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10 FREE VIDEOs The definitive guide to SLR photography
How to shoot...
STUNNING LANDSCAPES Expert advice from master photographers Master new skills Inspirational images
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Free Outdoor Photo ebook 9 Autumn TIPS cards to print GEAR BUYING GUIDE Photoshop ebook
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Ev e r y t h i n g y o u n e e d t o k no w a b o u t p h o t o g r a p h y i n 1 5 6 pa g e s !
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WIN
A £2,000 STUDIO!
From epic mountain views to thrilling seascapes, it’s your complete guide to more creative scenics
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reader shootout outdoor portraits
Two readers, two models, one challenge: take portraits outdoors without the aid of flash. We arm ourselves with a pile of reflectors and hit the streets of Bath… www.digitalcameraworld.com
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PHOTO PROJECTS 10 New ideas to try
We round up a selection of fun, creative and challenging techniques to keep you shooting all month, from birds in flight to fantastic, focus-racked firework shots
see page 59 *UK READERS ONLY
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WIDE-ANGLE PRIMES 8 LENSES ON TEST
Get the big picture on wide, fixed focallength lenses. Our testing team deliver the verdict on a range of full-frame and APS-C optics, stretching from 14mm to 24mm NOVEMber 2015
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SECTION HEAD
Support line in here
Welcome to this special edition of Digital Camera
ThiS MONTH’S STAR CONTRIBUTORS…
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utumn is without doubt my favourite season to be outdoors, taking photographs and generally being creative. The harmonious hues, low light, mellow mists and even the smells get my creative juices flowing. So to help you get started this season, we’ve compiled some killer content – starting with our cover story, which is jam-packed with inspirational images and must-try techniques. Our new Back to Basics series reveals everything you need to know about the essential landscape filters. And in our group test, we round up eight of the best wide-angle primes, the perfect glass for landscapes. As if that and all the other great content wasn’t enough, you’ll also find a FREE 164-page outdoor photo ebook, with loads more tips, techniques and advice, on this month’s disc. There’s also the latest ebook edition of Camera Shopper, so you can get your Christmas wish list in order…
ThE BIG INTERVIEW
LIGHTING GURU
The Magnum and National Geographic veteran discusses his colourful career
Scott demonstrates where to place a softbox for striking results
dAVID ALAN HARVEY
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TURNING PRO MORAG PATERSON
The landscape pro offers her advice for selling your work through a gallery
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QUESTION MASTER ANDREW JAMES
Got a query, need advice, want your pictures rated? Just ask Andrew
Ben Brain Editor, Digital Camera
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SCOTT KELBY
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portfolio Alberto Ghizzi Panizza Images from one of the world’s astrophotography hotspots
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lightroom maestro SEAN McCormack Our Lightroom pro shows how to master the Tone Curve tool
About the cover photograph This stunning image was shot by Janek Sedlar in a nature reserve in the Czech Republic’s White Carpathians. “My favourite conditions for taking pictures are on rainy and foggy days like this one,” reveals Janek. “The picture is part of my ‘Forest Roads’ series, in which I’m trying to share my intimate connection
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with nature. In particular, this body of work is dedicated to my passion for walking and just being out there, moving around in the natural world.”
Nikon D90 with 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 lens; tripod; 1/40 sec at f/5, ISO 100 www.janeksedlar.com
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HOTSHOTS
www.photocrowd.com/accounts/14468
W i n n i n g i m a g e s f r o m a l a m y ’ s c o n t e s t s at www. p h o t o c r o wd . c o m
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jamen percy
Crowd winner, Travel contest “As an aurora chaser, I had spent many fruitless frozen nights waiting for the lights to appear. But this night was different. It was 3am and as I began to pack up my gear, suddenly the skies had a giant green glow. I quickly set the tripod back up as the glow burst into rippling shards of light and this phenomenal shape.” Kit Canon EOS 5D Mark III with Zeiss Distagon T* ZE 15mm f/2.8 lens Exposure 10 sec at f/2.8, ISO 1,600
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HOTSHOTS
SEND US YOUR SHOTS Your photograph could appear here! Send your best recent shot to digitalcamera @futurenet.com (subject line: Hotshots)
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Photo projects 10 fresh and creative ideas to try, from vibrant doors to focus-racked fireworks…
How to get sharp results A monopod gives flexible support that’s perfect for panning. Rather than attaching the camera to the monopd, attach the lens’s tripod foot instead, and activate the panning mode on an image-stabilised lens. Stand square to the backdrop you want to shoot the bird against, and twist to follow the bird towards and away from this point.
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Project 1
Photograph birds in flight This testing technique will really give your panning skills a work-out ooking for an outdoor challenge to keep yourself occupied this month? Try your hand at shooting birds in aerial action. Wildlife pro Ben Hall shot this barn owl while leading a bird of prey workshop in the Czech Republic. “Although the owl is a captive one, it still took some planning to make sure the bird was hovering in the correct position,” reveals Ben. “My aim was to make the most of the beautiful backlighting, so we positioned a stump in some long grass where the background was in deep shadow. A professional falconer then flew the owl from a distance of 10 feet. Before alighting on the
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stump, the owl would hover for several seconds.” Ben set his Canon EOS-1D X to continuous autofocus and used the highest drive speed so that he could fire off a sequence of frames. He panned with the bird as it flew in, shooting from a low angle to include the diffused foreground grass. “Using a fast enough shutter speed is vital in order to capture a sharp shot,” Ben adds. “The shutter speed will depend on a number of factors, such as the lens and type of support used, as well as the speed of the subject. As a rule of thumb, try at least 1/800 sec, but go faster if needed by boosting the ISO.” www.benhallphoto.com www.digitalcameraworld.com
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Ben Hall
If you’re new to wildlife photography, head to a birds of prey centre or your local lake for repeated fly-bys that you can hone your skills with.
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Cover story
Main image: Janek Sedlar / www.janeksedlar.com
S H O O T st u nn i n g
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LA N D S C A P ES ! Combine camera know-how with creative vision to capture the scenes you’ve always dreamed of Interviews by Jeff Meyer. Techniques by Chris Rutter
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Cover story
FREE!
Get even more landscape tips and inspiration with your free ebook See the Gifts folder on your disc
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here are two broad goals you should have whenever you take a shot in the great outdoors. You’ll want to achieve technically excellent images, of course; but beyond that, each shot should reflect your response to the terrain in which you find
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yourself. Over the next 12 pages, you’ll meet five photographers who show how they successfully match their lens choices and camera settings to their creative goals in a variety of settings. You’ll also get help and advice from landscape specialist Chris Rutter on improving every shot.
IN THIS Guide... Seascapes
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Mountains
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Cityscapes
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Freshwater
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Forests
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Interview
D AV I D ALAN HARVEY The veteran Magnum photographer talks to Geoff Harris about doing his best work before he was 22 and keeping it simple...
Salvador, Bahia, Brazil David says: “Besides the drug dealers in the favelas, or shanty town, they have ballet classes and boxing gyms, so I wanted to show the positive side.”
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ven as a young kid in the 1950s, you took pictures of your family. How did they feel about you being a photographer? They were supportive, although it wasn’t something they were familiar with. When I was six, I got polio, and it was a life-or-death situation. Being isolated as a child had a lot to do with
NOVEMBER 2015
everything, as I read about the arts and photography while I was recuperating. Your first book, Tell It Like It Is, documented the time you spent with a poor black family in Norfolk, Virginia. How did that come about? Before Tell It Like It Is, I was leading about as hedonistic > www.digitalcameraworld.com
All photos: David Alan Harvey
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WIDE-ANGLE Primes Pick a prime number to go wide with. Matthew Richards plays the angles ome of these lenses in this group test can really stretch your viewing angle, shoehorning more into the frame. Others don’t really go any wider than most standard zoom lenses, but aim for enhanced image quality with less distortion. These often give wider available apertures – ideal for low-light shooting. All of the lenses in this test group are compatible with Dave Fieldhouse www.davefieldhousephotography.com
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full-frame cameras, apart from the two APS-C format Fujifilm lenses. These tend to have shorter focal lengths than most of the other contenders, so they can give generous viewing angles after the crop factor is taken into account. All of the lenses in this test group are rectilinear rather than curvilinear (fisheye) optics, so it’s a level playing field. Let’s take a look at the individual strengths and weaknesses.
the contenders 1 Canon EF 20mm f/2.8 USM £410/$540 2 Canon EF 24mm f/2.8 IS USM £460/$600 3 Fujifilm XF14mm f/2.8 R £650/$900 4 Fujifilm XF16mm f/1.4 R WR £730/$1,000 5 Nikon AF-S 20mm f/1.8G ED £650/$800 6 Samyang 14mm f/2.8 IF ED UMC £280/$370 7 Samyang 24mm f/1.4 ED AS UMC £480/$500 8 Sigma 24mm f/1.4 DG HSM | A £700/$850
WIDE-ANGLE primes
KIT Zone
Winnats Pass, Derbyshire: a classic Peak District view that requires a head for heights – and a wide lens to cram it all in.
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