great event and good photo hunting topics. Never had such little sleep in a long time but well worth it and great fun, though some shade would have been appreciated.” Andy Warr

“Thanks to the whole team – came home and went to a gin festival – a perfect end to two great days.” Steven Marley

“It was my first Photo 24 and thoroughly enjoyed it. Completed the full 24. Bring on Photo 24 2019. Thanks to all involved for a great event.” Paul Hill “One of my friends called Photo 24 the Ironman for photographers! I’ll have that.” Graham Harries “Massive thanks to all involved in making Photo 24 a great event for photographers of any ability. It was my first P24, and definitely won’t be my last. I have about four friends that will also be applying next year, after I haven’t shut up about it since I got home (after a solid ten hours’ sleep!). I met some great people along the way, and am already in touch with my P24 buddies so we

can meet up at next year’s event, if not before. Again, big thanks.” Jon Oakley “Loved it all, met some lovely people, had some good fun, tired and hungry now, but will be back next year with less gear and a toothbrush. I will be taking some good memories and new friends home with me.” David Weller

The heels fitted perfectly with the Six inches off the ground theme

“37,000 steps and 24 hours later a sit-down dinner for one. Thank you PN team for organising a great Photo 24! I have learned some new things this year and been to new places.” Alicia Gill

“It was my second Photo 24 and loved it. The Facebook challenges really helped motivation and the opportunity to rest while I uploaded, edited and posted every few hours. Stayed awake the full 24 hours, aching today in places I never knew existed due to walking round most of the night.” Emma Joanne Burgoyne-Williams

“Got home and ended up driving out to Mersea Island for pizza tea on the beach with the family followed by F1 qualifying. Slept like a log till the cat and daughter woke me a 7am. Had a brilliant time – hope to see you on the next one.” Stewart Chambers

interpretation of the theme, Six inches off the ground. “I loved this lady’s bold outfit choice and the heels fitted perfectly with the Six inches off the ground theme,” Catherine says. “I shot from behind – rather than in profile – as I wanted to show the contrast of the glam mirror heels with the lady’s pigeon-toed pose. “I wasn’t expecting to get in the top 20, let alone win, so I was completely over the moon when my name was called out. I’d fallen in love with the Fujifilm X-T2 when I loaned one on the first day of 24, so the fact that I can now get one is amazing. Thank you for my prize and a brilliant 24 hours.”

“Just a quick thank you to the Photography News team and all the photographers at Photo 24 for letting me join the excitement (and exhaustion) of a tremendous photo walk! Seeing all the wonderful photos posted in the hourly challenges and Instagram gives me so much to aspire to! It was well worth the trip across the pond to say ‘I did it’!” Tim Childers

Our thanks go to…

ISSUE 58, OUT FROM 13 AUGUST WILL SHOWCASE THE BEST PICTURES ENTERED INTO OUR PHOTO 24 CONTESTS.

NEXT MONTH

and Kristina Pavlovic, stylist Angelica Stenvinkel and the model Markie Pearl. … Profoto for the loan of its lighting equipment for the Fujifilm Fine Art GFX Studio and Leake Street shoot. … Becks and Paul, our steampunk models ; see f a c e b o o k .c o m / P au l - S m i t h Model-207657013292491 and facebook.com/becky.southwell1

… Fujifilm for its generous sponsorship of Photo 24, free camera loans and competition prizes … Alex and Brian Lloyd Duckett of streetsnappers.com for hosting our photo walks. … Wayne Johns for running the Fujifilm Fine Art GFX Studio shoots. See waynejohns.com for more of his work. And to makeup artists Margarida Marinho

Photography News | Issue 57 | photographynews.co.uk

Interview

Drone master Profile

Compact, capable and affordable drones brings great aerial image making is within easy reach of keen photographers. We talk to pro drone user Fergus Kennedy about his work and how you can get involved in this exciting form of imaging © Fergus Kennedy

PN: Can you tell PN readers a bit about yourself please? What’s your background and what do you do for a living? FK: I’m a 48-year-old photographer, drone pilot and marine biologist. Being selfemployed allows me to mix several careers, which gives me great variety. I trained as a marine biologist and continue to work on ecological surveys for Environmental Impact Assessments, particularly for the oil and gas Industry in the Arabian Gulf. In recent years I’ve been doing more and more photography work, both ground based and up in the air. As a photographer my first love was wildlife and underwater work, but these days I get involved in a wide variety of work including commercial shoots for the likes of Canon, and I also do drone piloting work for TV and other clients, notably for The Great British Bake Off, both for the BBC and now that it’s moved to Channel 4. In recent years I’ve also had to privilege to be on the judging panel for the Outdoor Photographer of the Year contest. PN: Most PN readers are keen photography enthusiasts and many are looking at drones as a way of getting a fresh view or to give their image-making some impetus. What got you into drone photography? FK: I’ve always loved trying unusual or challenging types of photography, starting with underwater, but then I shot a fair bit from small aircraft, paragliders and hot air balloons. So when drones started to appear I was immediately interested. These days it’s a dream come true that you can bung a small drone in the camera bag along with the rest of your kit. PN: What drone kit do you use? FK: I probably have more drones than I really should have (at least that’s what my wife says). They range from the tiny, folding DJI Mavic Air [costs from £769], up to the DJI Matrice 600 [from £5199] which can lift a cinema camera or a large DSLR with a big lens. But for most purposes, the DJI Inspire 2 [from £3059] is a good compromise between size and decent image quality. Depending on which camera you use on the Inspire you can have interchangeable

lenses, either Micro Four Thirds on the Zenmuse X5S, or the DJI APS-C sized DL mount on the X7 camera.

PN: Are drones easy to operate for enthusiasts starting out? FK: These days drones are pretty easy to operate. Most decent drones are GPS stabilized, meaning provided you have a clear view of the sky, if you let go of all the controls they will hover without drifting. To become a safe pilot, you should have at least a rough understanding of how they work. This will help you appreciate their limitations and what actions to take should something unexpected happen mid-flight. PN: What are the main issues with drone image-making? FK: I’d say the main differences between conventional photography and drone photography are that you need more 3D spatial awareness for drone photography and you also need to always be aware of issues such as airspace regulations and the weather, particularly the wind!

To become a safe pilot, you should have at least a rough understanding of how drones work

Images Fergus has extended his wildlife and underwater photography skills into drone piloting, undertaking work for commercial clients and personal projects like this one.

PN: What kit would you recommend readers buy as their first serious photographic drone? FK: For most people either the DJI Mavic Pro [£899], Mavic Air, or as a step up the DJI Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 [£1589] would both be good choices, depending on budget and the importance of portability vs image quality. PN: Is there a code of conduct for amateur drone flyers? For example, is there a minimum distance from people when flying? FK: The exact regulations vary from country to country, but in the UK drone operators should make sure their drone is always at least 50m from people, buildings or roads not under their control and they should avoid exceeding 400ft above ground level. Stay well away from airports – at least 5km. PN: ‘No drone’ signs are appearing at more and more places and the practice is probably going to get more common. Is that a concern for you? FK: It can be annoying when a great flying

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Interview © Fergus Kennedy

Contact

Fergus Kennedy is a man of a great many talents. He is a marine biologist, photographer and filmmaker, and an experienced multi-rotor pilot and camera operator. He provides aerial video, still photography and 3D modelling services to the BBC, ITV, Canon Europe, Toyota, Nissan, WWFG, the Royal Navy and Love Productions – Fergus is responsible for the intro sequence for The Great British Bake Off. He is a successful author, writing Drone Photography and Video Masterclass (£16.99) which came out last year and this autumn he serves as consultant editor on the new book Masters of Drone Photography. Both books are available from the website below. thegmcgroup.com ferguskennedy.com

I can understand that there is a concern that beauty spots could be spoiled by the constant buzzing of drones © Fergus Kennedy

area becomes off-limits to drones. But I can understand that there is a concern that beauty spots could be spoiled by the constant buzzing of drones. Depending on the landowner, it may be possible to arrange a special permission for a flight at a time when there aren’t many visitors. PN: You use drones professionally. What training and qualifications are needed to work commercially in the UK? FK: If you want to fly drones for commercial gain, you need to get your Permission for Commercial Operations (PfCO) from the CAA. This usually involves a course, a written test, a flight test and various other paperwork. The permission is renewed annually. You will also need to maintain fairly comprehensive insurance, and keep detailed flight and maintenance logs.

Images Fergus’s book features drone images of people using paramotors over the amazing scenery of Jordan.

PN: Moving on from drones, your new book Wings Over the Desert is about a paramotoring expedition to Jordan. What exactly is paramotoring? FK: It’s a sport involving flying a footlaunched powered paraglider. Basically it involves a soft foil wing above you and a motor and propeller on the back of your harness. It’s the cheapest and most compact form of powered aviation. The Jordan trip came about because a friend who’s a paramotor pilot got in touch

and asked me along. He had visited Jordan and saw its potential as a flying location, with amazing scenery. After careful planning at the invitation of Aqaba Directorate of Tourism, the expedition was arranged and special permissions were granted to use both drones and paramotors with the help of the Royal Aero Club of Jordan. The book is a compilation of drone photos from various talented drone photographers around the world. I don’t fly paramotors, so

my aerial shots were taken using the drone.

weather conditions is crucial.

PN: What training do you need to fly one? FK: Although you don’t need a CAA licence to operate a paramotor, you should get trained by a qualified instructor – look at the British Hangliding and Paragliding Association website, bhpa.co.uk. It’s not dangerous if you do it sensibly, hence the need for proper training. A sound knowledge of both your equipment and the

PN: Can you try paramotoring in the UK? FK: There are schools that offer paramotor tuition in the UK – check the PPG pilots Forum for more advice and information. PN: What is your next drone/paramotoring adventure? FK: I’m hoping to get up to the Scottish Islands with my drone before too long.

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Feature Days out

Shoot air shows Expert photographer Darren Harbar is internationally known for his aircraft photography. He also runs aviation photography workshops, and here presents some hints and tips on how you can get better pictures from some of the summer’s biggest outdoor events, air shows

Words and pictures by Darren Harbar Capturing the action and atmosphere of an air show is a challenge. The action is fast and takes place some distance from you, and it’s usually busy so you have to contend with people getting in the way of your shots. The first thing to consider is what gear you need. For shooting aircraft on the ground, you’ll only need a short zoom such as a 24-70mm (or similar) standard zoom. For the flying subjects, you’re going to need at least 300mm, as the aircraft can’t fly too close to the crowd, and thus you need a decent telephoto reach to at least fill half the frame. Something like a 70-300mm is a good starting point, but a lens that takes you to 400mm is ideal. Personally I prefer a prime telephoto, as it focuses my mind on composition, rather than having the added

The sun plays a big part in any air show and seasoned photographers will know the best spots to get the optimum shots

element of considering zooming in and out but there are several telephoto zooms that stretch that far. Whatever telephoto you choose, you may have the option of using a teleconverter, but stick to the 1.4x magnification as the bigger ones lose more light and could possibly slow your lens’s autofocus. For long telephoto lenses a camera support such as a monopod is an option but you’ll get better flexibility without one. Other than that, a good kit bag, perhaps a backpack for comfort, a decent lens cloth and a comfortable camera strap are recommended. Some food and water in the bag is also recommended. Air shows present a wide range of opportunities from static aircraft through to re-enactors and of course the various flying displays. The sun plays a big part in any air show and seasoned photographers will know the best spots to get the optimum shots

when the sun decides to turn up. There are many locations where the sun can be in front of you or to the side, which is not ideal for shooting subjects in the sky. The Shuttleworth Collection at Old Warden in Bedfordshire is a photographer’s dream when the sun is out, because it sits behind the crowd. It’s common to witness people getting there early with trollies filled with chairs and windbreaks making a run for prime positions when the gates open. That’s not totally necessary, as the flying part of the day is generally above head height, so you can happily stand behind other people and still get a good view. Each air show has a different way of doing things. Static aircraft can often be surrounded by a mix of cones, barriers, trade stalls, skips, toilets and much, much more. The fun part is trying to avoid these things in your images,

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Feature © Darren Harbar

LEFT Using a telezoom will help you crop out telltale signs of modernity. ABOVE Shots like this take practice and good timing as well as luck. One technique to try is to set continuous shooting and focusing on the camera, track one plane as it flies past and push the shutter button a fraction before they cross over. Have one eye to the viewfinder as usual but keep the other open to help your timing. You will also need a very fast shutter speed – at least 1/1000sec.

and thus it is important to look around your viewfinder image to see what’s appearing in your shot. A simple move to the left or right, or even crouching (or lying) down can dramatically change how the image looks and avoid some of the clutter. With live view and tilting monitors shooting low down or above head height is achievable. Look out for things that sit behind your subject such as speaker poles and aerials as that can save you cloning time if you spot them before taking the shot. © Darren Harbar

Many air shows offer a flight line walk, where you can photograph the aircraft that are due to participate in the flying display. These are generally on the airfield, and thus have a lot less clutter around them, making for nicer images. A grass airstrip offers some timeless images with vintage aircraft when you ensure nothing but grass and trees is in the background. You’ll also find that many events employ period dressed re-enactors who provide great portrait subjects against a backdrop of an aircraft. I tend to shoot ground based static images in aperturepriority exposure mode as it’s the best way to concentrate on depth-of-field whether you want to throw the background out of focus or keep a long line of aircraft sharp. Shooting the aerial displays is a bit more complicated and you need to find a place from where you get a good view. If air show shooting is new to you head towards where the people with seriously long lenses stand. These photographers might have accreditation and be standing in a cordonedoff press area, but you can still stand close by. The ends of the display line prove popular with photographers as the aircraft tend to ‘come around the bend’ which looks good with the subject presenting a good view of its upper surfaces. If the sun favours one end of the airfield for this bend, then you’ll likely discover a greater concentration of seasoned photographers in that area. But watch out for speaker poles which sit along the crowd line, as these have a habit of appearing in your shots. It’s often not avoidable, but at least

Shooting the aerial displays is a bit more complicated and you need to find a place from where you can get a good view

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Feature © Darren Harbar

make a mental note where they are so you can try to avoid them. Choosing the right shutter speed is essential for aircraft photography. If a plane has a propeller or a helicopter has rotor blades, it’s essential not to ‘freeze’ them with too fast a shutter speed. It’s not as simple as using a specific shutter speed; it depends on how fast the propellor rotates. Old aircraft tend to have slower prop speeds than newer aircraft, so need slower shutter speeds. If you use a speed over 1/500sec for propeller-driven aircraft, it’s too fast so the prop blades are stationary which looks wrong. I’d recommend a maximum of 1/320sec, or slightly slower if you feel able and using shutter-priority AE mode for the flying displays means you know the shutter speed is constant as you shoot.

The biggest influence on sharp images is your ability to pan your camera at the same speed as the subject ABOVE Vary camera viewpoint and don’t shoot everything from standing height.

For jets, you can ramp up the shutter speed, as fast as the light allows, so you are in the 1/1000sec or 1/2000sec region. Jets have no visible moving parts to freeze, and with something like the Red Arrows crossing over, you definitely want sharp shots. The biggest influence on sharp images is your ability to pan your camera at the same speed as the subject. A smooth pan will enable you to maintain sharp images, even at slower shutter speeds. I quite often try and shoot takeoffs at really slow speeds like 1/80sec in order to show lots of blurring in the background as I pan with the subject, and this emphasises the motion of the aircraft. For flying subjects set continuous or servo autofocus as well as continuous drive mode. However, don’t ‘machine gun’ long frame bursts but shoot in

short bursts of three or four shots. Consider adding a touch of exposure compensation when photographing aircraft in the sky, to balance the exposure of a dark aircraft against a bright sky. I tend to set +0.3EV or +0.6EV and stick to partial metering mode. I also always shoot in Raw format so I have flexibility when it comes to editing. When the flying displays are over, don’t just pack up your gear and run for your car, as you’ll more than likely sit in a queue when you could be making the most of more photographic opportunities. The static aircraft will often still be on show at this point, and some of the clutter may even start to disappear. You’ll also benefit from the lovely evening light if the sun is out, so hang around and take more shots.

About Darren Harbar

31 August IWM Duxford – American aviation workshop £155 per person 7 September IWM Duxford – RAF aviation workshop £155 per person

Dates for Darren’s 2018 courses: 23 August The Shuttleworth Collection – Hurricane photo day £150 per person

Darren Harbar’s pro work involves air-to-air shooting of vintage aircraft such as Spitfires for the press and calendar companies worldwide. He also runs a range of photography days with aviation subjects, including an air-to-air workshop where you can fly in a de Havilland Devon aircraft alongside a Spitfire and a Hurricane.

15 and 16 September – Aero Legends dual fighter (Spitfire and Hurricane) air-to-air workshop £849 per person

13 October The Shuttleworth Collection – aviation Night Shoot £60 per person Full details can be found at darrenharbar.co.uk under the Training Days page. All events are booked through the event organisers but links are available via Darren’s website. All dates subject to weather and aircraft serviceability.

Photography News | Issue 57 | photographynews.co.uk

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Set your photography free

Great support There’s no point investing a fortune in a high-resolution camera and quality lenses if you then use them on an inadequate tripod. Here we take a close-up at a new exciting tripod, the Manfrotto Befree GT Carbon, which has all the credentials for the perfect travel tripod The best tripod in the world is the one you have with you, and really that is the thinking behind Manfrotto’s Befree tripod collection. The tripods are designed to be compact and portable so ideally suited to keep with you on your photographic travels rather than left at home or in the car boot. Last year saw the arrival of Befree Advanced aluminium tripods. Now we have the introduction of carbonfibre models, so whatever your preference or budget, you can enjoy great support for your camera in a really portable form. The Manfrotto Befree GT Carbon (product code MKBFRTC4GT-BH) sits at the top of the Befree range. This super lightweight carbon-fibre model has four leg sections so when folded down it measures just 43cm. This means it can be carried in a photo backpack but it will also fit a typical roller case when you are travelling hand baggage only. Despite its compact folded-down size the Advanced GT extends up to 162cm with the centre column fully extended or 138cm with the centre column down and even that is a comfortable working height. The carbon-fibre legs save weight without compromising great stability and rigidity. The legs themselves lock quickly and securely in place thanks to new M-locks. The rubber covered twist grips are comfortable in use and lock the legs firmly in position, even without too much pressure. The other advantage of twist locks is their low profile nature so that the tripod is not snagged when taken out from a backpack, for example. The newly developed spider (where the legs meet) is very solid and gives great stability in all sorts of shooting

situations and versatility too. Using the side pull selector means you can quickly splay out and lock the tripod’s legs at 45° for a lower shooting position or when you need maximum stability in a strong breeze. If you want a really low shooting position, the legs splay out to 90°. If you want to get very, very low, the centre column is quickly reversible. A short column is also available (which fits all Befree tripods); the BFRSCC or Befree Short centre column is £19.95. The side pull selector also makes folding the legs back over the centre column when you have finished shooting a quick, positive process too. The spider also has the Manfrotto Easy Link connection – which you get with Manfrotto’s professional tripods – and this allows the tripod to hold accessories such as lights or reflectors in position without your help. The really important thing though is that the Advanced GT, with the 496 ball head supplied in the kit, has a maximum payload of 10kg. That means users of full-frame DSLRs and long telephoto lenses can enjoy the benefits of this travel tripod too. The 496 ball head has two locks – one to control head rotation on the tripod, and the other large knob unlocks or locks the ball head. A friction control is available so you can fine-tune the ball head’s resistance to how you prefer to work. The ball head is smooth in use and can be quickly realigned for upright format shooting. The head accepts Manfrotto 200PL PRO and RC2 plates, and once the plate is in place it is firmly locked in position, eliminating any risk of the camera falling off as you move around. The plate supplied is the 200PL PRO.

Specs Price £399.95

Min height 43cm

Legs Carbon-fibre, four sections

Folded length 43cm

Leg locks Twist grip M-locks Leg positions Three – normal, 45°, 90° Weight inc head 1.55kg Max payload 10kg

Max height (centre column extended) 162cm Max height (centre column down) 138cm Carrying bag Supplied

Supplied head 496 centre ball head (MH-496-BH) Plate 200PL PRO supplied. Compatible with RC2 and Arca Swiss Locks Two plus friction control Head weight 330g

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SOLID SPIDER Made of magnesium, designed for great stability in all sorts of shooting terrain with minimum bulk. The Easy Link connection has a ⅜in thread that accepts accessories such as the 244 family of friction arms that can hold a LED light or a reflector.

CARBON-FIBRE LEGS WITH M-LOCKS Manfrotto’s quality carbon fibre keeps weight down to a minimum and the smooth finish means legs glide up and down without any stickiness. Comfortable to grip in cold temperatures, it looks very smart too. Legs lock and unlock with a quick, firm twist and give impressive rigidity when fully extended.

496 CENTRE BALL HEAD Unlock the head and you can quickly and intuitively adjust camera position, and a twist of the locking knob holds the camera firmly in place. The large locking knob, which is large enough for use with gloved hands, with its integral friction control means you can personalise the head’s resistance to your tastes or to the shooting situation. It is also quick to adjust from horizontal to vertical shooting. SIDE PULL SELECTOR Lock the legs in three positions – normal, at 45° and at 90°.

PORTABILITY Legs fold back over the centre column for an impressive folded length of just 43cm.

Contact manfrotto.co.uk

PLATE CONNECTION Accepts Manfrotto 200PL PRO and RC2.

CENTRE COLUMN Made from the same carbon fibre as the legs, the extending centre column gives a maximum shooting platform of 162cm when fully extended. It can also be reversed and replaced with a short column.

Photography News | Issue 57 | photographynews.co.uk

Advertisement feature

Shoot people pictures to win

Take the Profoto Portrait Challenge With a superb Profofo A1, the world’s smallest studio light, to be won and four monthly prizes of a Profoto reflector, this free-to-enter contest is not to be missed. The four monthly winners will be judged against each other and the image judged to be best overall picture will win the Profoto A1. For Round 2 we asked for your best character portrait and we had a fabulous response, so thanks to everyone who supported the contest. After much deliberation, the judges from Photography News and Profoto picked their winner, so congratulations to Steve Beckett – and good luck to him in the final judging WINNER

Steve Beckett Steve is a very keen street photographer and a member of Imagez Camera Club. “I haven’t entered many competitions and this is my first win,” says Steve. “The image was taken on my first trip to India – I was actually on a street photography course with Nikon Ambassador Mark Seymour, although the shot was taken early one morning. It was taken near our hotel in Kolkata. I just asked this man walking to work whether I could take his picture. He didn’t speak English and I can’t speak Bengali or Hindi so I just pointed at my camera, and he was happy to let me take a couple of shots. “I actually feel more confident asking people to pose rather than trying to get candids. I don’t like to be noticed taking pictures, not because of confrontation but because I want people to be as natural as possible, and once people notice you taking pictures, they ‘freeze’. It’s easier to ask.” Our congratulations go to Steve on his win, and we wish him the best in the overall judging in a couple of months time. slikimage-photography.squarespace.com

I feel more confident asking people to pose rather than trying to get candids

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Advertisement feature Runner-up: Ian Chantler

Runner-up: Mike Martin

mikemartinphotography.co.uk

The big prize: Profoto A1 facebook.com/ianchantlerphotoimagery

Runner-up: Norma McKellar

The Profoto A1, the world’s smallest studio light, is a professional quality lighting solution designed for the modern image creator who wants to sculpt and shape with light. The A1’s innovative round flash head with its unique design fresnel pattern diffuser, powerful 76Ws output and the ability to use magnet-fit light modifiers means this light has huge creative potential. Add a li-ion rechargeable battery with the capacity for 350 full power manual flashes, TTL or manual flash control and an integral LED modelling light, and you have a unique lighting tool that can be used on or off-camera. Finally, the A1 meshes totally with Profoto’s lighting system whether that is with mains-based units such as the D2 or the brand’s Off Camera Flash system, with the B1X and B2 perfect partners for the A1. With AirTTL Remote built in you have wireless connectivity and with the A1 as the master unit, four groups of Profoto lights in TTL or manual mode can be controlled. Win this contest and you will receive a Profoto A1 and you’ll get to enjoy its creative delights for yourself. profoto.com

Enter now

Round 3 is open for entries For Round 3, we want your best environmental portrait shots. Just to explain, an environmental portrait is one where you use context and narrative to tell us more about the subject – for example, a mechanic in a garage, a shopkeeper in their shop, a photographer in their studio.

sheerlightphotography.co.uk

You can enter up to three images (images will be judged as individual shots, not as a set) and the subject can be male or female, shot indoors or out, with or without flash. Each round winner will receive a Profoto Collapsible Reflector Large and once we have our four round

winners, an overall winner will be selected from those winners and awarded the Profoto A1. The closing date for Round 3 is 11.59pm, 3 August 2018 and results will appear in Photography News issue 58 due out from 13 August 2018. Judging will be done by experts from PN and Profoto.

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Feature

Evolving Landscapes Photography is constantly changing and this special show created by photo tour specialists Light & Land looks at how landscape photography has advanced over the past 25 years, featuring the work of over 20 great image creators

Evolving Landscapes features the work of over 20 photographers including Joe Cornish, Charlie Waite and Paul Sanders. The chosen photographers have helped push back the boundaries of landscape imaging in creative and new directions over the past 25 years. Their work explores the whole spectrum of landscape photography, from traditional scenic shooting to urban and

street photography taking in architectural and abstract work on the way, all captured with a broad set of techniques including long exposures and intentional camera movement. The show, arranged by Light & Land (lightandland.co.uk), is on for a short time but if you get the chance it's worth a look. See the end panel for details. The nine images shown here are a taster of what will be on show.

The Big Sleep by Graeme Green

I used a 400mm lens and spent some time picking out details

Location: Gjirokastër, Gjirokastër county, Albania. Technical info: Canon EOS 5D Mark III with a Canon EF 100-400mm lens. About the image: As a photographer, it’s always interesting to explore a country so few people go to and one that isn’t already overexposed from thousands of other people’s photos. Albania is full of photographic possibilities, not just for the surprisingly beautiful landscapes, from snowy peaks to still lakes, but also for local people, rural life and the often austere communist-era architecture, including moody abandoned villages. This particular picture was taken early one morning in Gjirokastër in southern Albania, during a photography tour of the country that I co-led with Paul Sanders. We’d scouted a few locations the night before to give clients an opportunity to take some dawn photos from a vantage point near our hotel, overlooking the city, the valley and the surrounding Gjerë mountains. Rather than the wide landscape shot of the city and surroundings, I used a 400mm lens and spent some time picking out details on the opposing snow-dusted mountains, including deep ravines, radio towers and lines of trees part-hidden by mist.

The morning light produced a melancholy blue colour across the landscape that I wanted to capture. I particularly like this

one photograph for the feeling that these giant mountains were (like most people in the town at that time) sleeping, with the

low cloud and mist acting as a massive blanket, and for the sense of light starting to break through.

Kyrgyzstan by Paul Sanders © Paul Sanders

Location: Tup, Kyrgyzstan. Technical info: Fujifilm GFX with 32-64mm and Lee Filters 0.6 soft ND graduated filter. Shot in Acros with red filter film simulation mode. The final panorama comprises seven vertical shots stitched together. About the image: This image was taken during a recce of Kyrgyzstan and is possibly the quickest picture I have ever taken. I saw the horses walking in a line in front of the mountains and thought it would make a nice image – after all who can resist ponies in the snow? The horses were walking quite quickly so I abandoned my usual slow workflow and literally ran back along the road and across a field to get a viewpoint where the horse could walk into the frame and form a line across the image. I took seven frames with the black & white film mode and then stitched the JPEGs in Lightroom.

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Feature Val d’Orcia Dawn by Phil Malpas often low-lying mist that can be viewed from a number of vantage points as the sun rises over nearby Pienza. I have been lucky enough to witness this miracle over 100 times and it is always exciting. On this day, conditions were perfect and ever since, everyone who was on the tour with us has referred to 25 May 2016 as ‘that dawn’! It was a wonderful shared experience that we will never forget. © Phil Malpas

Location: Loch Oich Forest, Invergarry, Scotland. Technical info: Nikon D800E and 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 lens at 70mm, Exposure of 1/40sec at f/5.6 and ISO 400. About the image: This image was achieved by complete luck. Joe Cornish had passed this area many times while driving workshops around Scotland. We decided to stop on this wonderful frosty morning. Fog from the nearby loch was creating a mysterious cloak to the landscape. Setting a cool whitebalance setting helped create contrasting colour with the warm autumn foliage. I took nearly 1000 images in three hours.

Location: View looking across the Val d’Orcia from just below the village of Castiglione d’Orcia in Tuscany, Italy in May 2016. Technical in: Taken using a Nikon D800 DSLR with a Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 lens at 200mm. The exposure was 1/250sec at f/11. About the image: The Val d’Orcia in springtime is truly a special location. In particular if conditions are right, there is

Supernatural – Into the Mystic by Matt Anderson

The series of images from this setting, ‘Into the Mystic’, has proven to

be my most fruitful from a magnificent Light & Land trip.

We decided to stop on this wonderful frosty morning. Fog from the nearby loch was creating a mysterious cloak to the landscape Blue Wave by Carla Regler Garage Doors by Charlie Waite I could identify what these were. Finally, I concluded that it was the sky that seemed to be the culprit. It was paradoxical that so often I thrive on a sky laden with building cumulus or high cirrus and normally don’t care for an uneventful sky with monotonous shades of blue. It took me some time to accept the lack of cloud.

Location: West of San Diego, Andalucia, Spain. Technical info: Nikon D800 with 24-120mm f/4. Exposure of 1/40sec at f/16 and ISO 200. Above the image: I had passed these garage doors many times and on each occasion, I felt that there were elements that conflicted with one another, yet I wasn’t confident that

Yet it was that cloudless morning that allowed the colours in the garage doors to find themselves again in the sky and sea beyond. The white garage surrounds seemed to replace a need for any scattering of cloud, which to my mind would have diminished their stark expression and ultimately would have loosened the photograph. © Charlie Waite

Location: Porthleven, Cornwall. Technical info: Canon EOS 5DS R with Canon 100-400mm L IS II lens set to 110mm. Exposure was 1/15sec at f/22 and ISO 100. About the image: We were greeted with stunning light on the morning of our workshop. We had started at a spot

overlooking the harbour and as the sun rose we could see the waves looked lovely with the light on them. I took the group to the edge of the pier where the waves were breaking and creating lovely curls. I used slower shutter speeds to produce art-like images to enhance the curl of the waves.

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Feature Patience by Andy Farrer

Location: Essaouira, Marrakesh-Safi, Morocco. Technical info: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with Canon EF16-35mm f/2.8L III USM fitted with a Lee Filters Landscape polariser. Exposure of 1/1250sec at f/6.3 and ISO 400. About the image: While on a recce in 2017 for our 2018 Morocco tour, I spotted this wonderful mural on the harbour wall at Essaouira. The bustling port was busy with the fishermen unloading the day’s catch and the seagulls were enjoying the scraps. By positioning myself low down, I was able to avoid the top of the wall being in frame and then had to wait for a bird to pass into the

Mesozoic X by Sam Gregory

I had to wait quite a while for this cooperative gull crucial part of the frame. I had to wait quite a while for this cooperative gull and became quite a source of curiosity for passers-by, wondering why I was taking so long to photograph a mural. © Andy Farrer

Location: Eype Beach, Jurassic Coast, Dorset. Technical info: Canon EOS 6D with Canon 100mm f/2.8L Macro. Exposure of 1/8sec at f/16 and ISO 100. About the image: The image is part of a series referencing millions of years of shifting geology on the Jurassic Coast in Dorset. This area is an ever-changing landscape offering many image-making possibilities. I’m proud to show visiting photographers and students this

internationally acclaimed area of the UK for Light & Land. From the wide vista to the intimate inner landscapes, all of which change from moment to moment, the Jurassic Coast encourages the artist to create their own aesthetic narrative. My ‘Mesozoic’ series uses photography to highlight the fluidity of the landscape, crafted and shaped by the elements over millions of years, and its journey from mass extinctions to shallow tropical seas and beyond.

My ‘Mesozoic’ series uses photography to highlight the fluidity of the landscape, crafted and shaped by the elements

Location: An aerial view of fog in the valley beneath a crater in the Icelandic volcano Hekla, June 2015. Technical info: Phase One IQ180 and DF+ Camera, Schneider Kreuznach 40-80mm lens at 80mm. Exposure of 1/3000sec at f/8 and ISO 100. About the image: Flying over the country of Iceland is an absolutely incredible experience. Viewing braided rivers and some of the world’s most interesting geology from above always produces new images and nearly always something unexpected. This was the unexpected view: a crater completely covered in snow after a late winter in the mountains of Iceland. The fog in the background was the finishing touch to this small, electric-blue, water-filled crater and snowcovered vista.

Hekla Crater by Antony Spencer

Go see the show Evolving Landscapes is on show at the gallery@oxo at Oxo Tower Wharf, Bargehouse Street, South Bank, London SE1 9PH, running from 18 July to 22 July. Opening times: 11am - 6pm Admission: Free Featured photographers include: Adrian Beasley, Andy Farrer, Antony Spencer, Ben Osborne, Carla Regler, Charlie Waite, Clive Minnitt, Doug Chinnery, Joe Cornish, Graeme Green, Justin Reznick, Benedict Brain, Damian Demolder, Luke Whitaker, Mark McColl, Matt Anderson, Paul Sanders, Peter Hendrie, Phil Malpas, Sam Gregory, Sue Bishop, Terry Gibbins and Valda Bailey. oxotower.co.uk/events/light-andland/

Photography News | Issue 57 | photographynews.co.uk

Feature Audio Basics: Part 1 – choosing a mic

Sound advice Whether you are shooting videos for social media or making a record of your holiday of a lifetime, you need to think about sound as well as picture quality. In short, what you need is a decent microphone Words by Adam Duckworth Most modern cameras shoot movies in at least Full HD, but 4K video is becoming increasingly popular. So, for many users shooting for Facebook Live and YouTube, image quality is not an issue at all because current kit gives really high-quality images. But where your camera will let you down, despite any manufacturer claims to the contrary, is in the audio department and, as sound constitutes 50% of any footage (unless you’re shooting a silent movie!), it’s important to give this serious consideration if you want quality results. Put simply, to record decent audio you need a proper microphone, and by ‘proper’ we’re not talking about those tiny built-in microphones that pick up every click and whirr emitted by your camera and are dreadfully prone to wind noise. These tiny mics are omnidirectional, meaning they record sound from all around them. They are also not particularly sensitive, so the camera turns up the internal gain to get a useable signal. This is the aural equivalent of cranking up the ISO, meaning there is lots of background noise. In sound terms, this is often a low-pitched hum. To get better results from your moviecapable DSLR or mirrorless camera, you need a proper microphone designed for the purpose. Plug it directly into your camera – assuming it has a microphone socket – so it records highquality audio alongside the video footage. The output from an external plug-in microphone is far better than the tinny internal mic, and often this output is adjustable, too – you can turn down the audio level on the camera. This reduces the in-camera gain and makes a massive difference, especially in quiet moments where a low hum will be very noticeable. External mics tend to be of a shotgun type, which means there is a long tube that the noise travels down that is pointed towards what you are trying to record. This makes them more directional and cuts down the noise from around the camera. A basic unit like the Røde VideoMic Go only costs around £65 and weighs in at just 73g. Using an external microphone is not difficult at all. All you have to do is slip it onto your camera’s hotshoe and plug it into the mic socket – that’s it. There is nothing to adjust, and it doesn’t even take batteries. It isn’t suitable for all cameras but works perfectly

By ‘proper’ we’re not talking about those tiny built-in microphones that pick up every click

with the vast majority of modern DSLR and mirrorless cameras. It comes with a shock mounting, which reduces vibrations from the camera or surroundings, and even has a foam rubber windshield to cut down on wind noise. The result is a far crisper, clearer sound that’s significantly better than that of any internal mic. Spend a little more and you can take a step up to microphone types that have become almost industry standard with professional filmmakers who use small cameras. These are powered microphones that offer adjustable gain so you can fine-tune the audio levels to the situation. Each microphone also features a super-cardioid recording pattern which picks up more sound from in front of the mic, less from behind and even less from the sides. The £130 Røde VideoMic Pro is typical of this type and uses a 20dB preamplifier which boosts the output so that the camera will receive a good signal level and not turn up its gain. The VideoMic Pro is powered by a standard 9V battery which works for more than 70 hours, gives broadcast quality audio, has a two-step high-pass filter (flat, 80Hz) and threeposition level control at -10dB, 0 and +20dB. It comes with a windshield and shock mount, too. Røde recently unveiled an upgraded and redesigned version, called the VideoMic Pro+, which costs £99 more than the Pro and

Images Rode’s selection of external microphones ranges from a basic unit, the Go, to the more high-end Stereo VideoMic Pro. But all are easy to use and to attach to your camera. can run on two AA batteries or the included rechargeable lithium cell, or via Micro USB. To save power, the mic also switches itself off when it’s unplugged from the camera. And more auto functions ensure the audio quality is optimised. All these mics output two mono channels, which is ideal for most recording of dialogue. But for capturing environmental and ambient sounds, as well as live music, a stereo mic such as Røde’s £140 Stereo VideoMic Pro is a better solution. It has a pair of high-resolution condenser capsules and is of very high sensitivity, and it has a selectable high-pass filter to cut out noise from things such as air

conditioners and traffic. And a -10dB level setting allows recording of loud sound sources, such as live music or motorsport. Whichever you choose, it will be so much better than your internal mic and give a real boost to your films, wherever you show them.

NEXT MONTH HOW TO USE YOUR MIC OFFCAMERA, PLUS ACCESSORIES YOU SHOULD OWN.

Photography News | Issue 57 | photographynews.co.uk

Advertisement feature

Buyers’ guide

Digital darkroom essentials There’s no doubt that effective image editing and storage is just as important to digital photographers now as darkroom skills were back in the days of film. Here’s a selection of gear to make your editing easier and more efficient than ever before Eizo ColorEdge CS2730 27in with shading hood

Eizo produces some very nice monitors indeed, and they’re aimed squarely at photographers, videographers and retouchers looking for the very best in performance. The CS2730 has a 10-bit display, so it’s capable of showing an impressive one billion colours simultaneously, resulting in smoother colour transitions than with a standard monitor. The 27in screen has a rich 2560x1440 QHD resolution, a 99% Adobe RGB colour space gamut and uses the latest IPS LED backlit panel technology to make sure there’s uniformity in colour and brightness across the full panel. The viewing angle is up to 178°, and it has a sleek, userfriendly design with a slimmer bezel than previous models. The CS2730 comes with Quick Color Match and ColorNavigator software installed to aid calibration, and it comes with a one-piece magnetic hood to reduce glare from ambient lighting and improve colour reproduction. It also has a five-year manufacturer’s warranty. £980

eizo.co.uk

Adobe Creative Cloud Photography Plan

Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom have long been the choice of both working and enthusiast photographers when it comes to editing and organising their images. Part of Adobe’s Creative Cloud, the apps are available as a Photography Plan, where you pay less than £10 a month, always having access to the latest versions of the software. Across the package you’ll have access to tools for Raw conversion, basic and advanced image editing, organising, storing and sharing your photography. Lightroom has seen interesting recent updates, and now comes in two versions, Lightroom CC and Lightroom Classic CC. The Classic CC version is the familiar desktop app, with the former being a cloud-based service, including 1TB of storage, and therefore optimised to work across mobile devices. £9.98 a month

adobe.com/uk

Datacolor Spyder5 and SpyderCHECKR

Proper monitor calibration and colour control is vital if you want to edit and print images with true-tolife colours. That’s what Datacolor’s Spyder5 and SpyderCHECKR provide. The Spyder5 comes in three versions: Spyder5EXPRESS, which offers quick and simple calibration; Spyder5PRO with advanced features and interactive calibration for all of your laptop and desktop displays; and Spyder5ELITE, offering expert colour accuracy, the most precise calibration, and integration for projectors and video displays. The SpyderCHECKR is a calibration chart with replaceable colour cards, and comes with a tripod mount, so you can place it in the scene as a reference. The SpyderCHECKR’s calibration software then analyses the results of your test photo and instantly creates a profile which you then apply in your Raw workflow using, for instance, Photoshop or Lightroom, so correction is automatic. From £90

datacolor.com

Wacom Intuos Pro tablet

Most of us use a mouse when photo editing, but those who get used to using tablets would never go back. When you get used to it, using a pen on a tablet can be a more intuitive and accurate approach; it helps when working on precise areas of an image, and you can make adjustments pressure sensitive, too, for a really tactile feel. The Wacom Intuos Pro comes in small (320x208x12mm), medium (338x219x8mm) and large (430x287x8mm) versions. It has a sleek, matte black design and is made of premium quality materials including anodised aluminium and fibreglass composite resin. The included Wacom Pro Pen 2 is only 8mm thick, and comes with a stand which stores spare nibs. Connection is via USB or Bluetooth, so you’re quickly up and running, with the pen soon becoming a natural extension of your hand. The tablet also has a trackball and programmable hotkeys for even more control over your editing. From £184

wacom.com

Serif Affinity Photo

Affinity Photo is a dedicated photo editor with some great features at a very attractive price. It does everything a photographer could want from an editing package, and it does it efficiently and elegantly. Affinity Photo is stuffed to the gills with functions you need, from cloning and healing to liquifying and tone mapping. All editing is non-destructive and fast, and real-time previews mean there’s no lag or guesswork. The photographer-centric design extends to the intelligent user interface with everything logically laid out and no distractions. You can customise the workspace to your preference, setting up toolbars and tabs wherever you like, and then there are Personas, like workflow sections; each one of these – Photo, Liquify, Develop and Export – manages tools for that particular activity, so it’s a streamlined working environment. Combine the desktop app (£48.99) with the iPad app (£19.99) and you work seamlessly across the two; the app isn’t a lite or cut-down version, being as fully featured as the desktop version. From £19.99

affinity.serif.com

Photography News | Issue 57 | photographynews.co.uk

Advertisement feature Nik Collection 2018

The Nik Collection should be familiar to many photographers by now, as it includes some of the most acclaimed processing tools and creative filter packages around. Now supplied by software experts, DxO, the Nik Collection 2018 is a set of plugins for Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom or Elements packages, working on MacOS or Windows. You get plenty for your £59 with the collection including: Silver Efex Pro, for black & white photography; Analog Efex Pro, for classic camera, film and lens effects; Color Efex Pro, with filters for colour correction, retouching and creative effects; Viveza, allowing selective colour and tone adjustments without masks or selections; HDR Efex Pro, for tone mapping high dynamic range images; Dfine, which has noise-reduction functions tailored to individual cameras; and Sharpener Pro, which does what you’d expect. There’s a 30-day free trial, so it’s well worth a try. £59

nikcollection.dxo.com

BenQ SW240

BenQ’s 24in 1920x1200 SW240 is petite by current standards, with many screens topping 30in and having 4K resolutions, but it provides plenty of desktop space, and can be viewed at a comfortable distance without craning your neck. Its low-profile surround adds to the sense of space. Connecting via HDMI, DVI or DisplayPort, the slightly-higherthan-HD resolution gives great clarity and the screen uses a flicker-free LED backlight and gives a 178° vertical and horizontal viewing angle. The matte antiglare surface helps viewing accuracy, too. Best of all, as a ‘photographer’s’ monitor, the SW240 has excellent colour performance, featuring 100% sRGB and 99% Adobe RGB gamuts – much better than regular displays – and 10-bit depth for finer tonal gradations. The design is solid, with very little wobble and a reasonable 14cm of height adjustment, 5/20° tilt, 45° left/right swing and it can be turned through 90°. It also has a headphone jack, SD reader and two USB ports. £390

benq.co.uk

G-Technology 12TB G-RAID with Thunderbolt 3

For desktop storage you need lots of capacity, reliability and speedy transfer – and good looks don’t hurt either. Check out the G-RAID with Thunderbolt 3, with two removable 6TB 7200rpm disks creating a 12TB RAID0 drive, but which you can split to RAID1 and 6TB for fail-safe redundancy in the event of a disk failure. You can even use each 6TB disk independently of the other, so mounting as separate drives on your desktop. With transfer speeds of up to 440MB/s for performance the drive is perfect for very large digital files and high-resolution video work. As well as its dual Thunderbolt 3 ports and an HDMI port, it also has USB 3.1 Gen2 for easy connection to virtually any device, and comes with a USB-C to USB-A cable. £670

X-Rite i1 Studio

If you’re looking for a start-to-finish colour management solution to improve your photography, then the X-Rite i1 Studio is a great place to start. Added to your workflow, the upshot will be prints matching perfectly what’s on screen. The X-Rite i1 Studio can be used to calibrate your monitors, cameras, scanners, printers and projectors – basically all the ducks in your imaging row – and ensure consistent colour across them all. You can even calibrate iOS devices, using the X-Rite ColorTRUE app. The pack comes with an X-Rite i1 Spectrophotometer, a Mini ColorChecker Classic target for use with your cameras and scanners, and an i1 Studio protective pouch to keep it all safe and tidy. Using the downloadable software, it’s easy to create custom colour profiles, with the X-Rite i1 Studio assessing the hues and tones captured using the Mini ColorChecker target as a reference point and accurately calibrating your screen for true colour representation. £399

xrite.com

PortraitPro 17

PortraitPro, the dedicated portrait retouching software, is now on its 17th edition. As well as the wellknown features, such as making improvements to skin and bone structure, the new edition includes: background editing, so you can edit your subject and insert a new background without leaving the software; snapshots, which lets you save your progress so you can try different effects, compare them and easily revert if you change your mind; advanced presets, where you can save custom filters using your favourite tools and settings, then apply them with one click; batch processing (via the PortraitPro Studio Max version) which can save hours of manual retouching; improved vignetting; more make-up options, such as new tan bronzer styles; more skin texture and tones, to avoid ‘plastic’ looking features, aided by a new sharpen tool; and advanced automatic facedetection technology, which has been updated to be more accurate and work faster. Phew! From £29.95

portraitprofessional.com

g-technology.com

LaCie Rugged Mini Portable Hard Drive 2TB

Mobile hard drives are highly useful, especially when you’re shooting away from home and want to store what you’ve shot, or retrieve older files for editing. This pocket-sized 2TB drive from LaCie is shock, rain and pressure resistant, and it’s claimed you can drive a one-ton car over it without a loss of function. At 89x140x25mm and weighing only 300g, it’s small and light enough to take pretty much anywhere, too. It also looks the business with LaCie’s iconic orange rubberised casing. Connection and data transfer is fast via a USB 3.0 interface, where you can transfer a 700MB file in less than seven seconds, and of course it’s fully compatible with USB 2.0 systems, too. An Apple Thunderbolt version is also available, as are other capacities. As well as offering physical security, the drive can also be password protected. £100

lacie.com

Photography News | Issue 57 | photographynews.co.uk

First tests Imaging kit

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 and Kingsley Singleton

Specs Prices (of tested products) FH100M2 Advanced Filter Holder Kit comes with 1x100mm and 1x150mm frames and 82mm and 77mm lens rings; £120. 100x100mm 10EV ND £100. Master 100x150mm glass grad £130. SHD Circular polarizer 82mm £82. Extra filter frames 100x100mm £11, 100x150mm £12. Other prices FG100 Basic Filter holder £45. FH100M2B Advanced Filter Holder Kit (for 95mm polarizer), 1x100mm and 1x150mm frames, 82mm and 77mm lens rings, £140. Resin 100x150mm grads £45. Step down rings: 77mm to 49mm, 52mm, 55mm, 58mm, 62mm, 67mm, 72mm £11. 82mm to 49mm, 52mm, 55mm, 58mm, 62mm, 67mm, 72mm, 77mm £11. Master filters Schott B270 glass. WMC (waterproof, multi-layered, antiscratch coating), ULCA (Ultra low chromatic aberration coating), IR ND to block infrared and ultraviolet light Contact Benrofilters.com

Benro Filter System From £120 There’s so much you can do in image-editing software but there is something special about getting it right in-camera, and that’s where filters have a key role to play. Lee and Cokin are well established filter brands, and now we have Benro, a brand known for its bags and tripods. Benro’s system offers different size filter holders – 100mm, 150mm and 170mm – and a good range of popular filters covering neutral density grads, extreme NDs and the polariser. The most popular size is the 100x100mm system and that’s what is tested here with the two larger holder options for use with fast aperture ultrawide lenses such as the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 and Canon 11-24mm. At the 100mm size there are actually two holder options, the Basic and the one we tried, the Advanced, at £45 and £130 respectively. That is a significant price differential, and they share some features – both can accept three 2mm thick resin/glass filters and use the same adapter system. But the Advanced holder is made from aero aluminium

rather than polycarbonate and has significant benefits and features not seen on its competitors. There is a simple mechanism that lets you adjust grad filter height very precisely from behind the camera and that includes grad filters in any of its three holder slots. And also from behind the camera, you can adjust the orientation of the polariser without having to remove any of the front fitted filters. It’s rather clever and made possible with the innovative filter holder so it’s worth concentrating on that for now. The FH100M2 holder is beautifully engineered and has two large screws on its rear. One to lock the holder onto the adapter ring – the kit comes with 77mm and 82mm rings – and the other is the graduate drive knob to adjust the height of any fitted filters. If your lens filter thread is not 77mm or

82mm you’ll need a step-down ring to take you from the 77mm/82mm fitting to 58mm, 62mm or whatever to suit your lens. Actually fitting the holder means

Above Benro offers a range of holders: 100mm, 150mm and 170mm. The two bigger sizes designed for ultrawide zooms.

Using the system 1

The Benro FH100M2 Advanced Filter Holder Kit comes with two adapter rings, 77mm and 82mm, and two frames, 100x100mm and 100x150mm.

The Advanced holder in place. It is made from light and very strong aero aluminimum. A cheaper model is available but it does not have the graduate drive cog or the rear polarizer control feature.

Rear view showing the blue locking knob top right and the red grad filter drive control on the holder’s left side. The locking knob keeps the holder firmly attached to the adapter ring.

The polarizer screws onto the inner rotating ring (shown off the camera for clarity). It needs to be fully screwed home so not to obstruct any filter slipped into the nearest slot to the camera. It can be tricky to remove.

Filters fit into the frames with a sliding locking button (it’s that blue button) to keep it in place. It is not difficult to do but perhaps not with freezing fingers on location.

Photography News | Issue 57 | photographynews.co.uk

First tests

just sliding a rather stiff springloaded plate to one side, locating the holder onto the adapter ring and then locking the holder in position. It is simple enough and secure, but a larger locking knob and smoother action retaining plate would be easier for cold or gloved fingers. Using the grad drive knob is easy enough and just takes a little practice to remember to pull the drive cog out of the slot before sliding a filter into position, then locating the drive cog to the right slot when you want to adjust filter height. It allows precise grad positioning from behind the camera and with minimal effort. Of course, you can just manually adjust the filter but the cog drive system is slick to use and takes minimal effort. The full-time polarizer control is interesting too. The FH100M2 holder has a free-running, integral plate and this accepts the system’s 82mm circular polariser (a 95mm fit option is available). The clever thing is that you can rotate the polarizer using the serrated edge ring on the rear of the holder without having to remove any filters in front of the polariser – with the basic holder any front mounted filters have to be removed to allow polariser rotation.

The filter in position. The frame does make handling easier and helps to keep filters free of fingerprints. Annoyingly, no bag/case/pouch is supplied to carry framed filters.

There’s so much you can do in imageediting software but there is something special about getting it right in-camera An extra benefit of an internally mounted polariser like this is that you don’t need an extra large diameter (and expensive) polarizer that sits in front of the other filters. The polariser has to be fully screwed home on this plate so not to foul any filter used in the slot closest to the lens. You can of course use the next slot out but you don’t want to do that with extreme NDs where light bouncing round can ruin your shots. The idea is a good one but I found unscrewing the polariser can be tricky, especially with cold fingers. Benro is working on a gadget to deal with this situation. Speaking of filters, I tried a 10EV extreme ND and a Master grad – the Master grads are glass and cost £120. Resin versions cost £45 each. To use the filters in the Benro holder you need to fit the filters into frames – you get one 100x100mm

The filter holder loaded and ready to go (shown off camera for clarity). Loading the holder mounted on the lens is no problem. Access to the polarizer adjustment ring is at, roughly, 4 and 10 o’clock.

and 100x150mm with the kit and extras cost £11 and £12 respectively. There’s no option here and ideally you need a frame for each filter you own. Having a number of filters and only one frame means you will need to swap filters over which takes time and there’s the risk of dropping a filter, so given the low cost of frames it is not worth the hassle, time or risk. The downside is that Benro do not supply any free carrying wallet with the frames. You do get a lovely solid box with the filters but this is not large enough to hold a filterfitted frame so remember to budget for a pouch or two. I used a 10EV ND in the 100x100mm frame. This slides fully home in the holder which is good for positioning but there is no foam gasket on the frame to help prevent light seepage during extremely exposures. That said, I tested for

The loaded ensemble on the lens. The FH100M2 holder has three filter slots. No flare issues were found with long exposures using this system.

Above left Benro’s Master grads are optically straight out of the top drawer. Above right Shot with Benro’s 10EV ND on a Nikon D850 set to AWB. The out of the camera result is pleasantly warm. this with the camera sitting out in full sun and tightly covered with a light tight film changing bag so only the lens and filter holder were in the light. Any light streaking would then be from the lens/filter holder end of things. As it happens, I had no light scatter problems with a six-minute exposure with the 10EV ND and polarizer combined. As for the Master grad filters, they delivered excellent quality with no flare in strong sidelighting and there seemed no degradation of the lens’s optical skills. WC

Locating the drive cog in the right slot is easy to do and lets you very accurately and smoothly adjust the graduate filter’s height.

Verdict The Benro filter system has interesting innovations and the designers deserve all the plaudits they get. I really enjoyed using it and although I would have preferred a large holder locking knob, and a protective pouch with each filter frame would be nice, these are minor issues in the broader scheme of things. Optical quality is first rate and features like the graduate drive cog and full-time polariser control are well worth having and practical. Pros Filter quality, polariser concept, no light seepage during extreme exposures Cons No supplied case/pouch for framed filters, some aspects of handling

The FH100M2 holder allows you to rotate the polariser without having to remove any of the front mounted filters. It’s easy to use with bare fingers and okay with thin gloves too.

Photography News | Issue 57 | photographynews.co.uk

First tests

H&Y Quick Release Magnetic Filter Frames From £38 Specs Prices Adapter Strips for Lee 100mm system £15, 100x100mm Magnetic Frame £23, 100x150mm Magnetic Frame £25. Triple pack contains 3x 150x100mm frames and Lee Adapter Strips £80. Formatt-Hitech Adapter Strips £15 H&Y K-series Holder with 95mm circular polariser £229 Compatibility Lee and Formatt-Hitech currently. B+W, Cokin, NiSi and H&Y K-series to come late summer 2018 Contact johnsonsphotopia.co.uk

In the context of filter brands H&Y is a newcomer. Established in 2009, it has built a reputation for offering highclass filter products. Its latest product launch, however, doesn’t feature glass at all and uses your existing filters. H&Y Quick Release Magnetic Filter Frames are compatible with Lee and Formatt-Hitech filter systems; compatible frames for B+W, Cokin and NiSi filters are due out later this year. I tried a set with my 100x100mm and 150x100mm Lee filters. The principle of the system is simple. First, modify your existing filter holder by removing the holder slots of the Lee holder replacing them with magnetic adapter strips – a pack of two costs £15. A small Philips screwdriver and eight tiny screws are supplied in the pack and the job takes a few minutes. A well-lit, clean work surface is advised but the process is simple enough. Fitting the frames needs a little effort. In each Magnetic Frame pack you get the frame’s four sides, a cleaning cloth, a storage wallet, a plastic ‘toothpick’ and some labels – the frame obscures the name of Lee grad filters so the labels have a use. The inner groove of each frame is lined with a strip of double-sided tape so to prime this ready for use you need to remove the backing paper – it’s this that the toothpick is for. This worked fine but a couple of backing strips were more stubborn and for this the screwdriver came in useful. Then, starting with the top strut you push this onto the filter, followed by the two sides (making sure the sides marked by stars are facing the same way) and finally the bottom rib, making sure the locating lugs get pushed fully home. The process is simple but it can be fiddly. Some locating lugs slipped in smoothly, others needed more force. On a couple

I found it easier to assemble the top and the two side struts first so I could apply more force before pushing the filter into position and adding the bottom strut to finish the frame. Once done, and it took about 20 minutes to get the adapter strips in place and prepare six filter frames, you’re ready to go. With them in their frames you can stack the filters together which protects their inner surfaces and saves space. I got three of each filter size in one of the supplied pouches, so I had six filters in a very compact form. Attaching filters is fast. Locating

Images Modifying the Lee Filters holder with the H&Y Adapter Strip set to accept the magnetic filter frames is easy. Getting the filters into the frames is a little more fiddly but not too challenging.

them on the holder is easy and possible even with gloves on, although separating stacked filters with gloved hands is trickier. Once on, the filters feel secure. The first filter on can be lightly locked in place with the supplied screw (take care not to lose this) and this helps with security especially if you add extra filters. Adjusting grad filter height proved easy. While the magnetic grip is firm, it’s not so firm that it makes this tricky. As well as grads, I tried Lee’s 100x100mm extreme NDs too. Lee’s NDs have a foam gasket that prevents any light seepage between filter and holder. With the H&Y system the foam gasket still comes into play but there seems to be a marginally wider gap between filter and holder. I tested this by doing fourminute exposures with the camera standing out in direct sun covered in a light-tight changing bag to prevent any light entering the body. I did see signs of flare in this extreme situation. The magnetic frame system in this form doesn’t suit Lee polarizer use. The Lee 105mm polarizer screws onto a circular frame which attaches to the standard Lee holder. That frame is not available once the H&Y adapter frames are in place. If you want to use your framed Lee filters with a polarizer you’ll need H&K’s holder and 95mm polarizer and that combination costs £229. For this test I used my H&Y framed Lee filters successfully in a variety of situations including in strong winds and with cold fingers. I often leave filters in place when I change location, and that is fine with a normal holder because the filters are physically held in place. This is possible with the H&Y frames but with care. That said, they are so quick to take off as a stack and slide into a wallet that is no point in taking the risk of filters dropping off. WC

Attaching filters is fast. Locating them on the holder is easy and possible even with gloves on

Images Lee and Formatt-Hitech filter users can get a speed upgrade with these H&Y quick-release filter frames. B+W, Cokin and NiSi users will have to wait a while for theirs.

Verdict The H&Y frame system is a simple but ingenious concept. I tried the H&Y system with my Lee filters and found it good to use with grads and NDs, but not with the Lee polarizer. The H&Y system is practical, space saving, effective and quick to use. Pros Fast to use, easy to adjust, space saving, filter protection, good prices, gapless between filters Cons Polarizer use an issue, initial frame set-up can be fiddly

Photography News | Issue 57 | photographynews.co.uk

First tests

Manfrotto Befree Advanced Carbon tripod £319.95 Specs Prices £319.99 In the box Manfrotto MKBFRTC4-BH tripod, MH494-BH 494 Centre Ball Head, plus 200PL-Pro quick release plate, tools and carry bag Leg sections Four Material Carbon fibre Max height 150cm (127 cm without centre column) Min height 41cm Max load 8kg Closed length 41cm Weight 1250g Contact Manfrotto.co.uk

Images Like many travel tripods these days, the Befree Advanced Carbon’s legs invert to close around the head, leading to a compact, folded design.

Having a tripod means you can shoot things you couldn’t shoot handheld – long exposures, multiple frames for composites, timelapse, steadier video… the list goes on – and travel models are aimed at improving the chances of you taking one with you. They should be small and light, but strong enough to mean you’re not compromising overly on stability. Other than its carbon-fibre build, Manfrotto’s Befree Advanced Carbon is very similar to the aluminium Befrees we reviewed in PN54. The main difference is that, at 1290g, it’s lighter than the aluminium by 240g. Carbon should also add stability . Unlike the aluminium versions, the Carbon is only available with Manfrotto’s M-Lock twist locks. This makes sense as it saves another 100g in weight, over level locks, but one of the only criticisms I had of the aluminium version was the rubber of twist locks felt a bit slippery. It’s the same here. I’ve got used to this now, but I would take a bit more grip. The included 494 Centre Ball Head can be removed and stowed, lowering the weight by a further 330g, to well under 1kg. But while you can remove the centre column, there’s no way of mounting the head without it; in any case you’d only save 90g or so. Weight wise the tripod is excellent; I took it on several long hikes on a recent trip to Croatia and I barely noticed it. Like many such designs, to get the shortest closed length you need to raise the centre column, and invert the leg sections to close around it. It’s easy to do and is assisted by the shape of the 494RC head, which has little cut out sections to take the legs – as well as cutting weight. The M-Locks are good here, too; no protruding parts means they don’t snag like levers can. The legs are angled using the same leg-angle selectors as on the previous Befree models; these are OK, if a little slippy with their painted metal finish. They’re designed to be used left or right handed and the contact point falls right under your thumb, and I found I could operate it easily with either hand. The legs can be angled at 22°, 54°, and 89°. At the 54º angle, if you extend the legs by about 2in,

you get the specified lowest shooting height of about 41cm. It could be lower, but centre column gets in the way (a short centre column, the BFRSCC is £19.99). However, 41cm is plenty low enough for most instances, and if you want a proper worm’s eye view you can take out the rubber plug in the centre column, remove and reverse it, hanging the camera upside down. Around the same section is the magnesium alloy spider, which has a hook, but no bubble level; and there’s not one in the head either. Here you’ll also find Manfrotto’s EasyLink port to screw in accessories to holding lights and flexible arms for macro work. Extending the legs is fast and easy. By covering them all with your hand, all of the M-Locks can be opened at the same time with a single twist, and the leg sections slide out smoothly. The locks held well, even when I put serious pressure on them. Good to its claims, the carbon fibre is strong with some bend, but only in the lowest parts. This also comes from a good leg thickness of 21.7mm, 18.2mm, 14.7mm and 11.2mm per section. Despite being small, it doesn’t feel weedy at all. The feet are angled rubber, curves to match each leg angle, and give decent grip even under pressure. They’re actually little plugs, which can be pulled out for cleaning, or swapping for reversible rubber/metal spike feet (optional, priced at £51.95). The maximum height of 127cm without the centre column is fine, and you can hit 150cm with it raised, though this will mean more risk of vibration as it would on any tripod. Speed wise, I managed to go from fully folded to standing, centre column down in about 16secs. If all you want to do is extend the legs fully it’s well under 10secs, as most of the time

I took it on several long hikes and I barely noticed it

Images The twist lock legs are quick in operation and strong. It’s fast and easy to set different lengths for shooting on uneven ground so you don’t miss a thing.

comes from inverting the legs, and lowering the centre column. It’s only a little longer the other way around. The included 494 Centre Ball Head is a good one, costing about £60 in its own right. Its movements are smooth enough, it pans with ease there’s a tension control, which many lack. The controls are plastic, but don’t feel like a compromise; whether they stand up to 1000s of operations is unknown. I tested the Befree mainly with a Nikon D850 and 16-35mm f/4G lens, and found no problems with vibration, though of course it did exhibit more wobble than larger, thicker legs; and this increased as with the centre column raised as it normally would. I was using self timer and exposure delay modes, but found no problems with sharpness. KS

Verdict Need a new travel tripod? You could do a lot worse than this one. It’s on the pricey side for amateur legs, and a lot more than the equivalent aluminium model; you’re paying about 60p for every gram you take off – but it’s certainly small, light, solid and well engineered, so ticks all the boxes and comes highly recommended. Equally, if you’ve £320 to spend, you might want to look at the slightly larger, stronger Befree GT version at only £80 more.

Pros Small, light and solid. Good feature set Cons Significant cost, limited height, no bubble level

Photography News | Issue 57 | photographynews.co.uk

First tests

Nikon 180-400mm f/4E TC1.4 FL ED VR II £10,999 Specs Price £10,999 Mount Nikon F Format 35mm full-frame and APS-C Focal length Full-frame 180-400mm (without teleconverter), 252-560mm (with teleconverter) Construction 27 elements in 19 groups, built-in teleconverter has eight elements in five groups Special lens elements Eight ED lens elements, one fluorite element, and one protective glass element with fluorine coating Angle of view 6°10’-13°40’ (4°30’-9°50’ with 1.4x teleconverter) Filter size 40.5mm drop in Minimum aperture F/4-32 (without teleconverter), f/5.6-45 (with teleconverter) Aperture blades Nine, rounded Internal focus Yes Manual focus Yes Minimum focus distance 200cm Image stabilizer Yes, 4EV claimed benefit Maximum magnification 0.25x (without teleconverter), 0.36x f/5.6-45 (with teleconverter) Distance scale Yes Depth-of-field scale No Tripod collar Yes Lens hood Yes Dimensions 128x362.5mm Weight 3500g Contact Nikon.co.uk

180mm

The 180-400mm f/4E TC1.4 is Nikon’s most versatile pro-level super telephoto zoom; it beats the range of the older 200-400mm f/4G ED VR II a little at the wide end, and adds a built-in teleconverter – Nikon’s first – making it an effective 252-560mm f/5.6. It also costs almost twice as much as that lens, and about the same price as Nikon’s 400mm f/2.8E FL ED VR, at £10,999. The first question to ask is: do you need such a zoom? Though Nikon’s 200-400mm f/4G has won praise, it’s not blown away the long primes of wildlife and sports shooters, and if you’re using one of those but need more versatility, couldn’t you add a second body with a 70-200mm f/2.8 for closer subjects? On the other hand, a zoom does give more flexibility; you’ll travel lighter, and be able to react faster – there’s no denying cranking the zoom ring is quicker than switching camera bodies. 400mm

You’d expect it at the price, but it handles well, and is built like a tank. I spent a week with it, and wasn’t disappointed. The lens is optically excellent at 180mm, very sharp wide open at f/4 and only falls off slightly at the edges; it’s sharpest at f/8-11, still very good at f/16, and softens, as you’d expect, at the smallest apertures. There’s some vignetting, but it’s not serious and gone by f/5.6 or so. It’s a similar story in the middle; at 280mm, results are again excellent wide open, topping out around f/11 where there’s the best balance of

You’d expect it at the price, but it handles well, and is built like a tank

560mm

Images From left to right, the 180-400mm f/4E in action: at 180mm, 400mm and 560mm, wherein the built-in 1.4x teleconverter is engaged. It really is a very versatile range for lots of subjects, mainly sports and wildlife.

middle and edge sharpness. It’s still very good at f/16, falling off from there; though f/32 is a bit mushy, but still usable. At the long end – surely where everyone is most interested – it’s still excellent wide open, with the corners catching up at around f/5.6 to f/8. This is an excellent performance for a zoom. With the 1.4x teleconverter engaged, and measuring sharpness at similar stages in the zoom, performance only suffered slightly. At 240mm and 390mm it was still excellent, and almost indistinguishable from shots without the TC. At 560mm I noticed more of a drop off in sharpness, but it was still very good. Corner sharpness with the teleconverter seemed less good throughout, but never a problem. Throughout my test shots, fringing and flare seemed well controlled with or without the teleconverter, even shooting into the light. Handling wise, the lens is well balanced with large bodies, though I found its weight – 3500g – did drag after an hour’s shooting or so. There’s no doubt it’s more comfortably operated on a gimbal head. Button placement is excellent, and everything is within easy reach, especially the teleconverter lever, which can be operated with a flick of your right middle or index finger, so you can keep track of a subject. The zoom and focus rings are broad and easy to locate

Photography News | Issue 57 | photographynews.co.uk

First tests – and the zoom ring is usable even when the hood is reversed for carrying which improves reaction time – as do the customisable AF buttons near the front element. There are tethering points for locking the lens up securely, its barrel is all metal and it’s fully weather sealed, too. There are lots of controls, so it’d take some familiarisation time to start using them ‘blind’. On board are the usual options; multiple VR modes, and focus distance limiting to avoid foreground clutter fooling the system. Focus-wise, you can also pick from A/M, M/A and M; in A/M it takes longer for the manual focus ring to engage manual focus, whereas in M/A it takes you straight to manual. You can set the AF buttons either to action AFOn, AF-L or have them snap you to a preset focusing distance, which is easy to set up. AF was very snappy, near and far, taking under a second to jump from the closest 200cm to infinity, and working with my D850’s tracking modes very well. Even with my standard test of a

dog running towards me at high speed I got more hits than misses. Nikon reported some time ago a firmware upgrade on the way to improve this further – points at the edges of the array on D5, D850 and D500 bodies were to act as cross types; this hadn’t surfaced at the time of this review going to press. The lens’s Vibration Reduction, rated at 4EV benefit, was highly effective, too. I was getting plenty of sharp handheld results at 1/20sec even when shooting at 560mm. If you need to travel light and respond to unpredictable subjects, this zoom will serve you well. It’s more flexible than a prime, so you can go in close or frame your subject in the scene without moving your feet or changing lenses. Arguably, you’ll get shots you would have missed otherwise. We didn’t have equivalent primes to test it against, but sharpness and AF speed seemed very good to excellent. It’s a significant outlay, and not far off the Canon equivalent, price wise, and an indisputably powerful tool. KS

180mm

280mm

400mm

550mm

F/4

F/5.6

F/8

F/11

F/16

F/22

F/32

F/45

Images Optically, the lens is excellent. It’s very sharp at all focal lengths, and only seemed to drop off very slightly at with the teleconverter engaged at the long end. Even then, the difference was minor, though.

Verdict There’s no doubting the quality of Nikon’s new 180-400mm f/4E, and the built-in 1.4x teleconverter is a great addition giving even more flexibility than the regular zoom allows. For amateurs, it’s well worth treating yourself to a loan if you have a special trip planned; though sending the lens back may be a wrench. Pros Optical quality, handling, tanklike build. Ditch your primes for this one light and flexible lens Cons It’s a heavy beast, and you need deep pockets

Photography News | Issue 57 | photographynews.co.uk

Technique

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, why you need graduated ND filters and how to use them… Words & pictures by Kingsley Singleton

With filter

Without filter

Over the last few instalments of Camera School, we’ve looked at techniques which rely heavily on using neutral density (ND) filters; those which block a certain amount of light from entering the camera and therefore allow you to shoot at slower shutter speeds and/or wider apertures. These NDs are ‘full’, meaning that the amount of light filtration is constant across the frame, but there are also graduated ND filters. So what is the use of these and how are they best employed? WHEN DO YOU NEED GRADUATED ND FILTERS? Graduated NDs offer light filtration in a way that varies across the filter. One end of a graduated ND is clear, and therefore has no light blocking effect, while the other end is tinted to cut out light. How much darker the filter at the tinted end is depends on the strength you’re using, more on which below. The value of ND grads is balancing bright parts of a scene with darker ones, and the typical example is when shooting landscapes. The sky might be much brighter than the foreground, and so in a single exposure one part of the picture will be too bright, or too dark – the camera can’t expose correctly for both at the same time. But with the graduated ND’s clear area over the darker part of the scene, and the tinted area over the lighter sky, a balance is made. It’s the same principle as wearing tinted sunglasses or the strip you used to find at the top of many car windscreens. How much filtration you need depends on the variation in the scene – the brighter one part is than another, the stronger a filter you’ll need. Below we look at choosing the right strength for the scene.

Images Get balanced exposures in scenes with a wide variation of light and dark with a graduated neutral density filter. With the clear part of the filter over the darkest part of the scene, your exposure will be spot on – all without having to fire up the computer. ND grads are usually rectangular in shape, slotting into a filter holder on the front of the lens. As they’re longer than regular ‘full’ ND filters, they can be positioned so their effect can be precisely applied. You can get graduated ND filters in screw-in form, but these don’t allow any scope for positioning. WHAT ABOUT RAW? Many photographers choose to shoot in Raw file format, which does allow you to brighten or darken parts of a scene easily, and therefore some believe graduated NDs are redundant. You can also shoot separate frames for the bright part and the dark part of a scene, and blend the lighter and darker exposures in software. So are ND grads still needed? The answer comes in considering the drawbacks of Raw processing and exposure blending. With Raw you

are limited to the exposure latitude of the camera, and while modern cameras are very good, you can still lose quality if you need to darken by more than a couple of stops. Likewise, lightening dark parts of the frame can introduce noise artefacts. As for exposure blending, it takes additional time, can look unrealistic without sufficient skill, and, as the shutter speeds need to change for dark and light parts you may introduce unwanted motion in a subject, or the opposite, for instance losing blur in clouds. Combining frames may also introduce problems if a subject, such as a tree branch, has moved between exposures. Finally, while digital methods of filtration have their place, there’s little denying that the process of getting it right in-camera is far more satisfying than editing in software. In fact, the only time grads aren’t all that useful is when the skyline of a

picture is very broken, for example when a large building cuts up above the horizon. In those cases a grad will darken that as well as the sky, so the image can look a bit unnatural. WHAT STRENGTH OF FILTER DO YOU NEED? The strength of graduated ND filter you need to balance the light in the scene is found by comparing the brightness of the light with the dark areas. For example, if the sky is one exposure stop brighter than the landscape, you’ll need a one-stop filter, also called ND2 or ND0.3. If it’s three stops brighter, you’ll need a three-stop filter, an ND8 or ND0.9. But how do you work out the relative brightness? There are several methods, but probably the simplest is this: put your camera in aperturepriority mode (A or Av), set it to the multi-segment (widest) metering mode, and then frame up on the

landscape portion of the scene. Make a mental note of the shutter speed provided by the camera’s metering. Let’s say it’s 1/4sec. Now repeat this process, composing so the frame is all sky. Read off the new shutter speed, let’s say it’s 1/30sec, and compare it to the first. From 1/4sec to 1/30sec is three exposure stops, so that’s the strength of filter you will need. And if you have only a one- and a two-stop filter, you can layer them to get the same effect as a three-stop version.

NEXT MONTH DO YOU NEED HARD OR SOFT GRADS? AND WHERE SHOULD YOU POSITION THEM IN THE FRAME?

Photography News | Issue 57 | photographynews.co.uk

Competition

WIN!

Editor’s letter

Blinded by the light?

A Samsung memory card! Capture life’s magical moments across all devices with the Samsung EVO Plus 128GB microSDXC memory card with SD adapter offering read speeds up to 100MB/s and write speeds of up to 90MB/s. Samsung’s latest cards are also ultra reliable and are water, temperature, X-ray and magnet proof, so shooting in the most challenging conditions isn’t an issue. We have one 128GB Samsung EVO Plus microSDXC card with SD adapter worth £78.99 for the eagle-eyed winner. Complete the word search below, and you’ll find one word in the list that’s not in the grid. Email us on puzzle@photographynews.co.uk with that word in the subject box by 12 August 2018 and the winner will be randomly drawn from all correct entries received. The correct answer to PN55’s word search was Trophy and the Samsung 128GB PRO+ card was won by Steve Williams from Wollaston, Northamptonshire. samsung.com/uk/memory-cards

Summer is great for so many reasons but great light in a photographic sense is probably not one of them. The sun is high for most of the day so the light is harsh and unforgiving, and if you do want low raking light you have to get up hideously early or hang around until late evening. For photographers who concentrate on the UK landscape, summer is probably the least productive season. Oddly, parachute many of the same photographers somewhere abroad though and any concerns about light quality seem to be less important and they shoot away happily at all times of the day. That’s largely because of the excitement of being somewhere exotic – or just different – and of course at this time of year, it’s holiday time. I do exactly the same and it is only back home when you go through shots that you question your photographic sanity and wonder why you took all those shots in horrible light. The harsh light is not so much an issue for street and urban photographers where contrast, shadows and harshness can be the key ingredients to successful pictures. I know for a fact that over 200 photographers recently did their very best to shoot great urban pictures in bright sun. We’ve just hosted our sixth Photo 24, our free, day-long reader event around London, and you can read more about what happened in this issue. It was a fabulous event despite the heatwave and strong light. I was staggered and immensely impressed to see how far many of the participants had walked. I have no doubt that I will be even more impressed when I see their finished pictures. We had a couple of contests running for Photo 24 and we’ll bring you the results in the next issue. If you couldn’t make Photo 24 this year, we aim to run it again next year – around the end of June so mark those weekends in your diary now if you fancy the experience.

Looking beyond the holiday season, there’s a huge imaging exhibition coming up in September. Photokina takes place in Cologne and this year’s renewal is its last as a biennial show: it’s changing its frequency to annually and moving its timing from autumn to late spring. How that stacks up we’ll have to wait and see because it has been biennial since 1966 so the change is significant. But times are changing and the show has to keep up with what’s happening in the imaging world. Once upon a time Photokina was the show for new products to be unveiled to the world, and manufacturers planned their new products around the show. I still remember the giddy excitement I felt when at the 1986 show the Kodak (who?) PR lady handed me three rolls of Kodachrome 200. There were no rumour websites at the time (err, I was still working on a typewriter), so it was a complete surprise but as a Kodachrome fan at the time, a really nice one. As it turned out, though, that film was a disappointment. Anyway, the point I am trying to make is that times have changed – a little – and products get introduced at all sorts of times including at other exhibitions, and often before big shows so new stuff isn’t swamped by news of other new stuff. All that said, I’m expecting some exciting announcements at this year’s Photokina; you only have to search the various camera rumour sites so see what they might be. It could be exciting times ahead, and we’ll be bringing you all that latest news as soon as we get it. That’s it for now and see you again next month.

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