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Saturday 26 June 2021

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Portraits on a budget Passionate about photography since 1884

Get beautifulphotos using cheap and home-madelighting Keeping it natural Why Nima Elm shuns portraits that look set up

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3D digital photography is cheap and a lot of fun, says John Wade GREATEST ALBUM COVERS

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This week’s cover image Nima Elm used Kodak

Portra 400 ﬁlm in a Mamiya RZ67 for his cover shot of model Lulu Reynolds (@lulu.reynolds)

In this issue 3 7 days 14 Successful portraits on a shoestring 20 Inbox 24 Join the club 26 Photo stories 28 All that glistens 34 Album covers 39 Our GuruShots winners 42 Digital stars 46 My favourite kit 49 NiSi V6 Filter Holder 52 Accessories 53 Tech talk 55 Buying Guide 66 Final analysis

SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE! See page 37 for details

Portraiture is one genre that has been more difﬁcult to do during the various restrictions imposed by Covid-19 so there is a lot of pent-up demand among portrait photographers and models to get back to shooting. This week Nima Elm shares his naturalistic approach to photographing people using natural light and domestic lighting such as Ikea lamps, while Ian Pack explains how to create

7days

more controlled lighting using budget flash and accessories. It really isn’t as complicated (or as expensive) as you may think, as Ian shows. Also this week we look at the world of 3D photography using digital cameras, test NiSi’s latest filter system and tell the story behind the cover of the seminal Parklife album by Britpop favourites Blur. If you enjoy our eclectic mix of features why not take out a subscription? You’ll find the details on page 37. Nigel Atherton, Editor

If you’d like to see your words or pictures published in Amateur Photographer, here’s how:

SOMETHING TO SAY? Write to us at ap.ed@kelsey.co.uk with your letters, opinion columns (max 500 words) or article suggestions. PICTURES Send us a link to your website or gallery, or attach a set of low-res sample images (up to a total of 5MB) to ap.ed@kelsey.co.uk. JOIN US ONLINE Post your pictures into our Flickr, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram communities. facebook.com/ amateur.photographer.magazine

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TREASURES FROM THE HULTON ARCHIVE

Berlin Airliﬅ by Henry Ries/USAF

In June 1948 the Soviet Union closed all roads, canals beginning on 24 June, the US, UK and its allies and railways into West Berlin, which although under thwarted Stalin by ﬂying supplies into the war-ravaged British, American and French administration, was city from the air. After 323 days the Soviets gave up deep within the Soviet-controlled zone of Eastern their blockade and the airlift ended on 30 September Germany. By starving the city of food and essential 1949. It was the ﬁrst major incident of the Cold War supplies they hoped to drive the Allies out. However, between East and West that would last for 40 years. The Getty Images Hulton Archive is one of the world’s great cultural resources. Tracing its origins to the founding of the London Stereoscopic Company in 1854, today it houses over 80 mil ion images spanning the birth of photography to the digital age. Explore it at www.gettyimages.com.

AP pi c ture of the week

Our favourite photos posted by readers on our social media channels this week

Squeaky McBeaky by Harvey Grenville Sony A7R IV, 1/640sec at f/2.8, ISO 100

‘After returning from a short outing to try to get some photos of apple blossom with my manual vintage lenses, I managed to take this opportunistic shot of Squeaky McBeaky, a regular visitor to our garden this year,’ explains Harvey, an Exmoor-based landscape photographer. ‘It was taken through a rose bush to achieve a painterly look using a Leitz Wetzlar Elmaron 150mm f/2.8 ﬁxed aperture manual projector lens, converted for use with my mirrorless cameras. It goes to prove that the best lens you’ve got is the one on the end of your camera when you only have a few moments to get a shot!’ We love the painterly effect created by this old projector lens and Harvey’s idea to shoot through a rose bush. Harvey is on Flickr.

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We also liked..

Glowing in the Wind by Alexander Martin Sandez Nikon D750, 70-200mm f/2.8, 1/4000sec at f/2.8 ISO 100 ‘The picture was taken at noon, during a photo session with the model Marcialy Paez,’ says Alexander, a passionate hobbyist based in Havana, Cuba. ‘It was taken in Ciudad Libertad, east of Havana, an old military headquarters and airfield. I was trying to make the most of the natural light and capture the movement of the hair from the sea breeze. I used flash as a fill, along with a MagGel modifier to lessen the shadows.’ Alexander is on Instagram at @aleron1974. Marcialy is at @marcialy.paez.

Band of Silverby Gary Macleod DJI Air 2S, 1/320sec

at f/2.8, ISO 100 Gary lives in a village called Tongue on the north coast of Scotland and works for The Highland Council but has been taking photos for nearly 40 years. ‘I mainly use Fujiﬁlm cameras but this is one of my ﬁrst images with my new DJI Air 2S drone,’ he tells us. ‘It was taken as the light was fading but I was really wanting to test the new, bigger sensor in low light and with the tide being out on the Kyle of Tongue it made for some fantastic lines and mood with Ben Loyal – “The Queen of Scottish Mountains” – in the background.’ Gary’s Instagram is at @gary_ macleod_photography.

Want to see your pictures here? Share them with our Flickr, Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook communities using the hashtag #appicoftheweek. Or email your best shot to us at ap.ed@kelsey.co.uk. See page 3 for how to ﬁnd us. 6

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Winners of Great British Photography Challenge Fujiﬁlm back online after cyber-attack

FUJIFILM has confirmed that it was the victim of a ransomware cyber-attack in Japan on 4 June. The firm told the Verdict website that a ‘specific network’ had been targeted, and that it had refused to pay any ransom. In a statement on Fujifilm’s website, a Fujifilm Europe spokesperson said it is ‘highly confident that no loss, destruction, alteration, unauthorised use or disclosure of our data, or our customers’ data, on Fujifilm Europe’s systems has been detected.’ See bit.ly/fujiransom.

Always take the weather with you

A NEW book called Weather – A Force of Nature: Spectacular Images from Weather Photographer of the Year, goes on sale on 16 September for £25. It includes the best images from the ﬁrst ﬁve years of the major competition, organised by the Royal Meteorological Society, alongside essays which discuss the effect of climate change on extreme weather. You will be able to order it from all good booksellers nearer the time.

THE GREAT British Photography Challenge 2021, aired on BBC Four and iPlayer, has been jointly won by Jackson Moyles, a self-taught landscape photographer from Dunfermline, and Tyrone Williams, a graphic designer from Northampton. ‘Picking a winner for the show was really hard,’ said top portrait photographer Rankin, who hosted the show and mentored the participants. ‘It prompted some heated debate between me and the other judges. Tyrone and Jackson are completely different photographers, with very different styles and career paths. Tyrone is an art photographer,

with a really clear voice. His work grabbed my attention from the very beginning. Jackson’s work, on the other hand, grew as he found himself over the competition… There was no way we could split them – they were both clear winners in their own right.’ Their photographs from the show, along with a new set of images, can be seen at www.public-offerings.com/gbpc. We are also running some interviews with Tyrone and with another contestant, Paul Williams, on our website at amateurphotographer.co.uk – Paul is a long-standing AP reader.

Jackson (second from left) and Tyrone (second from right) with the other contestants

Pulitzer Prize photo winners revealed THE 2021 PULITZER Prize winners for photography have been announced, with Associated Press staff photographers sweeping the board. The Feature Photography prize went to Emilio Morenatti, for his poignant series of images that takes viewers into the lives of elderly people in Spain struggling during the pandemic. Barcelona-based Morenatti has spent more than 30 years as a photojournalist and documentary photographer, and has worked out of Afghanistan, Jerusalem, Gaza and Pakistan, covering international events in more than 50 countries. The photography staff of the Associated Press also jointly won the Breaking News Photography Prize for a collection of images from multiple US cities that ‘cohesively

One of Morenatti’s poignant Covid images

captures the country’s response to the death of George Floyd’. See the full list of winners and runners-up at bit.ly/pullitzerap. www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

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Viewpoint Jon Bentley

Books & exhibitions The latest and best books and exhibitions from the world of photography

A recent project in AP struck a chord, with its atmospheric explorations of place

t was a delight to see the work of Robert Darch in a recent issue, AP 17 April. I ﬁnd his ability to communicate an intense, romantic sense of place – in this case rural Devon – genuinely thrilling. For me his pictures evoke the work of mid-20th century, neo-romantic British artists like Paul Nash, John Piper and Eric Ravilious, who in turn were inspired by the earlier visions of William Blake and Samual Palmer. Their slightly surreal pictures with brooding atmospheres bristle with history and a wine-like sense of terroir. It’s an effect that’s perhaps difﬁcult to replicate in photos with their more literal representation of place but, over the years, some photographers have managed to work the romantic magic. Edwin Smith (1912-1971) was one; his plate camera appeared to shift time, communicating bygone generations’ experiences of historic buildings. Eric Ravilious’s son James (1939-99) was another who, also in Devon, recorded the traditional lives of farmers with his Leica, in hugely atmospheric detail.

Distinctive sense of place

D E T I M I L A I D E M Y E S L E K R O E N I Z A G A M R E H P A R G O T O H P R U E T A M A F O E S O H T YL I R A S S E C E N T O N E R A N M U L O C S I H T N I D E S S E R P X E S W E I V E H T

I had wondered whether such romantic images could still be created in Britain in the 21st century. As the country becomes more connected, populated and developed it seems ever harder to detect a distinctive sense of place, let alone communicate it through pictures. But Darch has managed to do just that. One of the reasons I believe he succeeds is that, like those neoRomantic artists, his vision exists as much in the imagination as in reality. In his recent book The Vale, and in his earlier work, he’s created a partly real, partly make-believe world centred on the ﬁctional country town of Durlescombe. Whether suffused by a golden hour glow, penetrated by shafts of sunlight, or embroiled in mist, the pictures

52 Assignments: Photographic Exposure by Antony Zacharias £12.99, Ammonite Press, hardback, 128 pages, ISBN: 9781781454428 An image from Robert Darch’s book

encourage viewers to create the genius loci in their minds. All is replete with abundant, luxuriant vegetation. The shots are nostalgic but never sentimental or kitsch. A lack of distracting contemporary clutter leaves the people who appear in frame focused on their relationships with an environment that took generations to create. They appear to have grown out of the earth itself. Sometimes they wear troubled and thoughtful expressions contributing to a sense of haunting unease. I hope Robert is tempted to do further explorations of place in other parts of the country. Maybe he could invent a second environment in the areas of Birmingham and Worcestershire where he grew up, detecting some local vibe that would translate into contemporary photography. It doesn’t have to be a rural idyll. The artist George Shaw has created striking paintings based round the Coventry suburb of Tile Hill which communicate a similarly thoughtful atmosphere. Even better, I hope his work will inspire other photographers to achieve their own distinctive visions of place. As William Blake demonstrated, a romantic, pictorial semi-fantasy can do wonders for the soul. Jon Bentley is a TV producer and presenter best known for Top Gear and Channel 5’s The Gadget Show

Do you have something you’d like to get oﬀ your chest? Send us your thoughts in around 500 words to the email address on page 3 and win a year’s digital subscription to AP.

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

Small enough to ﬁt in your kit bag, the latest volume from the popular 52 Assignments series is designed to kickstart your creativity. A year’s worth of weekly commissions and concepts are included in the book for you to try out and move outside of your comfort zone. There’s something for everybody here, from capturing sunsets and creating dramatic silhouettes to freezing fast-moving action scenes. As we are all surely familiar with by now, light is arguably the most important cornerstone of photography. With that in mind, all of the projects in the book have been written to inspire you to play with light – whether natural or artiﬁcial – to convey mood, evoke emotion and tell a story. If you’re looking for a new challenge, this bargain book is a great starting point to motivate you.

Through the Lens of Music:

Merseyside Music Photographers Exhibition and Social Panel 3-9 July Bloom Building, Birkenhead 10-17 July The Jacaranda, Liverpool

This exhibition and social event celebrates the work and livelihood of Merseyside music photographers, showcasing eight contemporary music photographers from the local scene. The show will ﬁrst visit Birkenhead, before moving over to Liverpool after a week. The opening night at the Bloom Building will see a programme of Social Panels and acoustic performances by local artists, with guest speakers and hosts discussing the role of music photographers within the music industry, arts sector and individually as artists and creators. After a tough year for many – but particularly for photographers working in the events industry – showing support by visiting the exhibition is well worth it if you can make it. Contact the venues for opening times. 11

From the archive

Nigel Atherton looks back at past AP issues

John Swannell considered his exhibition of fine art nudes to be his best ever work

29 June1991

JOHN Swannell started out as David Bailey’s assistant but by the 1990s had become almost as successful himself, with his own advertising deal with Olympus. This issue led with an interview with him about his exhibition of fine art nudes, which he considered to be his best ever work. It would be hard to imagine a greater contrast with Swannell’s images than David Hockney’s joiners but the latter work, also featured in this issue, was in hindsight the more prescient. Cathy Joseph explained: ‘Hockney’s brightly coloured portraits… are produced using a Canon RC470 still video camera by taking five separate shots of the subject, starting at the head and working down to the feet. The images are stored on floppy disc, which is removed and inserted into a computer. This in turn connects to a £40,000 Canon Colour Laser Copier which produces A4 prints. The whole process takes a matter of minutes.’ She continued: ‘The exhibition is entitled New Electronic Snaps and Hockney has no pretensions about them. “I’m not concerned whether they are art or not,” he told AP. “A lot of my work is research. Some artists are concerned with making art – I’m not sure I am.” He is, however excited at this new medium for creating pictures, as all photographers should be. There is no doubt that… electronic imaging is not only here to stay but likely to become more pervasive. That doesn’t mean conventional photography is under threat, merely that there are more options for picture makers to choose from.’ Sorry to correct you Cathy, but it did mean exactly that. 12

David Hockney’s joiners – an early experiment with digital/electronic photography

AP columnist Mike Maloney offers his critique on another selection of readers’ pics www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

The Rhino Collection

Stand strong and imagine all the possibilities

The Rhino series of photographic tripods offers the ideal combination of strength and weight without compromising stability. Each Rhino tripod also converts to a full-size monopod. Its reverse folding design makes it extremely portable while its strength make it equally suited for the studio.

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Technique

s with any genre of photography, it’s easy to get distracted by the gear and forget about the subject. Portrait photography is no different. You can spend thousands of pounds on lighting and light modiﬁers or shapers, but without knowledge and practice the results can be disappointing. For this article I used a Canon full-frame

DSLR, a 50mm prime lens and inexpensive Speedlites. The 50mm lens I used is very popular and available from around £130 new but it’s worth seeking out used bargains. A 50mm prime is ideal because it gives portraits a natural feel without creating distance between the photographer and model. Of the ﬂash lighting available for

photography, the Speedlite, hot shoe flash, small flash or off-camera flash – they are referred to by different names by different photographers and manufacturers – are accessible, versatile and inexpensive. One of the Speedlites used for this article, the Kenro Speedflash, costs £95. Whilst it’s not part of a larger ecosystem of flash or strobes, with knowledge and practice you’ll www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

Successful portraits on a shoestring Ian Pack guides you through the process of creating successful portraits on a budget with gear which is both inexpensive and easily available in-store and online

Ian Pack Ian is a seasoned

photographer based in Sussex. He works across a number of industries and runs a creative studio. To see his work visit www. winephotos.uk or Instagram @packs.hacks.

Shoot-through white umbrella The shoot-through or

translucent umbrella is inexpensive and versatile. They can be used to soften hard direct flash for portraits or spread light for room interiors.

Kenro Speedﬂash KFL101 Probably the best-value

Speedlite available in the UK, priced around £95. Compatible with both Canon e-TTL and Nikon i-TTL metering with a high flash sync shutter speed of 1/8000th second.

Godox S2 Bracket The perfect way to fit

your Speedlite to a lighting stand. The Godox S2 allows you to use umbrellas and a range of Bowens S-Type light modifiers.

Flash triggers Wireless triggers offer a longer range from your flash and the ability to fire multiple flashes whilst a cable is less expensive and doesn’t need experience to get you photographing.

ﬁnd that you can create beautiful images. The main image on this page was photographed with the Speedlite mounted on the camera hot shoe with a homemade bounce card to spread and soften the hard light from a direct Speedlite. The image is essentially straight out of camera with a few post-processing tweaks to the raw ﬁle and conversion to black & white using the www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

latest version of DxO Nik Collection Colour Efex Pro 4 Dynamic Skin Softener and Silver Efex 3 Ilford Pan F 50 ﬁlm emulation. To darken the background relative to the model, I set the camera to aperture priority mode and set the ﬂash to TTL automatic. I used the camera exposure compensation to underexpose the ambient light by about one stop. The

Lastolite Joe McNally Ezybox Speed-Lite 2 Plus Whilst not inexpensive, this is a useful piece of kit serving as a small key light, accent or background light. Folds flat for portability.

Technique

Bounce cards

The bounce card is one of the least expensive ways to modify the light from your small flash. Bounce cards rely on bouncing light forward and ceiling bounce, assuming that you’re working inside. Both make the relative size of your flash bigger and can be shaped to bounce the light when there’s no ceiling or if the ceiling is a colour other than white. The light reflected from either is indistinguishable from the other. There is one significant difference between these two bounce cards – price. The commercially available bounce card costs over £30, and the DIY version is less than £5!

IAN’S TOP TIPS

Negative ﬁll

Instead of using a reflector to add light to the shadows, use a piece of black card, cloth or the black side of a 5-in-1 reflector. This will reduce the light reflected from surfaces close to your model and add contrast and drama to the final image.

Depth of ﬁeld

Use a wide lens aperture somewhere between f/1.8 and f/3.2 to throw the background out of focus. It helps if the background is at least 3 metres from your model. Defocusing the background brings the model to the foreground, removing background distraction.

Be diﬀerent

I used the gold reflective side of a 5-in-1 reflector and a small soft box designed specifically for small flash guns or Speedlites. If you look carefully at the catchlights in the model’s eyes you can gauge the approximate position and size of the softbox. www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

Ian used a white shoot-through umbrella with a white foam core V-flat to bounce light back into his subject’s face (see right)

Canon EOS R, 50mm, 1/160sec at f/5.6, ISO 320

camera controlled the exposure for the background whilst the model was lit by the flash. As a general rule when working with flash the lens aperture works with the flash exposure and the shutter speed controls the ambient light.

TTL mode. If you use a higher or shorter duration shutter speed when not using high speed TTL mode, you will notice a black band across your photos. Most Speedlites enable you to shoot up to 1/8000sec allowing you to use a wide lens aperture in bright light conditions, Flash and shutter speed provided that your flash is powerful DSLR, mirrorless and other system cameras enough. Speedlites average around 60Ws will have a recommended maximum output. The watt-second is the energy shutter speed to trigger the flash. This is equivalent to the power of one Watt known as the flash sync speed and the sustained for one second. Basically, the fastest shutter speed at which your flash higher the Ws value, the more will fire when not using high speed sync in powerful your flash.

Dare to bare

Here a bare Speedlite (one without a modifier) was clamped to the frame inside the poly tunnel to light the grower. Zooming the flash to 105mm gave a narrow beam of light adding emphasis whilst maintaining a natural balance between the flash and the ambient exposure. www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

Bounce your ﬂash

Bouncing ﬂash is a quick and simple way to create soft light for portraits. For this portrait I used a single Speedlite handheld to camera left with a Rogue FlashBender to bounce the hard ﬂash light, giving a larger relative light source which mimicked the heavy cloud cover.

Drag the shutter

Using a slow shutter speed below the recommended flash sync speed allows more ambient light to record during the flash exposure. For this image I set my camera to 1/40sec, f/4 and ISO 160. An inexpensive 40in (100cm) umbrella soft box provided a broad flattering light. 17

Technique USING FLASH ‘Good communication and rapport are key when it comes to capturing successful portraits’ Getting started

You don’t need a dedicated studio space to create successful portraits. All of the portraits in this article were photographed in a living room, covered outside area or outdoors. Along with a light source you’ll need a light stand and means of mounting the flash to the light stand. Here I used a Godox bracket – something I consider versatile and value for money. Once you have your gear together and set up, check to make sure it’s working correctly. Does the flash fire when the camera shutter is pressed? Is the flash switched on? Did you charge the batteries for the flash trigger? All things to consider before your model arrives. I used a black pop-up backdrop held to a light stand with a large A clamp. Pop-up backdrops vary in quality and price. Less expensive backdrops do show creases in the stretch fabric. A good cheap option for a black backdrop is a piece of polyester fleece, the fabric used for warm clothing or blankets clamped to a curtain track. The flash was zoomed to the 24mm setting to increase spread inside the umbrella. Remember with Speedlites zooming the head does not alter the quality of the light, just the coverage of the light beam. Some Speedlites are supplied with a small white plastic box which fits over the front of the light. These do spread the light

Exposure table

This table shows guide exposures for the average 60Ws small ﬂash gun for subjects approximately 2 metres away. Read your working aperture from the left and ISO from the top. Where the two meet shows the starting point manual ﬂash power setting. It’s worth copying and printing this to carry with your Speedlites. 18

inside modiﬁers improving shadow edge transition. The way to differentiate hard and soft light is as follows – hard light is characterised by shadows with a sharp edge, whereas with soft light the shadow edges have a gradual transition from light to dark.

Working with your model

Once your model arrives make them welcome, then discuss your plans for the shoot if you have not already done so. Maintain a dialogue during the shoot and involve the model. The model featured here discussed the shoot with me a couple of weeks before, which helped on the day as we both knew what to expect and the potential outcome. Good communication and rapport are key when it comes to capturing successful portraits. When discussing your ideas with the model be prepared to experiment and ask for their input. It also helps to have a Pinterest mood board with potential ideas to hand and share this with the model prior to the shoot. Don’t be too ambitious though, especially when working with relatively new models. Choose a couple of ideas to work with initially and have a few others lined up as extras in case you have some time left over. The key thing with portrait shoots is to keep them short, develop new skills and most of all, have fun.

Why it works

This photograph is a good example of a small flash in a relatively inexpensive pop-up softbox where the light is not influenced by reflective surfaces in a room. I needed to work quickly because there was a lot of foot traffic where I had chosen to shoot. The concept was to create a glamorous feel whilst maintaining the atmosphere of the street lights. I chose to shoot with a Canon 100400mm f/4.5-5.6 IS L Series zoom on Canon EOS 5D Mark II full-frame body to get compression with the background whilst maintaining focus on the model. The camera was set to ISO 320, shutter speed 1/15sec, lens aperture f/5.6 zoomed to around 200mm. Instead of using a tripod to support the lens and camera, I used the tripod to support my left elbow to supplement the lens image stabilisation. This gives more freedom of movement when photographing a moving model whilst maintaining up/down stability where much camera shake occurs. Before photographing the final frames, I shot a frame of the background with the camera in aperture priority mode to judge the background exposure and used my exposure table to estimate the manual flash exposure. Ultimately both the flash and the camera were set to manual in order to maintain consistent frame to frame exposure not influenced by the reflectance of the model. This style can be created with inexpensive equipment, understanding of exposure, including how to get consistently sharp images in low-light conditions, a model, props and rapport with the team.

YOUR LETTERS Amateur Photographer Email ap.ed@kelsey.co.uk Editorial Group Editor Nigel Atherton

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I sometimes want to take pictures with a digital compact using the same 50mm view as my ﬁlm camera, but no one makes such a camera these days. You used to be able to buy a Pentax Q, with a 8.5mm f/1.9 lens, which offered the same view as a 50mm lens in 35mm, Andrew hankers after a lens like that on the Pentax Q but they don’t make them with a standard prime lens I am sure any more. There are quite a few on the demand would be there. What do eBay, but mainly from Japan and your other readers think? Andrew S Redding costing an arm and a leg, plus postage plus import duty…no thanks! I do use zoom compacts but this is The 8.5mm f/1.9 lens for the Pentax not the same, and although there are Q was equivalent to 47mm, so almost some compacts with a ﬁxed prime the same as a 50mm. It’s a good lens, these have semi wideangle question: would you buy a compact lenses. If someone made a compact with a 50mm equivalent prime lens?

Win!

A Samsung 64GB EVO Plus microSDXC with SD adapter Class 10 UHS-1 Grade U3 memory card supports 4K UHD. Offering R/W speeds of up to 100MB/s /20MB/s and a 10-year limited warranty. www.samsung.com/uk/memory-cards.

Judges are humans too Judging from the letters

is likely that judges pick the images that they find page, the dispute over just to be the most pleasing how far post-processing and/or interesting. should be taken has It has been suggested intensified. All club that every competition competitions have their image should be rules. For some, the final accompanied by the image must be as close original raw file/s. But to what was recorded by please pity the unpaid the sensor as is volunteers in the Camera possible. Others permit Club Committee. On a images to be heavily typical night, in my local ‘Photoshopped’. club, there will be at least Shockingly, research has 27 placed images, some shown that judges are of which will include new humans too. Further skies, layered textures, research is ongoing, but it selected elements, etc.

But also there will be the creative works, which may have been formed from collages of original raw ﬁles. Going through all of the raw ﬁles, to prove that the author of each work has not incorporated another person’s work, could easily balloon into a formidable effort. And, surely, camera clubs are already short enough of volunteers? David Price

Thank you, Jeremy From a 73-year-old who

has been into landscape

photography for 50+ years, and so remembers the earlier days, I’d like to say a big THANK YOU to Jeremy Walker. (Landscape Special, 8 May). You have written a brilliant genuine, so true article, in many, many ways. You have worked hard at it. I have only skirmished. There was a time when the camera was always with me and I would go and wait and wait. Now it is more about using the location we are holidaying in, and doing that in useful wildest places. But, just thank you for being a professional as you are and for inspiring, and challenging us all. Adrian Neilson

Powerful image I just had to email to say,

wow, wow, wow at the powerful images in the World Press Photo 2021 article (15 May). They are all amazing and worthy of winning, but the one that made me stop, think, then send this email is ‘Doctor Peyo and Mister Hassen’ by Jérémy Lempin of 24-year-old Marion embracing her son, and the horse standing over them both. What an empathetic image, both peaceful yet powerful. Thank you for publishing this feature. Ian Hartley

Reﬂecting people’s lives

I just wanted to say how moved I was by the article News just in (AP 15 May). Especially Jérémy Lempin’s ‘Doctor Peyo and Mister Hassen.’ No doubt some of the individuals who complained about Hidden in plain sight may be up in arms again, complaining that their sensitive little darlings have been scarred for life by the images published in AP. But surely the whole point of owning a camera is to www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

In next week’s issue

E C N A R F ,NIPM E L Y M É R É J ©

Motion Special

Ian and Eric were both moved by this World Press Photo image by Jérémy Lempin

surprising, after seeing the edited photos a week later, was learning that they’d been processed in Photoshop Elements 18. They were stunning! I have been saving up for a top-notch new camera so rang the photographer for his advice. He’d bought his D300 from MPB a few years ago and it had I was pleased to see the performed like a champion excellent ‘UK Travel ever since. He did own up Special’ in the 22 May that he kept a spare Nikon issue looking at places D5300 in his car as less visited but was backup should his main surprised to see that by camera fail. He said page 14 of the issue it Elements 18 was the only had gone to less-visited software he’d ever owned places in Britain. In this and that he knew it ‘inside year where staycations out’. He passed on the are likely to be even more age-old tip that an important, what happened I recently attended a expensive camera won’t to Northern Ireland friend’s wedding where make you a better – owing to Covid between the cover and photographer. restrictions – the ofﬁcial page 14? I’m converted. My photographer had very Matthew Webber savings will run to a used few people to work with. DSLR camera body and a But I was surprised to see couple of lenses. Sounds I was looking forward to he was using a Nikon good to me. It reminds me seeing what part of NI D300, which seemed a bit of an old saying my gran would feature in your ‘UK outdated for an important often used: ‘There’s many Travel Special – Off the occasion like a wedding. a good tune played on an Beaten Track.’ I would But boy, did I get that old ﬁddle.’ never have thought that wrong. Even more Terry Armstrong politics would feature in a photography magazine, YOUR FREE ENTRY CODE but it seems the NI Enter the code below via Photocrowd to get one protocol (created as an free entry to APOY Round 6 – Motion outworking of Brexit) has stopped Northern Ireland featuring at all. To say I was disappointed is an

Where’s NI?

understatement. No locations from the Antrim coast, or Co. Down. Not even the lakelands of Fermanagh. Maybe we are going to get our own NI special. I wait with great anticipation to see the locations that will be chosen. Niall Boyle Apologies to our Northern Ireland readers. This was nothing to do with politics – we just omitted to ask an NI-based landscape photographer for their off-the-beaten-track location suggestions. We will rectify this at our next opportunity.

Whether freezing action or controlling blur,followour expert tips for various genres L L A H N EB ©

record what happens round about us. Each of us can choose to record the Warm and Fuzzy or the Jagged and Uncomfortable. Both equally represent and reﬂect the lives that people live on this planet. Eric Beaton

T S U R T NELEH ©

YOUR LETTERS

The age-old tip

Wildlife in action

Disappointed

E G N A H C OT T C E J B U S E B Y A M E U S S I S ’ K E E W T X EN R O F T N E T N O C

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APOY40229176

Ben Hall shares his techniques to help you take dramatic images

Long-exposure landscapes

James Abbott’s guide to long-exposure photography using ND ﬁlters

Sigma fp L

Andy Westlake tests Sigma’s small full-frame 61MP mirrorless camera

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2 1

1 Eric by Ian Smith This characterful documentary-style portrait creates a wonderful story and the way the light has been used is sublime

Join

Club the

This sociable club usually has a Christmas dinner together

2 Head in the Clouds by Tracey Small There’s just enough information included in this shot to set your imagination running about the model’s character

3 3 Bottled Orchid by Heather Bodie A superbly executed still-life study that is simple yet very effective

4 When was the club founded? Launceston Camera Club – which has a wide catchment area, serving all of North Cornwall and West Devon – celebrates its 45th anniversary this year. Our honorary president, Dennis Madge, was a founder member of the club. What does your club offer to new members? We assign an experienced member to act as a buddy for each of our new members for their ﬁrst couple of weeks, so that they get to know our routine and have someone at hand to answer any questions. Describe a typical club meeting Members arrive early to help with setting

4 Defensive Blue Tit by Chris Robbins Wonderfully timed, this nature shot shows us some of the bird’s behaviour to perfection

out the chairs, projector, screen and prints boards. We all settle down at 7:30pm for the chairman’s brief news update. Guest speakers or external judges for our club competitions are introduced. For our workshop evenings, the format is explained. Upon completion of the evening’s event, we have refreshments and a time for socialising and chats with our guest speakers or judges, ﬁnishing around 9:30pm. Do you invite guest speakers? We have half a dozen guest speakers each year, covering a wide range of photographic topics. We use club members for a couple of internal talks and we run training workshops too. www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

YOUR PICTURES IN PRINT

6 Water Drop Cello by Hugh Letheren A perfectly timed shot like this shows off the technical expertise of the photographer

5 5 Ben by Geoff Trevarthen Converting this shot to black & white has given extra dignity to such a magnificent creature

8 La Ballerina by John Davey This image is beautifully serene and mysterious, with lovely toning

7 Beautiful Demoiselle by Adrian Davey The colours and details of this insect have been excellently captured in this image

Club essentials

Launceston Camera Club

Tregadillett Community Hall, Prouts Way, Tregadillett, Launceston, PL15 7HT Meets Every Tuesday evening September to April Membership £20 per year plus £2.50 on the night Contact launcestoncc.secretary@gmail.com Website www.launcestoncameraclub.co.uk, www.facebook.com/Launceston-CameraClub-110689121112490.

Do members compete in regional or national competitions? We hold eight internal but externally judged photo competitions and have regular interclub competitions with neighbouring clubs. We encourage members to compete in competitions run by our afﬁliated organisations: the Cornwall Photographic Alliance (CPA), the Western Counties Photographic Federation (WCPF) and the Photographic Alliance of Great Britain. Several members submit to national and international competitions as individuals. We also encourage submissions to magazines like Amateur Photographer! How many members do you have? Our membership averages out at 35 to 40 www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

and covers a wide age range and skillsets. Several of our members offer talks and demonstrations at other clubs, and in addition we have some experienced competition judges who serve the surrounding clubs. Our current chairman also chairs the WCPF and our vicechairman chairs the CPA. Are any residential trips or outings planned? We do not engage in residential trips as a club but we do meet once a month during the summer at various local photogenic beauty spots for an evening’s photography and social chat. We usually manage one club barbecue and a Christmas dinner together as well.

Any funny stories about the club? After one of our summer meetings on Bodmin moor taking photographs, we went into the pub for the usual shandy! But one of our members (no names mentioned) ﬁnished his drink quickly because he needed to be somewhere. By then a thick fog had set in. When we left, 10 or 15 minutes later, we found him driving around the car park in the fog looking for the exit! What are the club’s goals for the future? As with all small clubs, our focus is on encouraging local people with an interest in photography to come and join us, to increase our numbers, add to the pool of experienced photographers happy to share their skills and to reduce the average age! 25

Photo Stories

Drag out

Peter Dench talks to Jane Hilton about her project, Drag Queen Cowboys, which placed in the SonyWorld Photography Awards

‘T

hey’re a real nightmare to pin down because they work at night obviously and they’re not up until lunchtime and I wanted to photograph them in daylight, so there wasn’t a lot of daylight left for me and they take about four hours to get ready. That was my continual problem,’ explains photographer Jane Hilton when we meet on a park bench in north London. Jane’s portrait project, Drag Queen Cowboys, achieved 3rd Place, Professional competition, Portraiture at the 2021 Sony World Photography Awards, and it all started in 2019. She was on assignment in New Mexico and planned to swing by Las Vegas to look for new communities to photograph for her ongoing book about the state of Nevada, where she has photographed throughout her career. ‘I tapped into it by accident by going to Drag Queen Bingo and realising, oh my God, another world I know nothing about, aren’t they amazing! They’re incredibly talented. They don’t earn a lot of money. They do it for the passion for it. They could spend a whole week making an outﬁt for a gig on Friday night for a couple of hundred dollars pay. It’s so gymnastic it’s ridiculous. Twice a night. It’s an art form. Bit of bingo then individual routines.’

outfits including wigs and applying their own make-up. One had an outfit inspired by Mae West, others opted for a more Saloon Bar look. ‘I think they were curious. That’s half of why I shoot a lot in America, they’re as curious about me as I am about them.’ Jane collaborated with about ten drag queens, communicating mainly via Instagram and making several research trips at the end of 2019. She returned ready to photograph just before the Covid pandemic reached the USA in February 2020, staying weeks and attempting two shoots a day. The portraits shot on her Wista 5x4 camera are inspired by the locations and displacement of characters in John Huston’s The Misfits (1961). In the film, Isabelle Steers (played by Thelma Ritter) makes a toast: ‘Here’s to Nevada, the “leave it” state… You got money you want to gamble, leave it here. You got a wife you wanna get rid of, get rid of her here. Extra atom bomb you don’t need, blow it up here. Nobody’s gonna mind.’ In Nevada, anything goes and Jane is desperate to go back and shoot more intimate pictures with the drag queens. ‘I wasn’t intending to carry it on, I was intending it to only be a chapter about Nevada; it turned out it was a very enjoyable chapter and like all these subject matters, the more you delve, the richer you reap.’ Ditching the colour For her book, Dead Eagle Trail (Schilt 2010), Although the drag queens have their photo Jane spent four years criss-crossing the taken often – by friends, phone selfies and cowboy states of Arizona, Utah, Texas, New photographers they know on the circuit who Mexico, Wyoming and Nevada to capture snap all the Vegas girls – at first they were America’s 21st-century cowboys. Her second reluctant to let Jane in. They were used to book, Precious (Schilt 2013), is a collection of seeing themselves in images shot in glitzy intimate nude portraits of working girls in clubs, in vibrant colour, lit with flash, filtered brothels in Nevada, the only state where and retouched, not in the desert in black & prostitution is legal. For Drag Queen Cowboys, white. Jane (who has a distant background in she found drag queens that were from, based fashion) reassured them the portrait would be in, or grew up in Nevada. Star of Huston’s taken in the softer, natural light at dawn or film, Marilyn Monroe, once said, ‘I don’t mind dusk and that she knew how to light a face, living in a man’s world as long as I can be a showing examples of her photography. They woman in it,’ and living in the all-embracing agreed and took it to another level, state of Nevada, Jane’s Drag Queen painstakingly making their own Western Cowboys are each a Miss that fits. 26

Clockwise from top: Miss Alexis Mateo; Sage O’Hara; Miss Victoria Mateo; Asia & Anetra

Jane Hilton Jane is an award-winning British photographer and filmmaker whose work brings attention to the extraordinary realities of ordinary people’s lives. She is renowned for her work documenting American culture, in particular the American West.

All that glistens DEDICATED FOLLOWERS OF FILM

In demand for his cool and beautifully natural style, ﬁlm photographer Nima Elm tells Damien Demolder that working for some big brands isn’t always the dreamcome-true we might expect

DEDICATED FOLLOWERS OF FILM

Nima likes to use ambient light for a sense of realism

ust as many weekend chefs fantasise about opening a restaurant, so many amateur photographers dream of the day they can pay the bills on the back of their talents behind the camera. What an idyllic life we’d all have, doing what we love most and keeping the mortgage serviced at the same time. If we could earn a living making only the pictures we love it certainly would be a dream come true, but there is often a dramatic abyss between the experience of shooting to suit ourselves and that of shooting on the command of another. When someone else wants a hand in how those pictures turn out, wants you to do things their way, dictates which pictures the world sees and has all the financial influence, earning your living through the lens mightn’t be how we imagined it would. This is a lesson film photographer Nima Elm has learnt the hard way, following what he thought were his dreams only to discover many of the paths to commercial success are strewn with frustrations and disappointments. ‘I hate some of the commercial work. Certain jobs I despise,’ he confesses. ‘A lot of brands say they’re hiring me because they like my style and that I can shoot things my way, but then they put an art director over my shoulder who says things like, “Maybe we could smile for this one. Maybe a bigger smile for this one. Another smile.” You get two days of that, and then you hate everything you’ve shot at the end of it. While these people like my work, their vision for their brand always comes first and when you get to the shoot, things divert away from what I was hired for. ‘While I direct situations in my personal work I don’t ever want my pictures to look contrived and I don’t want them to look like a photo shoot. I’ll take an IKEA desk lamp over a “proper” photographic light any day. As soon as I put up a proper light everything feels fake – the lighting looks fake and the situation feels fake. If I use ambient light it looks and feels like a real situation. It is real lighting, and it could be a real scene. On some of these jobs everything is contrived and feels really forced. If I’m shooting at home I can use whatever light I like, but when you turn up at a big commercial job you’d never get 29

DEDICATED FOLLOWERS OF FILM away with using non“professional” lights. I wish I could though. ‘A lot of these art directors just want to shoot to a common standard, and they’re not prepared to move very far away from it. They’re looking for the safe option. One brand looks at what the other brands are doing and they just want something similar. If they stick within those guidelines they know they aren’t going to lose their job. ‘Since lockdown I’ve been more inclined to pick and choose the jobs I do. I want to enjoy photography again rather than spending a few days on a beauty shoot, hating everything afterwards and feeling completely uninspired to pick up the camera. Work has been really quiet during Covid and this has helped me to rethink everything. I had time to sit with my personal work. It made me realise that I want to do a few commercial jobs that I enjoy – enough to pay the bills – and then spend the rest of my time shooting personal work and making photobooks. I don’t know if I can make money that way, but I’ll try. I don’t know how many photobooks I would sell – I could lose a lot of money too. Maybe I’ll be more successful than I think. We’ll have to wait and see.’ Nima has over 43k followers on Instagram, so the chances are he won’t have too much difﬁculty

selling all the books he produces, but like many artists he’s less sure of himself and his new direction than others might be of him. This comes across in the way he looks for new work – or doesn’t. ‘I always have imposter syndrome and think I’m not good enough to approach brands, so it’s them that approaches me. It’s good fortune really that I’ve had any work at all.’ The truth of course is that companies want Nima to shoot their campaigns because they like what he does and want to associate their products with the lifestyles he is very good at depicting in his images.

Nothing compares

‘When I started taking pictures I wanted to get into fashion and cool photography, so would ask a friend and go out to do some pictures. I’d get awful anxiety about showing the back of the camera to people because I didn’t want them to know that I had no idea what I was doing. Then I discovered film. Using film was fantastic as I couldn’t show anyone the pictures on the day. Once they were developed I could get rid of the rubbish shots and only show the good ones. And that’s how I got into shooting film! ‘After a while though I realised nothing else compared to the way film looks. There’s a depth and aesthetic I just can’t get with digital photography – everything about film

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looks different. There’s a real-ness to it that I can never get with digital photography. Everything seems very cinematic, and even when shooting with a desk lamp there’s a depth that shows what’s in the shadows. It’s really hard to put my finger on what I like so much. I can take a picture on a digital camera, think it’s garbage and want to throw it away, but take exactly the same shot on film and it will be an incredible, magical frame. ‘When you shoot on digital you come back with thousands of pictures of the same thing, for no reason other than you have the freedom to keep clicking a button. If I’m shooting on medium format I’ll spend time getting each frame right, take the shot and move on to the next shot. I scan my pictures myself and it takes a few minutes per picture, so if I have ten frames of the same shot I’m not only losing out financially but I’m also bored. The pain of the price of film and the time it takes to scan has got me into the habit of being careful to frame properly the first time.’

Wait, and it happens

The cinematic feel of film photography is what appeals to Nima www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

‘I want to get ten different scenes on a roll of film – for every shot to count. I don’t need to take loads and analyse them on the back of the camera to see what isn’t working – I use my eyes to make sure each frame looks good. I shoot slowly – maybe ten frames in a quarter of an hour. I move around the room watching through the finder, looking for proportions that I like and frame up. Then I wait until I have that emotion – a flicker in the eyes, a look of sadness, something that looks real. There’s no need to shoot straight away or to shoot quickly. When you hold the frame people will eventually tell you a story through their face and expressions. That’s what I wait for – for the moment people stop posing, let their guard down and become themselves. These moments never happen on commercial jobs, but if they do those pictures are never chosen. That’s why I get disheartened, as I never like the images that are used. ‘Sometimes though when I’m not feeling the mood I need to shoot a warm-up roll – just to get into things and to start feeling comfortable. It’s sometimes also about getting the model to feel comfortable – which I have to do in quite a short period of time. These pictures, 31

DEDICATED FOLLOWERS OF FILM Some of the cameras Nima uses

which might all be of the same ‘There’s nothing to stop anyone thing, allow me eventually to get learning how to use and control to the good stuff.’ colour. It isn’t like being an athlete where there might be limitations on Colours are fun what you can do. It just takes time.’ ‘I find the scanning process really exciting. It’s the moment all is Kit revealed. I put my music on and bring ‘My dad gave me a Canon EOS 1N the negatives to life. It used to take me that I still use today and which still ages because I didn’t understand works perfectly even though it has colour,’ he explains. never been serviced. I moved to ‘When I started I’d shoot in colour medium format about five years ago – but struggled to get my colours right which was like entering a new world. – so I ended up converting most shots It’s a massive step up from 35mm. I started with a Mamiya 7 II but the to black & white. It took me a long time to understand colour. I couldn’t lenses wouldn’t focus close enough get sets of images to have a consistent and I found the rangefinder a bit look, but now sorting my colours takes fiddly. Then I got a Pentax 67 but it about 10 minutes. The past traumas of was unreliable. I did a two-day shoot with it and every roll came out blank. getting it wrong, and thinking I’d never be able to do it, actually make I sat on Brighton beach for about 45 minutes trying not to cry before doing it really enjoyable now. ‘Colours are fun. I like certain shades making the dreaded phone calls to of blue that have a bit of magenta in everyone involved in the shoot. them, I love reds and warm tones that ‘Since then I’ve been using a I’ve learnt to make with tiny tweaks Mamiya RZ67 Pro II with 110mm f/2.8 – it gives me a feeling of pride, lens. People say it’s heavy but it accomplishment and enjoyment all in doesn’t bother me. I use the waist-level finder and I use the 110mm for one. The skill is all about seeing colours within colours. There might be everything. I have a Canon EOS 5D III, magenta in yellows, or green within but I don’t really know much about it. yellows and you have to find the right I get my films processed at Analogue Films off London’s Brick Lane and I balance, and understand that when you change one colour it will change scan with Epson’s V850. I don’t like others too. It’s like a tiny Rubik’s cube the glass film holders, they just collect dust, so I put the film directly on the in that you might get one side right but the others are still wrong. Colours platen. I scan 35mm that way too. I in the blacks are often difficult to spot like showing the rebate and Instagram and correct, but keep going until seems to like it too so I’ve kept doing it. everything looks perfect in your eyes. ‘A lot of people I know shoot on Generally I start with tiny corrective film. When I started everyone was curves on the colour channels, and shooting digitally but, especially in then I’ll use colour adjustment layers. London, it’s now become quite I like to leave an image overnight so common. The problem is the cost – it’s that I can look at it again with fresh expensive to do. A box of five rolls of eyes the next day. Kodak Portra 400 costs about £50, 32

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

DEDICATED FOLLOWERS OF FILM

Keeping the rebates on his film shots has proven popular on Instagram

which hurts every time I go to buy it. I only shoot Kodak Portra 400. It’s like when you ﬁnd a beer you like – you might try others every now and then, but you always go back. I shoot the ISO 400 version most of the time, and sometimes the 800 when I have to. I often underexpose the 400 by a stop or two, as there’s so much latitude that you can pull it back in the scans. I prefer to do this instead of push-processing the ﬁlm, as that messes with the colours too much. If I’m shooting with available light in a dim room and the light meter is telling me not to do it, but I can see with my eyes and know it will be okay, I’ll shoot it. I open the aperture to f/2.8 and use a 1/60sec shutter speed – I know I can get away with handholding that most of the time.’

What next

Nima says he wants to travel with his camera again, and to concentrate on taking pictures to please himself. He has his eye on Costa Rica and Eastern Europe, and intends to finally put together the photobooks that for years he’s been saying he’ll do. It’s a risk, but he’s certain it will lead to a happier life. ‘I’ve been thinking a lot about this. I’ve been ignoring commercial work for a while now and I’m a lot happier – a lot poorer, but a lot happier. Money isn’t important – I just need enough to get by. When I first started doing commercial work it seemed getting the jobs meant everything to me. It was what I’d dreamed of. I thought they’d bring happiness and completion to my life, but often when I’d finished shooting I just felt empty. Shooting work that I enjoy gives me so much more satisfaction. Once I came to that realisation, I understood what it is I really want to do.’

Tips for ﬁlm beginners

Bring your digital camera along with your film camera and shoot the same things and then see how you feel about the pictures. Using the digital camera alongside the film camera will also give you more confidence in your settings, as you’ll be able to see how things will turn out. Compare the results and look at the way the shadows are rendered, and see which most looks like what you saw with your eyes. Beware though – this could be the beginning of a very expensive addiction.

www.instagram.com/nimaelm www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

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Blur’s Parklife

D T L S D R O C E R I M E OT E C N E C I L E V I S U L C X E R E D N U . D TL DO O F R O F E G U O R O L Y T S 4 9 9 1 ©

Musicians: Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James, Dave Rowntree, Stephen Street (synths), Laetitia Sadler (vocals), Phil Daniels (narration), Stephen Hague (accordion), plus string and horn sections Released: 25 April 1994 (Food Records) Best chart performance: No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart Sales: Over 5,000,000 certiﬁed sales Fascinating fact: Whilst the Bob Thomas image for the record cover was shot at Romford dog track in Essex, all the photos of the band on the record and CD packaging were shot by photographer Paul Postle at Walthamstow Stadium dog track in east London. Walthamstow Stadium hosted its ﬁnal dog race in 2008 and the site is now a housing development. The Parklife cover was among ten that featured on the GB Special Stamps ‘Classic Album Covers’ issue of January 2010.

Parklife

By Bob Thomas Steve Fairclough reveals the inside story of creating the iconic cover of Blur’s 1994 album, Parklife

he cover of Blur’s seminal 1994 LP Parklife is rather an anomaly among album covers in that it relies on a ‘found image’ – a greyhound racing image by sports photographer Bob Thomas – rather than a photo shot speciﬁcally for the album. The approach of using a found image 34

was in keeping with Blur’s previous two albums – Leisure featured a crop of a photo by Charles Hewitt for a 1954 Picture Post feature on bathing hats; Modern Life is Rubbish featured a painting of the steam locomotive ‘Mallard’ by Paul Gribble. The commission for designing the cover fell to the creative agency

Born in England in 1958, Bob Thomas began his career after leaving school aged 17. He gradually built up the Bob Thomas Sports Photography agency alongside photographers David Rogers and John Evans. By 1980 they were travelling 200,000 miles a year shooting some 20 sports. In 1984 Thomas was votedSports Photographer of the Year and his image portfolio is now represented by Getty. gettyimages.com.

Stylorouge, which had been founded in 1981 by Rob O’Connor, who explains, ‘We were involved with Blur from the point that they were signed to Food Records on an independent deal – they were called Seymour, so it was right from the word go. The first job we got for Blur was to design a T-shirt and that gave rise to the band logo. We designed the covers of the first four albums. That sort of design, when you’re actually using very little imagery, is a difficult concept but that’s part of the spirit of those early Blur covers. We were misappropriating advertising imagery from one field to package and market music. That was the whole mischief of the thinking.’ Stylorouge worked closely with the band and their ‘svengali’, Dave Balfe, who had founded Food Records and had played keyboards in and managed the band Teardrop Explodes. O’Connor says, ‘We started the job before we even knew www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

E G U O R O L Y T S / R O N N O C’ O B O R Y S E T R U O C ©

ALL-TIME GREATEST ALBUM COVERS

E G U O R O L Y T S / R O N N O C’ O B O R Y S E T R U O C ©

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

E G U O R O L Y T S / R O N N O C’ O B O R Y S E T R U O C ©

it was called Parklife. With the theme being London, we suggested a very scatterbomb, but subjective, view of London by having three of us go out with cameras on the same weekend. Chris [Thomson] from the studio, myself and Rick Mann, a very gritty photographer, went out that weekend and came back with all these photographs. We took them into the recording studio and had a lunch meeting with the band where they pored over them.’ The album previously had other working titles, including London and Soft Porn. O’Connor reveals, ‘We had meetings way ahead of the release of the album. The titles were all thrown in rather mischievously as working titles, because they didn’t have a title. Only when the song Parklife became what it is did they decide to call the album Parklife.’ A call from Blur’s lead singer, Damon Albarn, was pivotal, as O’Connor explains: ‘We suddenly

Clockwise from above: An early incarnation of the betting shop window concept with comments scrawled on it by Food Records’ Dave Balfe at a design meeting Two unused cover proposals – one using working title Soft Porn An unused alternative cover proposal using a Rolls Royce grille image

got a call from Damon saying “can we have our next meeting in the King’s Road? There’s a branch of William Hill betting office and we could meet there?”’ Coincidentally, O’Connor and Albarn were both reading the Martin Amis novel London Fields, which tells the story of a middleclass man who decides to live a more salt-of-the-earth lifestyle. O’Connor reveals, ‘We were the first people in the betting office that day. We were in there, taking Polaroids and picking up betting slips and things. Damon particularly liked that idea of how the working man is tempted to spend his time and his money.’

Distilling the idea

The next stage was for Stylorouge to take the ideas of sport, leisure, gambling and drinking and distil them down into a visually striking record cover. O’Connor explains,

THE PANEL ON PARKLIFE

Peter Neil Rankin Rachael Wright As someone who I loved that the cover This cover is a British shoots live music, the art of capturing a fleeting moment is fundamental. I’ve always loved this cover, as the composition and timing are perfect, with very intense and expressive looks from both dogs! For me, this cover always had to be in the Greatest Album Covers list.

made it feel like you were in on a joke. If you’d grown up in Britain you were familiar with the photo as it was in betting shops across the UK. Its use had this instant feeling of ‘knowing’ it was a clever repurposing of British iconography. It contextualised the album as being from that perspective.

icon if ever there was one. The eye contact between the dogs and us feels quite aggressive and there’s a very masculine urgency to the image – redolent of the lad and ladette culture of the glorious mid’90s. It was perfectly of its time and perfectly synergistic with the songs.

L L I K S N U R B/ S A M O H T B O B ©

‘Our idea was to create a William Hill-style betting ofﬁce front window, which always seemed to date really fast. I remember pictures of [footballer] Alan Shearer with a full head of hair and football shirts with old sponsors on them… after a year they’re so old hat. I found that quite charming. We did a visual with about ten pictures and it got distilled down and down until it had that one image of the greyhounds, which had that kind of manic energy about it.’ He adds, ‘By this time we’d set a precedent for utilising found imagery, but that wasn’t typical of what we did. Stylorouge prided ourselves on the creation of imagery, so this was kind of biting our tongues, but we were thinking of Blur as a product, rather than a band, in an ironic kind of way. They, equally, were ironic. They shunned anything to do with a major record company ethos of selling and marketing. It didn’t feel like a band, it didn’t feel like rock and roll, punk or whatever. It felt like you were selling something more user friendly, something more consumer [based].’ O’Connor and his colleagues approached picture libraries looking 36

for the sort of imagery that featured in betting shop windows, before choosing the Bob Thomas greyhound racing photograph – originally shot at Romford, Essex, in 1988 – which they cropped. O’Connor says, ‘There were three dogs in the original image, so it’s a little bit wider. This was the most powerful greyhound picture. It was in our montage of a whole shop window and choosing that picture set the theme for the whole thing – all the graphics became related to dog racing and gambling, so you had betting slips and things as part of the whole marketing story visually.’ O’Connor recalls that there were no colour adjustments. ‘In those days we would have normally made a 10x8in transparency. This would give us the opportunity to retouch as necessary. This album is from 1994 – we had computers then but we really only used computers for our equivalent of DTP, literally just using Quark XPress, laying things out. We would nearly always have done our image manipulation on transparency.’ Reﬂecting on any potential impact the Parklife cover might have had on sales success, O’Connor remains

The original, un-cropped, Bob Thomas greyhound race image

modest. ‘Blur were ready to be huge. I don’t think anyone has ever produced a record cover that’s been more important than the record. The thing about this cover is it’s underdesigned. It’s more about attitude than anything, but the fact that it’s been on a stamp and in so many awards… I can’t knock it. The strange thing is I never met Bob Thomas and I don’t know anything more about him. But there’s no science to using a found image – it’s just about misappropriation, hoping that it works and that people understand the irony and don’t take everything too seriously.’

Special thanks to Rob O’Connor of Stylorouge for his help with this article. To find out more go to www.stylorouge.co.uk

OUR PANEL OF JUDGES Some of the ﬁnest names in music and photography chose the series’ covers Janette Beckman Jason Bell Ed Caraeff Andy Cowles Kevin Cummins Andy Earl Jill Furmanovsky

Christie Goodwin Peter Hook Simon Larbalestier Gered Mankowitz Dennis Morris Peter Neill Aubrey ‘Po’ Powell

Rankin Jamel Shabazz Mat Snow Howard Wakefield Kirk Weddle Rachael Wright

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ARRIVING SOON!

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We showcase the top-rated images sent in by GuruShots users on the theme of Incredible Architecture

EARLIER this year, GuruShots, organisers of the world’s greatest photography games and communities, challenged its users to send in their best images on the theme of Incredible Architecture. Amateur Photographer is partnering with GuruShots and we are now proud to publish the 23 highest ranked photographs by those who entered. Don’t forget that you can see every image that made it into the Top 500 on amateurphotographer.co.uk.

For more inspiring challenges to improve your photo skills and stay motivated, see gurushots.com. www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

GURUSHOTS

Jurgen Bauwens, Belgium

Xavier @xavierjouve | Team X, France

Erik Ersson, Sweden

Ana Ligier, Ireland

Rastislav Kašper, Slovakia

Rom’ Rabbit, France 40

M4RCO, France

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Diane Via, United States www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

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christinesartventures, Singapore 41

Testbench DIGITAL STARS

The flashbar used to place a non-3D camera in two positions to make a stereo pair

3D or not 3D?

DIGITAL STARS

That was the question for digital camera buyers a decade ago, as John Wade explains

e see the world in threedimensional depth because we have two eyes. Each eye sees the scene before us from a slightly different viewpoint, then the brain combines this information to give us one view and the illusion of depth. If we use a camera with two lenses, then view its resulting twin images so that the left eye sees only the view from the left lens and the right eye sees only the view from the right lens, the brain works its magic and the image appears in three dimensions. Three-dimensional photography – more popularly known as 3D, or stereo – was much loved by the Victorians. It also gained popularity around the 1920s before dying 42

away and coming back strongly in the 1950s. The last time 3D resurfaced was just over ten years ago, when it seemed every cinema ﬁlm was made in 3D. At the same time, 3D televisions appeared, even though programmes broadcast in 3D were few from the start and took very little time to become none. But that last era also spawned digital

3D cameras. Buy one second-hand today and they are a lot of fun.

3D without a 3D camera

A useful accessory here is an old flashbar of the type once used to attach flashguns to film cameras. It consists of a strip of metal with two tripod screws, one static, the other free to travel laterally along a slot. You can find them on eBay. While on eBay, take a trip through the cheaper end of the digital camera pages

An old flashbar from film photography days that can be used for digital 3D www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

The Stereax 3D accessory fitted to an old Minolta Dimage 7

DIGITAL 3D CAMERAS

Fujiﬁlm FinePix Real 3D W1 Casio Exilim and Canon Ixus 50, with matching zoom settings, fixed together for 3D photography

where you’ll find older compact cameras in the 5MP area, often for less than a fiver. Buy two, ideally of the same make, but failing that, with similar focal length ranges. Screw them side by side to your flashbar, ensuring that the lenses are on the same level and that separation between them is around 65-75mm. Set the zoom settings to the same focal length, then fire the two shutters at the same time to make a stereo pair. A normal digital camera can also be screwed to the non-static screw of the same flashbar so that it is free to travel laterally along the strip. With the bar attached to a tripod, make two exposures with the camera, one at each end of its travel. Back in the days before digital, stereo attachments were sold that converted normal cameras for stereo use. They worked by means of two mirrors that recorded two images on a single sheet of film, but can be fitted to some digital cameras. Look for one called the Stereax which fits to the front of a lens and has its own small waist-level viewfinder. To prevent possible damage, avoid fitting one of these to a lens that extends telescopically when the camera is turned on. www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

LAUNCHED 2010 PRICE AT LAUNCH £425 GUIDE PRICE NOW £150-200

offset images to the viewer’s left and right eyes simultaneously. The result is that you see the image in 3D without the need for special glasses or any other paraphernalia. The camera has built-in auto ﬂash, plus A panel on the front of the W1 slides down to manual, aperture priority and programmed reveal two Fujinon f/3.7-4.2 lenses with a exposure modes. When it was launched, the 35mm zoom equivalent of 35-105mm. The images could be shown on a 3D television. lenses serve twin 10MP sensors, each of In 2012, the W1 was superseded by the which records its own image. W3 with a slimmer body, improved lenticular Immediately after exposure, a single image LCD screen and HD video capture. It sold for appears on the camera’s 2.8in 230,000-dot £350, which was cheaper than the W1’s LCD screen which uses an autostereoscopic original price. Today, the W3 is the more lenticular display to direct pixels of the two expensive at around £250-350 second-hand.

Olympus SZ11

Sony Cyber-shot DSCTX9

Even without its 3D capabilities, the SZ-11 is an impressive little camera. It offers a 14MP sensor, 20x optical zoom lens that gives the 35mm equivalent of 25-500mm, multiple shooting modes, a panorama function, mechanical image stabilisation and a 3in 153,000-pixel LCD screen. With the camera switched to its 3D mode an exposure is made and the image appears on the LCD screen as normal. But, offset slightly, another ghost image also appears. Move the camera to line up the main image with its ghost and when they coincide, a second exposure is made automatically. Unlike the Fujiﬁlm cameras, the 3D effect cannot be seen on the LCD screen.

This is a compact model with a 25-100mm equivalent zoom lens, 12.2MP sensor, a 3.5in touchscreen LCD and all the usual features typical of this era’s cameras. The 3D function makes use of the TX9’s panorama function, which employs the usual method of pressing the shutter button at the start and end of a panning sweep across the subject. The difference is that the action creates the panoramic image as a stereo pair. As a bonus, there’s also the Sweep Multi-Angle mode in which the camera shoots 15 frames while panning the camera to produce a 3D-style image on the camera’s LCD screen when viewed from different angles. The effect, however, is very subtle.

LAUNCHED 2011 PRICE AT LAUNCH £195 GUIDE PRICE NOW £20-30

LAUNCHED 2011 PRICE AT LAUNCH £380 GUIDE PRICE NOW £20-40

S N O I T C U A K C I W S I H C F O Y S E T R U OC ©

A rare close-up device for the W1 and W3 which reduces the lens distance from 77mm to 25mm

Which works best?

The ideal subject for a 3D picture: strong foreground interest with different elements of the subject situated at receding distances behind it

The same subject rendered as a stereo pair with the help of Stereophoto Maker

Of the options reviewed here, the Fujifilm W1 and W3 are the easiest to use and give the best results, primarily because the cameras shoot the two pictures simultaneously. Others that involve making two consecutive exposures work okay on static subjects, but they cannot handle movement between exposures. So fastmoving subjects are out, and even subtle movements – flowers blowing in a breeze, for example – will result in a fringing effect when viewed as a 3D image. A word of warning when using the W1 or W3: Because the twin lenses are close to the top of the body, it is very easy to include stray fingers in the picture. To avoid this, the camera is best used by holding it from the rear using thumbs and index fingers, while composing the picture on the LCD’s lenticular screen, which displays its image in 3D.

Digitally processing 3D images

Leave aside the expense of stereo photography with polarised twinlens projectors and polarising spectacles, or expensive and diﬃcult-to-ﬁnd 3D televisions. Let’s concentrate on low-cost practicality and simplicity Making the images

An anaglyph made using the Apple Mac technique. Note the increased colour saturation which is rendered normal when viewed through red/cyan anaglyph glasses 44

Digital 3D cameras record images as multiple picture object (MPO) files, each consisting of two embedded JPG images. These can be converted into either a stereo pair, which shows the two images side by side, or an anaglyph that lays one image over the other slightly out of register, one tinted red, the other tinted blue or cyan. To easily convert an MPO file to either of these use a piece of free software called Stereophoto Maker, which can be downloaded for Mac or Windows PCs from stereo.jpn.org/eng/stphmkr. Fire up Stereophoto Maker. Go to File>Open Stereo Image, choose an MPO file and it www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

DIGITAL STARS

Testbench

Left: Options for viewing anaglyph images: cheap cardboard red/green and red/cyan glasses, plus only slightly more expensive plastic anaglyph glasses which can be worn over normal spectacles Below: An old VistaScreen viewer, bought cheaply on eBay, is fine for viewing your digital 3D stereo pairs

appears as two side-by-side images. Using Photoshop or other similar software, these can be sized, positioned and printed for use in a stereo viewer. Go to Stereo>Color Anaglyph>Color (red/cyan) and the two images are automatically transformed into an anaglyph. Both options can be saved via File>Save Stereo Image. So far so good. However, Stereophoto Maker will not run on all Apple Mac computers. So here’s an alternative Mac method. In the finder, double-click on the MPO file and it will appear as two images, named ‘1’ (left image) and ‘2’ (right image). To turn these into JPGs, you need to individually duplicate them (File>Duplicate) and then resave them (File>Save), changing the default Tiff setting to JPG. You then have two files that can be sized and positioned side by side for viewing, making sure you place image ‘1’ on the left and image ‘2’ on the right. You can also use those twin JPG images to

make an anaglyph. Using Photoshop, copy image ‘1’ and paste it into a new page. Copy image ‘2’ and paste it into a new layer on top of image ‘1’. In the layers palette (Window>Layers) you’ll see the two images each in its own layer. Click on Layer 1, go to Layer>Layer Style>Blending Options and deselect the green and blue channels. Do the same with Layer 2, but this time deselect the red channel. Combine the two layers (Layers>Flatten Image) and you red/cyan 3D glasses. Search eBay for have an anaglyph. ‘anaglyph glasses’ to buy super-cheap versions made of cardboard or only slightly Viewing the images more expensive plastic spectacles that have To view a stereo pair, old VistaScreen viewers bigger lenses. The red/cyan glasses give the are among the easiest and cheapest to buy, better representation of colour, especially if often found on eBay with a set of stereo you ramp up the saturation when you’re images for around £10-15. Use any stereo making the anaglyph (Image>Adjustments> pair supplied with the viewer as a template Hue/Saturation). for sizing and positioning your own stereo pair Whichever method you choose, you’ll ﬁnd for printing and viewing. that it adds a whole new dimension to Anaglyphs are viewed with red/green or your photography.

And ﬁnally

If you are a ﬁlm fan, there are still plenty of old stereo cameras to be found second-hand for 35mm and 120 roll ﬁlm. Scan negatives from one of these and you can use the digital techniques described here to make stereo pairs and anaglyphs.

Anaglyph made from two scanned negatives shot with an old Stereo Realist camera

This Stereo Realist film camera can still be found second-hand for £30 45

My favourite kit

Robin Coombes Avid railway enthusiast Robin Coombes reveals what it is about the Nikon D5 he loves so much

Robin Coombes has been a photographer for 15 years and lives in Cardiff. He has had two railway books published and is about to complete a third – One More Glimpse– that’s due out later this year

AP: Tell us a little about your photography background RC: For as long as I can remember I have owned a camera, but it was little more than taking family snaps and anything of passing interest. In 2006 I found myself with a bit more freedom and took photography up as a hobby. My passion has always been railways in general, and steam locomotives in particular. I set myself a target to get a photograph published so I contacted a railway magazine for advice. The helpful lady I spoke to gave me perhaps the best bit of advice possible: ‘We are inundated with good photographs, but they are all similar, take something different.’ The advice worked, and my ﬁrst submission was published. Subsequently I have been fortunate to have many photos published in a variety of magazines and newspapers. I encouraged my son Taliesin to take up photography and together we’ve enjoyed many trips taking photographs. He is now a far better photographer than I am and won the AA/Sunday Times Young Landscape Photographer of the Year a few years ago. I also post on social media, and this led to an invitation to present my photography at a conference in Chicago, which just goes to prove

the power of social media. I enjoy other genres of photography, from landscape to street photography, but it is the majesty and atmosphere of the steam locomotive to which I keep returning. AP: If we were to take a look in your camera bag, what would we find in it? RC: When I do carry a bag, it now only contains the D5 with a 28-300mm lens; on rare occasions you might also find a 150-600mm lens for close-in, dramatic shots of moving trains. AP: If you could pick one item of kit you couldn’t live without, what would it be? RC: Currently the D5, together with the 28-300mm lens – it has been and continues to be sufficient for almost all my needs. AP: How long have you owned the Nikon D5? RC: I bought it from new, as soon as it was available. I had started with a D200 and then worked my way up through the D300, D600, D800, D810, D4S to the current D5. The reasons for purchase were the higher ISO, more frames per second and more focus points. It was an upgrade

to the D4S and the improvements, though small, do make a difference. AP: How do you ﬁnd the camera performs in use? RC: I am completely satisﬁed with how the camera performs. A camera should become ‘part of you’, an extension of your arm and another

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

Bathed in early morning sunlight, A4 Pacific 60009 Union of South Africa accelerates away from Burrs on the East Lancashire Railway

eye – the Nikon D5 achieves this. Ergonomically it is perfect for my size of hand. The main advantage is that I don’t need to think about the camera. It gives me the conﬁdence to focus only on taking photographs, not playing and ﬁddling with buttons, dials and menus. I am sure for those technically minded, all the

Below from left: Robin’s D5 on his desk at home; 60163 Tornado approaches the camera on the mainline; and an A4 erupts from a tunnel (taken with lineside access)

functions are important; but to me the camera is only a means to an end, and not an end in itself. The D5 makes it easy, particularly in challenging conditions.

for candid photography, but it has the advantage that I was twice mistaken for a press photographer and able to gain access to non-public areas at events.

AP: Is there a standout photograph you’ve taken using your favourite kit? RC: Many – it has allowed me to continually push boundaries in low light with fast-moving trains and it allows me to capture images that haven’t been possible before. The number of frames per second also gives a better statistical chance of pulling off a great shot when taking a zoom pan.

AP: Do you have any plans to replace or upgrade your current kit? RC: Hopefully not, but it has already passed 725,000 shots so it is maybe on borrowed time. It would be nice to reach one million shots.

AP: Have you identiﬁed any weaknesses or disadvantages in your possession? RC: Perhaps a few more focus points and pixels would be nice but that is nit-picking. Its chunky, professional appearance and machine-gun shutter sound mean it is less suitable www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

AP: What do you think your kit bag will look like in the future? RC: Possibly it will have a ‘D8’ in there, as I believe there is still a market for the progression of advanced, high-end, ergonomically designed professional still cameras. Either that, or it will just be my phone. Though this may sound tongue-in-cheek, through lockdown I have just used my phone as it is less obtrusive and far lighter. 47

FILTER HOLDER TEST

Polariser Two small wheels on

Testbench

opposite sides of the adapter ring are used to adjust the polariser from behind the camera.

Attachment

The holder clips onto the adapter ring via a small sprung pin, which has a screw lock above it for fixing the angle.

Fitted case

All of the components fit very neatly into the supplied nylon case, but square filters have to be carried separately.

At a glance

NiSi V6 Filter Holder NiSi says its V6 ﬁlter holder is developed by photographers, for photographers. Andy Westlake tries it out

hinese accessories firm NiSi is still very much a newcomer to the British photographic market, with its UK web store having opened its virtual doors only last year. It operates on a different basis to many other firms, designing and making its own products and then selling them directly to customers. In principle this should allow it to deliver high-quality accessories at keen prices, but the drawback is that you can’t look at them in a shop before purchasing. Last year, we named the firm’s NM-180 Macro Focusing Rail one of our accessories of the year. www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

We were also very impressed by its unique compact filter system for Fujifilm X100-, Sony RX100and Ricoh GR-series cameras. So we’ve been looking forward to testing its latest 100mm filter holder kit, the V6. NiSi says it’s ‘developed by photographers, for photographers’ so we wanted to find out how well it performs.

How it works

Broadly speaking, the NiSi V6 fits together in a similar way to other high-end filter systems. It’s based around two main components, the adapter ring that screws onto the lens and takes the polarising filter, plus the holder section that

accepts three 2mm-thick, 100mm-wide filters. But as always, it has a few quirks. Looking first at the adapter ring, this has an 82mm thread for attachment to your lenses. For those that accept smaller filters, NiSi supplies 67mm, 72mm and 77mm step-up rings in the box. At the front it has an 86mm thread into which you screw the super-slim matched polariser, which can then be rotated using a pair of small wheels placed diametrically opposite each other on the adapter’s rim. To reduce the risk of vignetting, the rotation mechanism protrudes back behind the front of the lens. However, this makes it physically incompatible with a select few optics. NiSi lists the Panasonic Lumix S 70-200mm f/2.8, along with Tokina’s 11-20mm f/2.8 and 17-35mm f/4 wideangle zooms. A £10 spacer ring solves the

£189 with landscape polariser £155 with standard polariser ● Takes three 100mm filters ● For lens threads up to 82mm ● Works with lenses as wide

as 15mm

● www.nisioptics.co.uk

Box contents and pricing The NiSi V6 kit contains the filter

holder, the 82mm-threaded adapter ring, and step-up rings for fitting it to lenses with 77mm, 72mm and 67mm threads. There’s also a plastic lens cap that pushes onto the adapter ring, along with a nicely designed nylon case. Uniquely, the firm offers kits with a choice of two different polarisers: the Standard option costs £155 and the Landscape version, £189. NiSi sells 100mm square ND filters up to 11 stops density for £122 each, along with 15- and 20-stop options for £133 and £149 respectively. Meanwhile 100 x 150mm ND graduated filters cost £129-137. 49

Testbench FILTER HOLDER TEST The landscape polariser can be used on its own without the holder to give rich green foliage

Sony Alpha 7 III, 24-105mm f/4 at 48mm, 0.6sec at f/16, ISO 100

problem, but at the cost of vignetting with the latter. The filter holder clips onto the adapter ring via a sprung, pull-out pin, and above this there’s a second screw-down locking pin that allows you to secure graduated filters at the angle of your choice. However, the latter pin isn’t captive and can be unscrewed completely from the holder, which always worries me given that I’ve lost numerous non-captive tripod parts while walking between locations. Unlike with several competitors, there’s no light-sealing on the filter holder itself. Instead, NiSi’s neutral density (ND) filters come with foam seals pre-installed to prevent light leakage and fogging during long exposures. As usual,

NDs should be used in the slot closest to the camera, with graduated ﬁlters placed in front.

In practical use

Thanks to its slightly quirky design, I found that the NiSi V6 system requires careful handling in the field. It’s not difficult to use once you’ve familiarised yourself with how everything fits together, but it does require a specific working method. Thankfully there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the build quality: everything is really well-made and operates smoothly. One useful touch is that the case can be attached either to the strap of a shoulder bag, or Molle-type attachment loops on backpacks and bags. Notably, it’s best to either

The NiSi V6 Filter Holder in use on location in London 50

attach or remove the polarising filter with the adapter ring off the camera – otherwise its ultra-slim profile means that it’s far too easily dropped. It’s easiest to do this by holding the adapter flat in your hand while gripping the two adjustment wheels with your thumb and forefinger. But this does mean that you can’t quickly remove the polariser if you want to try a shot without it; the magnetic systems used by Kase and Benro work much better. It’s also slightly awkward to remove step-up rings that have got stuck onto the adapter, which can slow you down when changing lenses. Operationally, the biggest quirk is that the two polariser adjustment wheels end up in different positions depending on

NiSi’s filters come in slim protective cases

the lens you’re using, maybe at the sides, the top and bottom, or anywhere in between. As a result, it’s not as neat and easy to use as alternatives that employ a single wheel on the side of the filter holder. In practice, though, this didn’t bother me as much as I expected. I also appreciated the fact that you can use the polariser on its own without the filter holder, and keep it protected between shots using the push-on lens cap. But you can do this with the Kase K9 system, too. In general, it’s easy enough to clip the filter holder onto the lens ring, then angle it and lock it in place. However, a note on the holder declares that the locking pin must always be fully open before you attach it to the adapter ring. I can attest that it’s important to heed this warning after nearly dropping my review sample into the Thames. After this near-catastrophe I quickly got used to checking it automatically all the time, but other filter systems aren’t afflicted by the same problem. One area where the NiSi V6 does excel lies with lens compatibility, as the 86mm polariser is held very close to the lens’s front. I used it with full-frame optics as wide as the Laowa 15mm f/2 Zero-D, and www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

Here I used a neutral density filter to smooth the water and blur the clouds

Sony Alpha 7 III, Sony 16-35mm F4 ZA at 19mm, 13sec at f/11, ISO 100. Landscape polariser and 10-stop ND

didn’t see any hint of vignetting, regardless of how it was angled. This is good news when you need to position ND grads to deal with sloping skylines or horizons. NiSi’s 100mm filters are supplied in slimline faux-leather cases with magnetic closures that take up very little space in your bag, which is very welcome compared to the much bulkier designs used by some other firms. I tested the V6 system with its 10-stop ND and 3-stop ND medium grad and found that they fit securely into the holder and slide up and down reasonably

smoothly. You don’t get the extremely precise adjustment that Benro’s geared FH100M3 holder provides, but in return the NiSi V6 is more compact and doesn’t require every ﬁlter to be placed in a £12 frame. I tested the Landscape polariser and it really does give spectacular results, with strong colours including rich greens and intense blue skies. As a result, it’s a great tool for photographers who love shooting landscapes with deeply saturated colours – in essence, the look ﬁrst popularised by Fujichrome Velvia

slide film. However, some might find its effects just a little over-the-top and be better served by the Standard version. It has to be said that NiSi’s square filters are excellent, too. I saw no nasty surprises in terms of detail blurring, loss of contrast due to veiling flare, or unpleasant colour casts from infrared pollution, all of which can be a problem with cheap ND filters. They certainly appear to be a match for other high-end glass filters that I’ve used from the likes of Kase, Benro or Formatt Hitech.

Verdict

Demanding landscape photographers who wish to manipulate light using polarising, neutral density and graduated filters currently have a range of excellent options to choose from. NiSi’s V6 filter holder system is certainly up there, if not quite at the top, then at the lead of the chasing pack. It’s let down only by design quirks such as the small polariser-adjustment wheels that end up in different places with different lenses, and the temperamental angle locking pin. It’s also a pain swapping the polariser out in the field, indeed you’re probably best-off committing to either using it or not, depending on the light. I suspect many users will quickly compensate for these issues by adapting their working practices. But equally, you don’t have to put up with them elsewhere, for example with Kase’s K9 system. However, NiSi’s ace in the pack is its Landscape polariser, which may well be a good enough reason for some users to buy into the system.

Recommended

Which polariser?

UNUSUALLY, NiSi offers a choice of two polarising filters. The Standard option is similar to those supplied with other systems, and NiSi says it provides approximately 95% polarisation efficiency. In comparison, the Landscape version boasts an even higher efficiency (specified as 99.5%), while being treated to a water and oil-repellent coating. The cost of this increased efficiency is lower light transmission, with a filter factor of approximately 1.7 stops, compared to 1 stop for the Standard. The Landscape polariser also imparts a blue shift of about 600K, although the latter is easily fixed in raw processing. As its name suggests, NiSi recommends selecting the Landscape polariser if you tend to shoot outdoors with plenty of light. This deep blue sky comes courtesy of the polariser and ND grad www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

Testbench ACCESSORIES

Tenba BYOB 10 DSLR Backpack Insert Andy Westlake examines an insert that turns any backpack into a camera bag

S E C I RP T E E R TS E T A M I X O R P PA E R A S E C I R P L L A

● £42 ● www.tenba.com WHILE a specialist camera bag is likely to be the best way to transport your gear most of the time, there are occasions when other solutions are more appropriate. If you’re visiting an unfamiliar city and would rather carry something more discreet, or are restricted to using a single bag for travelling, then employing a padded case inside another bag might be the answer. Tenba makes a number of such inserts in its Bring Your Own Bag (BYOB) range. This one is the largest of three offerings that are intended to be used inside backpacks. It’s not to be confused with the similarly named, but much smaller, BYOB 10 that’s designed to fit into a shoulder bag. In terms of what you can fit inside, this is a capacious design that’s capable of swallowing an enthusiast DSLR or mirrorless camera with a sizeable telephoto zoom attached. For example, I was able to fit in a Sony Alpha 7 III along with 16-35mm f/4, 24-105mm f/4, 100-400mm f/5-6.3 and 35mm f/2.8 optics, which would cover most photographic opportunities. Tenba provides a generous quota of dividers so you can configure the interior in a multitude of ways; one alternative layout will take the camera and five smaller lenses. Access is provided by a single zip that allows the entire front face to be opened up for full access to all your kit. However, this will probably require removing the BYOB from its outer bag. But in a neat design touch, a hinge halfway down the front allows the lid to be opened partially while the bag is still inside a backpack, so you can quickly grab your camera while on the move. With is neat rectangular shape, this is a bag that will pack very space efficiently into a suitcase. Then when you reach your destination, it’ll fit inside a regular daypack with room alongside it for a water bottle and personal bits and pieces. At a pinch, it might even slot into a deep shoulder bag. Once you get home again, it could be used to provide protective storage for lenses. It’s just a shame there’s no option to fit a shoulder strap, which would expand its usefulness still further.

Verdict

As usual from Tenba, this is a nicely constructed bag made from high-quality materials that strikes a sensible balance between protection and bulk. You might not use it every day, but it could be a really handy option to have available.

Grab handle

This aids with removing the insert from your backpack, and allows you to carry it as a standalone bag.

Mesh pockets

Deep stretchy pockets on either side are large enough to hold a water bottle or mini tripod.

Organiser

Essential accessories including batteries, SD cards and filters can be accommodated in a pocket inside the lid.

Recommended

Colours

The bag is available in either this smart dark blue, mid-grey, or a conventional all-black finish.

At a glance ● Padded insert for backpack ● Accepts camera and

2-4 lenses 23x30x13cm ● Interior dimensions 22x29x11cm

● Exterior dimensions

ALSO IN THE RANGE

Two smaller backpack inserts are available, the £40 BYOB 9 and £28 BYOB 9 Slim. In addition, there are four models designed to go in shoulder bags, ranging from the £28 BYOB 8 for a small mirrorless camera and two lenses, through to the £42 BYOB 13 (right) that’ll hold a pro DSLR with 3-5 lenses.

Tech Talk

anon, to the fray

fessor Newman on…

Examining Canon’s image sensor patents provides an insight into how the upcoming EOS R3 might work

his is a further article in an accidental sequence on sensor technology. Previously I discussed Sony and Nikon sensors, and this time it’s Canon’s turn, with the ‘newly developed full-frame, back illuminated, stacked CMOS sensor that makes possible high-speed readout’, which was alluded to in the announcement of the EOS R3 camera. This sensor is said to be ‘designed and produced’ by Canon. Some people have expressed surprise that Canon is capable of producing sensors incorporating

back-side illumination and stacking. However, while Canon’s sensor fabrication line has its limitations, its main shortcoming is the coarse process nodes which Canon has available (180 nanometres, compared to the 65nm available to Sony). But BSI depends on being able to thin the rear side of the wafer, which is not affected by the scale of the circuitry. Also the inter-wafer connections on which stacking depends are easier with coarser geometry. In fact, the adoption of stacking provides a means by which Canon might overcome the limitations of its fabrication lines. Figure 1. Blue The 180nm geometry is perfectly represents the adequate for pixels down to small pixel array chip, pitches, but limits the speed and green the stacked power efﬁciency of the support helper chip. In functions on which modern each column, alternate pixels sensors depend. In order to discover what are connected to Canon’s approach to its new the top and bottom ADCs sensor might be, I have been

CDA

looking at some of its patents. A common factor is the use of a simple pixel array on the ‘sensor’ chip, with column ADCs on a stacked support chip. This allows Canon to use its specialised process to make a very efficient pixel array, whilst using an ordinary CMOS process, available from many semiconductor foundries, to make the support chip with a finer process node. This allows the ADCs to run faster and consume less power. Two relevent patents depend on a stacking architecture shown in Figure 1. Here the pixel array has two output lines for each column, serving ADCs at the top and bottom of the support chip. The connection of the pixels to the column lines is interleaved, so that odd lines use the upper ADC pixel and even ones the lower ADC. One patent discusses how the support chip might contain some compression circuitry, so that data from autofocus pixels might be transmitted to the image data switch to from processor more quickly. The DIGIC upper image second patent (Figure 2) shows ADCs processor an arrangement where the pixel data from the top ADCs can be diverted to an autofocus processor, whilst the data from the bottom ADCs is sent to the autofocus image processor to support the processor viewfinder. This allows the camera to provide a high viewfinder frame-rate whilst simultaneously autofocusing, rather than having to interleave to from DIGIC sensor access between the two lower image ADCs For a mirrorless processor functions. camera aiming to match the zero delay of a reflex finder and the Figure 2. The lower ADCs feed to the image processor for image capture or viewfinder display. continuous autofocus function of The upper ADC outputs may be switched between a DSLR’s dedicated AF unit, this the image processor and an autofocus processor idea has some very real benefits. Bob Newman is currently Professor of Computer Science at the University of Wolverhampton. He has been working with the design and development of high-technology equipment for 35 years and two of his products have won innovation awards. Bob is also a camera nut and a keen amateur photographer

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Buyin Guide SPONSORED BY

130

cameras listed & rated

Our comprehensive listing of key camera speciﬁca

Cameras

Controls Entry-level cameras

Cameras come in three types: DSLRs with optical viewﬁnders, mirrorless models with electronic viewing, and compact cameras with non-interchangeable lenses

Handgrip DSLRs traditionally

have relatively large handgrips, while many mirrorless models have much smaller grips to keep size down. However, some can accept accessory grips to improve handling with larger lenses. SPONSORED BY www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

Lens mount Each camera brand

uses its own lens mount, and mirrorless cameras use different lenses to DSLRs even from the same brand. However, mirrorless models can often use DSLR lenses via a mount adapter.

tend to have simple, easy-to-understand controls, while more expensive models add lots of buttons and dials to give quick access to settings.

Viewfinder The biggest difference

between DSLRs and mirrorless cameras is that the latter use electronic, rather than optical viewfinders. Some advanced compact cameras also have built-in electronic viewfinders to complement their rear LCD screens.

AMOST all serious photographers prefer to use cameras with interchangeable lenses, as this gives the greatest degree of creative flexibility. At one time, this meant digital single-lens-reflex (DSLR) cameras, but these have now been joined by mirrorless cameras that use electronic viewfinders. The latest models are true alternatives to DSLRs, offering the same image quality and creative options. Camera

Compactcameras These range from small, pocketable models to large bridge-type cameras with long zoom lenses and SLR-style designs. In this guide, we’re only including those with relatively large sensors for high image quality, raw format recording and manual controls.

manufacturers offer a range of options, from simple, relatively inexpensive beginner-friendly designs, to sophisticated professional models. In the middle of the range you’ll ﬁnd enthusiast cameras with more advanced control layouts. Meanwhile the term ‘compact’ refers to cameras with built-in lenses, regardless of their size. Many offer excellent image quality and full manual control.

Park Cameras was established in 1971 in Burgess Hill, West Sussex. For 50 years they have forged a reputation across the photographic industry as one of the top independent photographic retailers in the UK, serving the needs of all photographers, from enthusiasts through to professionals, through the very highest level of customer service. 55

BUYING GUIDE

3840 3840 3840 3840 3840 3840 3840 4096 3840 3840 4096 3840 3840 3840 4096 4096 3840 3840 5120 4096 3840 3840 3840 3840 3840 3840 3840 3840 3840 3840 4096 3840

SHOOTING

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

• • • • • • • •

• •

143 6.1 143 10 143 10 143 14 5 5655 8 12 12 425 6 425 20 425 20 425 20 425 8 425 8 425 20 425 20 49 10 49 20 225 20 225 25 273 4.5 273 12 273 14 493 9 493 10 209 11 121 15 121 8.6 121 8.6 121 15 121 10 121 60

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

• • • •

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

• • • •

•

• • •

• • • • •

SCREEN

3 3 3 3 3 3.2 3 3.2 3.5 3 3 3 3.5 3 3 3 3 3.7 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.2 3 3 3 3 3 3

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

• • • • • • • • • • • •

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

315 235 250 305 250 350 380 320 270 460 370 325 270 380 390 500 220 250 370 510 470 330 410 330 420 320 360 350 330 360 310 440

)G( T H G I E W

Canon M 25,600 Canon M 51,200 Canon M 51,200 Canon M 51,200 Canon RF 102,400 Canon RF 102,400 Canon RF 204,800 Canon RF 102,400 Fuji X 51,200 Fuji X 51,200 Fuji X 51,200 Fuji X 51,200 Fuji X 51,200 Fuji X 51,200 Fuji X 51,200 Fuji X 51,200 Leica L 50,000 Leica L 50,000 Leica L 50,000 Leica L 100,000 Nikon Z 102,400 Nikon Z 204,800 Nikon Z 204,800 Nikon Z 102,400 Nikon Z 102,400 Nikon Z 204,800 Mic4/3 25,600 Mic4/3 25,600 Mic4/3 25,600 Mic4/3 25,600 Mic4/3 25,600 Mic4/3 25,600

)MM( H T P E D

24.1 24.2 24.2 32.5 26.2 30.3 20.1 45 24.2 26.1 26.1 26.1 24.2 26.1 26.1 26.1 24.2 24 47.3 24.6 24.3 24.5 24.5 45.7 45.7 20.9 20.3 16.1 16.1 20.2 20.4 20.4

)MM( THGIEH

Y R A V YA M S E C I R P T E E R T S , S P R R E R A S E C I R P L L A

APS-C APS-C APS-C APS-C FF FF FF FF APS-C APS-C APS-C APS-C APS-C APS-C APS-C APS-C APS-C APS-C FF FF FF FF FF FF FF DX 4/3 4/3 4/3 4/3 4/3 4/3

)MM( HTDIW )S T O H S ( EF I L YRE T T A B NEERCSHCUOT D C L DE T A L U C I T R A )NI( E ZIS NEERCS HSALF IF-IW NI-TLIUB RED N I F W E I V )SPF( EDOM TSRUB S T N I O P FA T U PNI CIM OEDIV

SUMMARY

Basic entry-level viewfinderless model gains 4K video recording 4.5★ Very likeable and well-specified entry-level model with viewfinder 4★ Minor update to M50 with eye-detect AF and slightly longer battery life 4★ Sports 32.5MP sensor and 14fps shooting, uses removable viewfinder 4★ Compact and affordable but over-simplified full-frame camera ever 4★ Canon’s first full-frame mirrorless uses the EOS 5D Mark IV’s sensor 5★ Superb all-rounder with in-body stabilisation and dual card slots 4.5★ Remarkable 45MP powerhouse capable of internal 8K video recording 3★ Sports large fully articulated LCD, but frustrating controls 4★ Sharply-styled, compact mirrorless model with a tilt-up selfie screen 4★ Employs unusual hidden rear LCD design that polarises opinions 5★ Fine SLR-styled model with in-body image stabilisation and large handgrip 3.5★ Fine handling and great image quality, but slow and buggy in use 5★ Superb mid-range model that borrows much of its tech from the X-T3 5★ New sensor and improved autofocus make it the best APS-C camera yet 5★ Exciting update with in-body stabilisation and fully articulated screen 4.5★ Gorgeous APS-C mirrorless model with viewfinder and touchscreen 4★ Update to the TL with 24MP sensor and much faster operation 4★ Sports 47.3MP full-frame sensor, in-body stabilisation and 5K video 4★ More affordable 24MP version of the SL2 with pro video features 4★ Simplified version of the Z 6, comes with compact 24-50mm f/4-6.3 zoom 5★ Full-frame mirrorless all-rounder with 24MP sensor and 12fps shooting 4.5★ Second-generation full-frame mirrorless model with useful updates 5★ High-resolution full-frame mirrorless with in-body stabilisation 4.5★ Gains dual card slots, faster shooting, 4K 60p video and vertical grip option 5★ Well-specified APS-C mirrorless model boasts excellent handling Viewfinderless model with 20MP sensor and creative processing controls Entry-level model with built-in flash and 4K video but no viewfinder 4.5★ Excellent entry-level OM-D with simplified, easy-to-use interface 4.5★ Compact, lightweight, enjoyable to use and takes great-looking pictures 5★ Very capable camera with a small, lightweight, weather-sealed body 5★ Superb AF system, super-fast shooting and remarkable in-body IS

OSI XAM

RRP SCORE

£499 £649 £699 £869 £1400 £2350 £2500 £4200 £699 £799 £1799 £949 £749 £849 £1349 £1549 £2250 £1700 £5300 £3975 £1719 £2099 £1999 £3399 £2999 £849 £749 £599 £699 £699 £1100 £1850

TNUOM SNEL

NEW

Canon EOS M200 Canon EOS M50 Canon EOS M50 Mark II Canon EOS M6 Mark II Canon EOS RP Canon EOS R Canon EOS R6 Canon EOS R5 Fujifilm X-A7 Fujifilm X-E4 Fujifilm X-Pro3 Fujifilm X-S10 Fujifilm X-T200 Fujifilm X-T30 Fujifilm X-T3 Fujifilm X-T4 Leica CL Leica TL2 Leica SL2 Leica SL2-S Nikon Z 5 Nikon Z 6 Nikon Z 6II Nikon Z 7 Nikon Z 7II Nikon Z 50 Olympus PEN E-P9 Olympus PEN E-PL10 Olympus OM-D E-M10 III Olympus OM-D E-M10 IV Olympus OM-D E-M5 III Olympus OM-D E-M1 II

EZIS ROSNES

NAME & MODEL

) P M ( NO I T U L O S E R

Mirrorless cameras

35.1 58.7 58.7 49.2 70 84.4 88.4 88 41.1 32.7 46.1 65.4 55.1 46.8 58.8 63.8 45 33 83 83 69.5 67.5 69.5 67.5 69.5 60 38.1 39 49.5 49 49.7 68.9

299 387 387 398 485 660 680 738 320 364 497 465 370 383 539 607 403 399 916 931 675 675 705 675 705 450 337 380 410 383 414 574

DIMENSIONS

108.2 67.1 116.3 88.1 116.3 88.1 119.6 70 132.5 85 135.8 98.3 138.4 97.5 135.8 97.5 119 67.7 121.3 72.9 140.5 82.8 126 85.1 121 83.7 118.4 82.8 132.5 92.8 134.6 92.8 131 78 134 69 147 107 146 107 134 100.5 134 100.5 134 100.5 134 100.5 134 100.5 126.5 93.5 118.3 68.5 117.1 68 121.5 83.6 121.7 84.4 125.3 85.2 134.1 90.9

We’ve tried our hardest to ensure that the information in this guide is as complete and accurate as possible. However, some errors will inevitably have crept in along the way: if you spot one, please let us know by emailing ap.ed@kelsey.co.uk. Unfortunately we don’t have space to list every single product on the market, so we don’t include the most expensive speciality items. Before making a purchase we advise you to check prices, along with any crucial speciﬁcations or requirements, with either a reputable retailer or the manufacturer’s website.

Mirrorless cameras at competitive low as in store or online. f our expert team for free impartial nd the perfect camera for your needs. Keep up to date with us on:

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk