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52 PHOTO PROJECTS Massive camera skills guide!
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SONY ALPHA 7S II • CANON POWERSHOT G5 X • PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 14 • LED LIGHTS • BACKPACKS top pros: LOTTIE DAVIES • WALKER EVANS • JOHN McMURTRIE camera skills: METERING MODE basics PLUS TESTED:
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Welcome to the February 2016 issue of Digital Camera
ThiS MONTH’S STAR CONTRIBUTORS…
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o kick off the new year with a frenzy of creativity, we’ve complied a whole year’s worth of fresh and exciting ideas for you to try. With 52 amazing projects to get your creative teeth stuck into, there’s more than enough to keep you going. We’ve included a wide range of cool techniques and wacky ideas that’ll stretch your skill and boost your portfolio. Oh, and don’t forget to share your results with us! We’d love to see them. We also enjoyed a blustery day on the Jurassic coast shooting in gale-force winds with readers Shaun and Mark. Turn to page 72 to enjoy the results. If you’d like to take part in one of our Shootout days, please drop us a line. As usual, there’s also a bunch of fabulous free gifts,including more of our popular pocket-sized tips cards, a video disc packed with jargonfree videos, a Photoshop ebook on mastering the art of layers and our 164-page kit-buying companion, Camera Shopper.
ThE BIG INTERVIEW LOTTIE DAVIES
We talk to the inspiring and talented Lottie Davies to start the new year!
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TURNING PRO Andy Farrer
The winner of one of 2015’s major photo contests shares his advice
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QUESTION MASTER ANDREW JAMES
More wise words and opinion from our resident photography guru
Ben Brain Editor, Digital Camera
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ImAGE ANALYSIS James Balog
James reveals how to shoot in challenging snowy conditions
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portfolio Tatsuya Tanaka
Discover the delights of Tatsuya’s amazing miniature world
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Photoshop maestro James PAterson
Learn how to transform your shots into striking art with James
Meet our cover photographer 55 year old Joe Dyer is retired from the electronics and electrical industry. Joe took up photography about five years ago, mostly to take pictures of his dogs. Then he discovered high-speed photography on the internet. His interest in freezing time in photographs led Joe to design the SplashArt Kit, a
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complete rig for staging and shooting waterdrops. For this shot, drops were generated and camerasychronised by a SplashArt Mk II Kit, using a water bath in front of a frosted Perspex sheet with a graduated blue-to-yellow acetate attached. Two Yongnuo YN560 flashguns @ 1/32 power 16 inches behind the
Perspex were radio-triggered from the camera hotshoe. See more of Joe’s work and buy SplashArt Kits at www.phototrigger.co.uk
Canon EOS 7D with Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM lens; 1/250 sec at f/16, ISO 100
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C ONTENTS ANOTHER B U MPER ISS U E fu l l o f p h o t o fu n
EXPERT PRO ADVICE
8
Hotshots
Get inspired with fabulous images from the world’s best photographers
18 In Focus
The latest news, including a first look at the 3DR Solo
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52 Photo Projects
From arty abstracts to stunning splash shots, and more...
50 Back to Basics
Get perfect exposures every time with our essential guide
64 Image Analysis
Find out what makes a great image work – three images analysed
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Assignment
90 Lottie Davies
Meet the photographer who juggles successful careers in the worlds of fine art and travel
Bluffer’s Notes
Find out why Walker Evans is one of the greats of photography
98 Turning Pro
Thousands enter photo contests every year. Get an advantage over the rest with our tips
127 Digital Darkroom
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Shootout
Join two readers at Portland Bill for a windswept day of photography
Turn good shots into great pictures with our image-editing tips, including classic print toning effects in Lightroom and Photoshop’s Timeline
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Portfolio
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How Tatsuya Tanaka created his magical minature worlds
80 Photo Answers
Your questions answered, including in-camera double exposures
Back Issues
Complete your collection with print or digital magazines
146 Desert Island D-SLR
John McMurtrie on life with the Maiden and his favourite SLR
Kit Zone: new camera gear
Alpha 104 Sony 112 Photoshop 124 Mini-Test: 7S II Elements 14 Backpacks We test Sony’s specialist full-frame CSC made for low-light and video shooting
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Canon G5 X
Canon’s latest compact makes a compelling back-up
24111 Sigma 35mm lens
Sigma’s latest Art lens aims to achieve primelens quality in a zoom
The latest version of Adobe’s cut-price photo editor
Test: 114 Group Flashguns
We test eight flashguns ideal for through-thelens metering
122 Mini-Test: LED lights
Compact light sources for simple studio set-ups or video sessions
Join our subscriber photo club PAGE 58 6
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Print 30,863 Digital 5,916 Jan–Dec 2014 A member of the Audit Bureau of Circulations
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Editorial
Take on our latest photo challenge and see our autumn winners
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36,779
Protect your equipment – and your back – with cases designed to bear a heavy load
Editor Ben Brain ben.brain@futurenet.com Acting technique editor Marcus Hawkins marcus.hawkins@futurenet.com Art editor Roddy Llewellyn richard.llewellyn@futurenet.com Deputy art editor Shona Cutt shona.cutt@futurenet.com Operations editor Richard Hill richard.hill@futurenet.com Online editor Jeff Meyer jeff.meyer@futurenet.com Head of testing Angela Nicholson angela.nicholson@futurenet.com Editorial contributors Ben Andrews, Charlie Coles, Amy Davies, Glyn Dewis, Claire Gillo, Geoff Harris, Andrew James, Alastair Jennings, Sean McCormack, Andy McLaughlin, James Paterson, Matthew Richards, Rob Speed, Tom Welsh Video production Producer Pete Gray Videographers Adam Lee, Gareth Jones Advertising Advertising manager Sasha McGregor sasha.mcgregor@futurenet.com Account director Matt Bailey matt.bailey@futurenet.com Marketing & circulation Direct marketing executive Charlotte Lloyd-Williams Trade marketing manager Michelle Brock +44 (0)20 7429 4000 Production and distribution Production co-ordinator Vivienne Calvert Licensing Senior licensing and syndication manager Matt Ellis matt.ellis@futurenet.com +44 (0)1225 442244 Management Content & Marketing director Nial Ferguson Head of Content & Marketing: Photography, Creative & Design Matthew Pierce Group editor-in-chief Chris George Group art director Rodney Dive Subscriptions & back issues Order line & enquiries: +44 (0)1604 251045 Online enquiries: www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk Email: digitalcamera@myfavouritemagazines.co.uk Printed in the UK by William Gibbons on behalf of Future. Distributed in the UK by Seymour Distribution Ltd, 2 East Poultry Ave, London EC1A 9PT. Tel: +44 (0)20 7429 4000 Future is an award-winning international media group and leading digital business. We reach more than 57 million international consumers a month and create world-class content and advertising solutions for passionate consumers online, on tablet & smartphone and in print.
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All contents copyright © 2016 Future Publishing Limited or published under licence. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced, stored, transmitted or used in any way without the prior written permission of the publisher. Future Publishing Limited (company number 2008885) is registered in England and Wales. Registered office: Quay House, The Ambury, Bath, BA1 1UA. All information contained in this publication is for information only and is, as far as we are aware, correct at the time of going to press. Future cannot accept any responsibility for errors or inaccuracies in such information. You are advised to contact manufacturers and retailers directly with regard to the price and other details of products or services referred to in this publication. Apps and websites mentioned in this publication are not under our control. We are not responsible for their contents or any changes or updates to them. If you submit unsolicited material to us, you automatically grant Future a licence to publish your submission in whole or in part in all editions of the magazine, including licensed editions worldwide and in any physical or digital format throughout the world. Any material you submit is sent at your risk and, although every care is taken, neither Future nor its employees, agents or subcontractors shall be liable for loss or damage. We are committed to only using magazine paper which is derived from well managed, certified forestry and chlorine-free manufacture. Future Publishing and its paper suppliers have been independently certified in accordance with the rules of the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council).
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KATHY MEDCALF, UK
“This image is called ‘Halfway Up The Stairs’: it was shot in Whitby, on the East Yorkshire coast. I’ve always tried to break from the crowd with my photography, so when my fisheye lens arrived, I headed into Whitby to capture something unique. I shot this wide-angle view of Church Street from the 199 Steps. I converted it to monochrome to add extra mood to this great atmospheric location.” Kit Canon EOS 650D with Samyang 8mm f/2.8 fisheye lens Exposure 15 sec at f/11, ISO 100
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H OT S H OT S
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www.500px.com/yinkaoyelese
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YINKA OYELESE, USA
“Taken at Yosemite National Park, California. I took this on a visit to Yosemite National Park. Unfortunately, the weather was very bad with a storm. It rained for the three days we were there. On the last day, the storm cleared suddenly. As it cleared, clouds swirled over these granite peaks. I had been standing in the rain for an hour, hoping to capture some nice photos. Patience is always rewarded.� Kit Canon 5D Mark III with Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS lens Exposure 1/160 sec at f/16, ISO 100. Processed with Silver Efex Pro.
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www.grahamkellyphotography.com
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Graham Kelly, Ireland “My planned sunrise shoot on the Giants Causeway had turned out to be much more overcast and stormy than expected. It was difficult to get close to the edge due to slippy rocks and high waves, which could wash you away. I used Lee’s Big Stopper to add drama in the sky and smooth the water by extending the shutter speed while also balancing the light with a 2-stop graduated filter.” Kit Nikon D810 with Nikon 16-35mm f/4 lens, Lee Big Stopper & 0.6 Hard Grad filters Exposure 312 sec at f/10, ISO 64 D i g i ta l C a m e r a
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Marcus Hawkins
Photo Projects
Project 22
Deconstruct a landscape Combine fragments of a scene to create a multi-panel image
HE next time you’re at a scenic hotspot, avoid trying to squeeze the entire scene into a single frame: shoot a range of details, textures and tight compositions instead. Later, you can combine a selection of images to build a single picture that gives arguably a better flavour of the location. Square crops tend to suit this type of treatment more effectively than shots with an aspect ratio of 3:2 or 4:3, although it’s better to crop in software later, and make use of the
camera’s full sensor when you record the picture. Shooting in raw makes it much easier to refine your crops, as well as making it more convenient to match the colour balance and picture-processing effects of the separate images, further strengthening the connection between them. Helpfully, you can also overlay a 1:1 crop guide on the Live View display and in some types of viewfinder to enable you to compose for the square image when you shoot raw, even though you actually save the image in the sensor’s native aspect ratio.
Project 23
Project 24
DIY flashgun snoot and honeycomb
DIY bounce-flash diffusion panel
This DIY accessory will give your flash a spotlit effect. Make a snoot by cutting an 8cm wide strip of thin black craft foam that’s long enough to wrap around your flash head, using Velcro to join the ends. To build the honeycomb, attach black drinking straws to a long strip of sticky tape and roll into a round shape. Trim it to fit inside your snoot.
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Another fun DIY project for a rainy day (unless you’re out shooting: see project 39). A large piece of thin white foam will help to diffuse the harsh light from a flashgun, with a flap or hood at the top allowing you to bounce the light in a venue that has a high, dark ceiling. Secure the foam to the flashgun with strips of self-adhesive Velcro.
FebruaRy 2016
www.digitalcameraworld.com
Ben Brain
Project 25
Set the mode
Multi-portraits
Shoot a selection of portraits that can be blended into one OUBLE-EXPOSURE portraiture, where a person’s face or silhouette is combined with images of branches, leaves or other natural textures, continues to be a popular creative approach. Here’s a neat twist on that idea: using a camera’s multiple exposure mode, shoot a sequence of portraits of different people in
D
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order to produce a single, slightly unnerving blend of facial features. It’s an entertaining technique to try with members of the same family as the similarities – or subtle differences – will prove a talking point! The trick here is to line up the eyes when you take each picture. You can do this by aligning them with one of the
AF points in the viewfinder, although it can be easier to switch to Live View shooting and use its grid display instead. (Your camera viewfinder may also offer this function.) Some multiple exposure modes can display a ‘ghost’ image of the previous shot on the screen, enabling you to position the next portrait with precision. > FebruaRy 2016
Multiple exposure modes are becoming more commonplace. If your camera doesn’t have one, take the pictures in Manual mode for consistency, then copy and paste each image into a separate layer in a Photoshop document, adjusting the Opacity of each layer as required.
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Photo active p
Assignment The winners of our ‘autumn colours’ contest – and details of this month’s exposure-based challenge
Every issue, we challenge you to take the most creative and arresting shot around a theme, and share it at the online community at Photocrowd (www.photocrowd.com). Here, you’ll be able to browse the entries and vote for your favourites. The best entries receive a critique from our judging panel – and one winner receives a special prize! Your mission in issue 171 was to capture the colours of autumn. As you might imagine, the response was positive, to put it mildly. A rich collection of warm-looking woodland scenes, vibrant, standalone trees and colourful close-ups filled the contest gallery. Admirably, the majority of photographers showed restraint with the saturation slider, ensuring that the colours had plenty of punch without veering into nuclear dawn territory…
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This month’s photo assignment is all about extreme exposure – see over the page… 1
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Milan Vopalensky A refreshing take on the Autumn Colours theme; Milan’s image captures the rusty, warm hues of the season without there being an acer in sight. Centred compositions often have to work harder to hold a viewer’s attention, but the framing is beautifully judged here, with spikes of detail throughout the picture keeping things lively. The styling is excellent, too; aside from the hair and shoes mirroring the earthy tones, the white bag draws the eye, while the lines on the jacket echo the lines in the tracks. No shooting information
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michael cummins
Our second place award, and the Crowd Vote winner, is Michael’s wonderfully rich, golden woodland scene. It’s just the sort of autumnal light to get a a landscape photographer’s pulse really racing! Kit Sony A7R with 21mm f/2.8 lens Exposure 1/3,200 sec at f/8, ISO 400
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Assignment
Photo active
TURN OVER!
The highs and lows of exposure‌ show us your best high-key and low-key photos
d owte C r vo 3
ken JENSEN
Another alternative take; golden colours and a dramatic seasonal event in perfect harmony. Taking a leaping salmon shot is an incredible feat, all the more remarkable for being taken on a 100mm macro lens. Kit Canon EOS-1D X with 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS lens Exposure 1/800 sec at f/7.1, ISO 800
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K IT Z O N E
MINI-TEST
CAmera backpacks Carry all your camera gear and more in complete comfort and in any weather
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Case Logic Kontrast Pro DSLR Backpack
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Ikigai Rival with Camera Cell Medium
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Lowepro Whistler BP 350 AW
£129/$150
£230/$300
£257/$350
This may be the cheapest backpack here, but it’ll rival bags costing twice the price. There’s space inside for a full-frame body with an attached 70-200mm lens, and up to eight lenses or accessories can slot in on either side. At the back is a partition large enough for a 15in laptop, with a subsection that’ll house a 10.1in tablet. Tripod-mounting points on either side complete the load-lugging abilities. Although none of the bags here offer true on-the-go access, the Kontrast’s top-loading camera compartment at least lets you get at your camera without revealing the rest of your gear. Thick back padding keeps you comfortable, while semi-rigid internal dividers protect your kit. There’s even a tough plastic base for extra stability and waterproofing.
The Rival gives you two bags in one. Its removable camera compartment cell enables you to instantly transform the main bag into a regular daypack. This self-contained, pull-out module will house a full-frame body and a hefty attached lens, plus six more lenses alongside. The cell itself is well-padded, as is the main backpack and especially its sculpted back panel. This also doubles as the primary access point, providing better security than a front-facing flap, and it contains individual laptop and tablet compartments. However, while the bag-in-a-bag design is great for gear protection, it restricts internal space and adds weight. We’re not fans of the awkward tripodmounting system either, but at least you get a separate rain cover.
Like the Ikigai Rival, this features a removable camera compartment with a similar amount of space, along with the burden of extra weight. But Lowepro’s version compensates with ridged outer panels, which give your gear good protection when the cell is removed from the main bag. The latter ditches additional padding to save space and weight, but packs a ridged frame like a true hiking backpack. Entry is via a rear flap, which is hinged halfway down to allow partial access. You’ll find a laptop slot round the front, while each side can hold a tripod. But the Whistler’s big selling point is its go-anywhere ability. Wide, supple straps provide exceptional prolonged comfort, and top-quality materials will shrug off abuse from Mother Nature.
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MINI-TEST
K IT Z O N E
Why you should have a backpack Once you’ve built up a decent camera kit, carting it all about can fast become a pain in the neck. A camera backpack lightens a heavy load – and you’ll get more space to boot. Most of these bags
can accommodate a full-frame camera with a sizable telephoto lens attached, along with a complete complement of extra optics and accessories. Also expect at least one tripod holder.
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Manfrotto Pro Light Bumblebee-220 PL
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Tamrac Anvil 23
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Tenba Shootout Backpack LE Medium
£190/$260
£240/$290
£159/$200
Here’s an ex-Kata design that used to sport the brand’s black-and-yellow look, hence the Bumblebee name. The Pro Light bit is just as confusing, though: at nearly 3kg, this backpack is far from a featherweight. It’s not as if the bulk can be justified by the removable camera compartment in some other design, either. But you get a pair of lift-out lens pods that will house four lenses apiece; between these are two thickly padded dividers to keep your camera and large attached lens cosy. A huge laptop slot is concealed at the back, with smaller front and side pockets taking care of accessories. The unusual rubberised shoulder straps are supple, if not especially comfortable, although the excellent hip belt will take most of the bag’s weight.
If this bag is anything, it’s a mixed bag. Externally there are all the trimmings of a quality product, with wide, well-padded straps, an equally supportive hip belt and super-thick back padding. The front access flap is covered in useful pockets on either side, and it also contains sizeable laptop and tablet slots. However, being on the front of the bag, their weight isn’t best placed for optimal load carrying comfort. The main compartment can hold a large SLR and attached lens, along with plenty of extra optics and accessories. But they won’t be as well-protected as in the other bags on test, as some of the internal dividers feel thin and weak. Worse still is the base, which hardly feels padded at all. These weaknesses make the price seem disproportionately high.
There isn’t much that’ll wow you with the Shootout backpack. It may not have any especially funky features, but Tenba has nailed the essentials. The main compartment is spacious enough to swallow a full-frame body, attached lens and eight surrounding alternatives. Decent all-round padding should keep everything safe from rough and tumble, and the bag’s base gets a tough plastic coating for added scuff resistance. Weather protection is good, too, with quality self-sealing zips, a water-resistant nylon outer shell and a rain cover. It’s a comfortable companion thanks to having the softest straps on test, along with an equally comfy back panel. Right behind this you’ll find a slot for a 15in laptop, although the front tripod carrier add-on isn’t so convenient.
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