Ascender Issue 3

Ascender a

ISSUE 3

EVERYTHING YOU NEED FOR YOUR CREATIVE photography

A Tilt Shift Toy Box world

infrared

photography

GET PHOTO

COMPETITION

READY

ENTER PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITIONS across apac

Eddie Hobson Featured

Artist

FEATURED ARTIST

We talk to Eddie Hobson on how to take the perfect photo.

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Ascender a

CONTENTS

EVERYTHING YOU NEED FOR YOUR CREATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY 4 Okay With Bokeh

How to take photos with those luscious bloomy backgrounds.

6 The Rise of Micro Two Thirds The versatility of DSLR cameras in the palm of your hand.

10 The Invisible World of Infrared Creatively using the light spectrum to capture a hidden beautiful world.

12 Tilt Shift

Controlling converging lines and creating a miniature toybox world.

14 A Slice of Life

We talk to out featured artist, Eddie Hobson about stop motion landscape photography.

16 Essential Lenses

From starter zooms to high-end telephoto, these are the lenses that every photographer needs.

18 Stop Taking Happy Snaps

Deciding the right context, methods, lightning and framing to elevate your portraits.

20 A Photographic Holiday

Discover the best places to shoot epic scenes throughout the Asia Pacific region.

22 Expose Your Exposures

Get noticed and win prizes by entering your best shots in photography competitions.

24 The Finishing Touch

Everything you need to get started in photo editing and perfect your images.

26 Top 5 Photography Apps

Using your mobile devices as photography tools with these incredible innovative apps.

28 In The Next Ascender

Find out what we have in store for issue four with a focus on animation, VFX and digital art.

3 Ascender Magazine is published by GAP Marketing & Management Pty Ltd on behalf of WD. Managing Editor Dave Jansen Project Director Renato Catalan Art Director Alexandra Cook.

If you have any feedback or enquiries please contact the Editor at feedback@ascendermag.com

Y A OK Bokeh With

How to take photos with those bloomy backgrounds

AND REMEMBER..

When trying to get the perfect shot you should:

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e all understand that the background of a photo is usually out of focus but every now and then, you’ll encounter a background that’s perfectly blurred, with blooms and pops of colour that look simply magical.

These visual characteristics are what professional photographers refer to as “bokeh”, and it’s an effect that you can replicate over and over again if you understand how your camera lens works.

Here are five simple tricks to help you maximise the bokeh in your photos.

Test your lens first

Get an idea of what the bokeh will look like by switching off auto-focus and manually defocusing your lens completely. That is, set it to the minimum focus distance. Then, take a test shot of the background you had in mind. The resulting bokeh is the best that your lens can deliver in these settings against this background. It follows that if you

want to improve the bokeh, you can either change the lens, your settings or your background.

Optimise your settings

You’re more likely to produce a bokeh by setting your camera to capture a very shallow depth of field. That means setting the ‘f’ number on your aperture as low as possible. The lower the better. That way, only a tiny sliver in front of your camera is in focus while everything in front or behind it falls dramatically out of focus.

Pick the right lens

There’s no hard and fast rule for what constitutes a pleasing bokeh as it’s very much a matter of personal taste. Every lens produces produces bokeh with different characteristics based on the amount of glass within them, how they’re arranged, the number of blades in the aperture and so on.

That said, the most popular lenses for producing a bokeh tend to have a longer focal length are capable of

1 TEST YOUR BACKGROUND WITHOUT A SUBJECT 2 practice makes perfect. Try out lenses to get the ultimate shot 3 PICK THE RIGHT LENS AND TRY DIFFERENT LENSES FOR VARIED RESULTS 4 CHOOSE BACKGROUNDS THAT ARE FURTHER AWAY FOR DEPTH a shorter depth of field; particularly fast portrait lenses such as the Nikon 85mm f/1.4G or the Canon EF 85mm f/1.2.

Choose backgrounds that are further away

The further your subject is positioned from the background, the bloomier the background will be. Point your lens down the street instead of across it. Getting your subject to take a few steps away from the wall can even make a difference. Use distant contrasts such as street lights or sunlight coming through the foliage to create pops of light and colour in the bokeh.

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THE

RISEOFMICRO

THE VERSATILITY OF A DSLR IN THE PALM OF YOUR HAND

FOUR THIRDS

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hotographers have long had to sacrifice image quality, technical flexibility, lens selection and ruggedness for weight and size reductions. Likewise, if quality and performance were paramount, then a hulking full frame body and expensive set of lenses were the only real option for most serious shooters.

Fortunately, as sensor technology has improved and mirrorless cameras come of age, new compact systems such as Micro Four Thirds (m43) are filling the gap between compact cameras and professional DSLRs. Sony’s NEX cameras, Panasonic’s G series, and Olympus’ OM-D and its retro styling have grabbed significant market share in a short time from traditional leaders Canon and Nikon, and done so because they offer many of the technical benefits of DSLRs without the physical drawbacks.

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Adaptors enable lenses from virtually every other system on earth to be used

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Named for the lack of a focus prism, mirrorless cameras typically pack cutting edge features such as image stabilisation, high end manual controls and robust weather sealing into their tiny bodies, as well as electronic viewfinders (EVFs) that provide real-time preview of exposure, white balance, and tone for those that don’t like shooting with the rear screen.

Lenses make or break systems,

but thankfully mirrorless systems are blessed. m43 users can boast an ecosystem with wide array of fast primes at 24, 35, 50, 90, 150 and 200mm equivalents, as well as a selection of zooms that hold their own against their expensive DSLR cousins, such as the 24-70/f2.8.

If the native selection of lenses aren’t enough, adaptors enable lenses from virtually every other system on earth to be used on mirrorless cameras with no loss in quality, albeit with a crop factor that makes a normal focal length such as a 50mm into a 100mm telephoto.

The sensors and lenses used in mirrorless cameras, are generally larger than those in compacts, but still smaller than those found in full frame DSLRs. This translates to reduced low light performance and a dip in image quality, however, the difference is a non-issue if you aren’t blowing your shots up to billboard sizes.

DSLR is also better suited for situations where there are moving subjects, such as children, sportspeople or wildlife, but this gap is shrinking.

Overall, the best camera is the one you have on you, and one is more likely to pick up an m43 on the way out the door than a bulky SLR. More frequent, more unobtrusive shooting is what many photographers strive for, so it is little surprise many are making the switch.

MICRO 4/3 CAMERAS TO IMPRESS.

THE FLAGSHIP CAMERA IN THE PANASONIC RANGE, THE GX7 HAS WIDE RANGE OF FEATURES AND EXCELLENT IMAGE QUALITY

SONY’S ANSWER TO M43, THE NEX, IS COMPACT AND VERSTASILE WITH GREAT FEATURES, QUALITY AND FAST PERFORMANCE

OLYMPUS HAS THE OM-D RANGE WHICH HAS A RETRO FEEL WITH CONTEMPORARY FEATURES AND THE PERFORMANCE OF A DSLR 7

The Invisible World of Infrared creatively using the light to capture a hidden world

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ith hyper-saturated, hyper-real HDR photography becoming ubiquitous, a growing number of people are seeking new ways to create striking visuals. Thanks to the ease of experimentation with digital photography and editing, the unearthly world of infrared is now more accessible than ever before.

The colours visible to humans across the light spectrum make up but a small part of the whole.

Wavelengths from 380 to 750 nanometres, from ultraviolet to infrared, are undetectable by the naked eye, but they can be captured by camera sensors.

Used creatively, they can produce captivating, otherworldly images.

Typical infrared images feature bright white tree foliage, dark skies, and black water, as different surfaces reflect infrared light differently to other spectrums.

These wavelengths can bring in unwanted elements to an image, so digital cameras come equipped with internal filters to reduce or block these parts of the spectrum.

However, there are two ways to get around this with digital cameras.

The most inexpensive and easiest way is to purchase a screw-on filter such as a Hoya or Kenko R72.

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These filters are almost black, and make focusing difficult, so you’ll have to line up your scene before screwing on the filter. When you do you’ll also have to take a very long exposure so the camera sensor can soak up enough light to get the correct exposure. This means a tripod and an exposure of anything from 30 seconds to several minutes.

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Experimenting with colours, saturation and levels can yield dramatic results

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If you have a hundreds of dollars to spend, then you can have your camera modified to remove the internal filter and replace it with one that blocks wave lengths

In Camera

Long exposures and the right filters can bring shots to life

other than infrared. It’s expensive, but it enables handheld shooting, filming, and far greater flexibility with the type of images you can create.

Like HDR, the key with infrared is in the editing. Always shoot RAW, as your images will start out very red and you will need to adjust the white balance and boost the contrast. Desaturating to create unconventional black and white shots is common, as is switching the Red and Blue channels in the Photoshop Channel mixer to bring back blue skies over alien looking landscapes.

With infrared there is no single answer. Experimenting with colours, saturation and levels can yield dramatic results, technological wizardry will only get you so far.

An image is only as strong as its subject matter.

T t L I f i T sh

Controlling converging lines and miniaturising the world.

LENS ANATOMY

T

he Tilt-Shift lens has long been a staple for architectural and landscape photography to correct line convergence issues that come about when taking shots of tall objects from the ground. Because of the nature of lenses, buildings tend to look like they are leaning backward away from the camera.

Tilt-Shift lenses can shift up and down which cause the buildings to appear to move closer. The shift functionality also allows real estate photographers to shift down to show more floor than ceiling when showing off a property.

The Tilt function allows you to move the lens left and right which changes the focal plane in dramatic ways. It is used to zero in on a particular aspect of a shot that needs to be highlighted or to create dramatic focal effects.

It can also be used to sharpen overall focus by making both the foreground and background stay in sharp focus without needing a wide aperture lens.

The creativity of the Tilt-Shift lens comes when using these two

A unique lens, a Tilt Shift can move vertically and on an twist on an angle.

functions in conjunction to turn simple everyday scenes into toy train set miniatures. By shifting all the way down and using the tilt function at the same time, the area of focus in the image becomes so thin that

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With only a thin line of the image in focus, the world suddenly looks toy like

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is causes a slightly unnatural look.

With only a thin line of the image in focus, the world suddenly looks toylike. The effect tends to look best from higher angles and is most effective with subjects like vehicles, buildings and people.

The only downside to Tilt-Shift lenses is that they are rather expensive and

outside the reach of beginners and hobbyists. Thankfully, the effect can also be achieved in Photoshop and even with some camera applications on mobile phones. Essentially, the defining characteristic of a Tilt-Shift miniature shot is the thin line of focus so some programs can simulate this by blurring the top and bottom of an image, leaving the middle intact.

Naturally, using a proper Tilt-Shift lens will look better in the long run but if you simply want to have fun and be creative, taking the cheaper route is a good start.

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A SLICE OF LIFE A Photographic Walkabout with Photographer Eddie Hobson

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fter studying performing arts in New York and Melbourne, Photographer Eddie Hobson began following a path into the film industry. However, his true passion was soon revealed to him while working on the Australian feature film ‘John Doe: Vigilante’. Asked to shoot behind the scenes photos for the production, he quickly realised that his true passion was behind the lens and opened his company Ta-Ta

Ride Photography, specialising in portraiture and dance photography.

However, his career would soon shift into an unexpected arena.

A time-lapse he came across brought the city of Las Vegas to life in a way he had never experienced before. Mesmerised by it, timelapse photography spoke to him and opened his eyes to a new way to view the world. “I’ve always looked out for beautiful architecture and landscapes”, he said, “but now

I look for more than that, to what is moving around it. Time-lapse is a medium that lets you capture a scene in a way that is not possible with still photography.”

With some online research, he set out to try it for himself through trial and error. As he developed his techniques, he discovered that one of the best ways to capture truly remarkable images was by finding unique angles to shoot from. He talked his way onto

Eddie Hobson building rooftops and hard to reach locations and was able to bring the cities he shot to life in ways never before seen. Following a string of successful time-lapse projects of cities including New York, he turned his focus to Australia and decided to embark on an ambitious journey to capture the entire country over the course of 100 days.

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Australia has so much to offer... there is so much beauty there

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“Australia just has so much to offer.” he said, “The vast, desolate deserts, the picturesque countryside, the seemingly endless coast, the extraordinary cities: there is so much beauty there.”

His trek took him to the most northern points of the country during an eclipse, the foggy mountains of Tasmania, the pristine beaches of Western Australia and the sparkling lights of the major cities. In each location he shot thousands of images, some on a tripod and others using various sliders and specialty lenses including tilt-shift techniques.

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Throughout the trip he burnt through over 24TB of storage, not including additional back up space.

In each location he would shoot a series of sequences comprised of RAW images which he would edit together off-site to create his videos. Each image taken was roughly 20-30MB each a typical sequence could take upward of 400 photos each. During his trip around Australia, he captured over 1000 sequences so his storage requirements were massive. Each video he created from the images ended up using between 5000 and 25,000 images each.

Once the images are captured, the labourious editing process

Capturing time lapse images and discovering unique views from around the world would begin which not only required choosing the the best images from thousands but also grading them to give the resulting videos a more cinematic feel.

With the Australia trip under his belt, next up for Eddie is a trip to New Zealand where he hopes to find a whole new set of untold stories to bring to life. However, his true ambition is to time-lapse the world or as much of it as he can manage in his lifetime.

WATCH MADE IN AUSTRALIA BY EDDIE HOBSON

Essential Lenses choosing the right TOOLS for the job

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uying a new camera is only half the fun when entering the world of digital photography.

Equally as important is your choice of lenses, yet most starter kits only include the basics in the form of a “kit lens”. Choosing which extra

lenses to buy can be an absolutely terrifying experience for the amateur happy snapper, as there are dozens of different types, spanning costs from $50 up to $15,000. The good news is that you can build up a small set of three extra lenses to cover nearly every kind of shooting

environment, while keeping to a fairly reasonable budget.

Before we begin, it’s important to check that the lens you’re considering is compatible with your DSLR. There’s nothing worse than spending $500 on a new lens, only to realise it doesn’t fit your camera.

Zoom or Telephoto Lens Example: Canon EF 70-200mm F/2.8L

The first lens in our kit allows the photographer to capture a close up of an object or person from far away.

The zoom lens is a long lens with a focal length between 55mm/70mm and 200mm/300mm, and it features image stabilisation, a must when using a zoom. Perfect for animal watching, and sports photography, they also allow portrait shots where the subject isn’t aware of being photographed, capturing a more natural look.

Ultra-Wide or Wide Angle Lens Example: Tamron SP AF 10-24mm

If you’re going to be taking a lot of landscape shots, an Ultra-Wide or Wide Angle lens will help you capture the vast sense of scale that is often a feature of this type of photo. Wide angle lenses have a focal length of less than 35mm but higher than 24mm; less than 24mm is classed as an Ultra Wide Angle lens. Try both lenses out to see how they differ. You’ll notice that the wider the lens is, the more of the scene in front of you will appear in the photo, but it will also feature more curvature towards the edges.

Also keep an eye out for the sharpness of the picture, which can become a problem as the lens gets wider.

Prime Lens Example: Canon 50mm 1.8

These lenses do not have a variable focal length, which means they can’t zoom at all. However, they have a very large aperture, which makes them perfect for highlighting the depth of field effect. Also known as pancake lenses, the 50mm prime lens is perfect for portrait photography, as well as low-light shooting, where the large aperture lets in more light.

Due to their lack of variable focal length, they happen to be some of the cheapest lens types available, making them excellent value as well.

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STOP TAKING HAPPY-SNAPS, start taking portraits

simple tips for better portraiture

Being Dynamic

Lighting can make all the difference between a bland photo and the remarkable.

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he difference between a happy-snap and a great portrait is in the quality of the storytelling. The secret is using your lens to focus everyone’s attention on some fascinating aspect of your subject.

Here are a few simple tips you can use, and an explanation of how you can use them effectively.

1 Isolate your subject

Set your aperture to the lowest ‘f’ number possible to create a short depth of field. This will blur out the background while keeping your subject in focus, which has the effect of drawing everyone’s eyes to him or her.

This is especially effective when the aim is to accentuate your subject’s personality; where their actions or the surroundings aren’t particularly important.

If there are too many random colours drawing attention away

from your subject, try converting the image to black and white.

2 Make eye contact

If your subject is looking into the barrel of the camera lens, make sure your focus point is trained directly on the eye that’s closest to you. Being perfectly in-focus, it has the effect of making strong, direct eye contact with anyone who looks at the photo.

3 Show some context

If your subject isn’t looking at the camera, it can help shoot at a wider angle to show off where they’re standing or sitting. Sometimes, focusing on whatever your subject is concentrating on (such as what’s in their hands on whatever they’re looking at) with a short depth of field can be more effective in communicating the scene, telling a better story and revealing what’s going through their minds.

4 Lighting is everything

Distant light sources create harsh shadows (the afternoon sun being harshest of all). The closer a light source is to your subject, the softer it will appear. If your subject is standing near a window, try putting a white bedsheet over it to diffuse the light into a soft, even glow. A set of translucent drapes can have a similar effect.

Firing an on-body flash directly at your subject will make him or her look flat. Instead, try bouncing it off the ceiling or a wall. Alternatively, if your subject is backlit, dial back the strength of the flash and use it as a fill-light.

5 Provoke a response

Tell a joke, share a meal or have a conversation with your subject.

Take his or her mind off the fact that they’re posing for a camera and capture a reaction that reflects their natural personality.

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A C I H P A R G PHOTO HOLIDAY s to The seven best location c shoot in the Asia Pacifi

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he Asia Pacific region is a photographer’s dream. From people watching to architecture and breathtaking scenery, regardless of what kind of photography you’re into, you’ll find plenty of places to go to capture breathtaking images.

Some of the most spectacular photo opportunities throughout Asia Pacific aren’t necessarily the obvious one. Below are ten locations around the Asia Pacific that you might want to consider taking a photographic holiday.

Milford Sound, New Zealand (scenery);

One of the most impressive parts of New Zealand, getting in a kayak and paddling into the middle of the Sound will give you spectacular, 360-degree views of sheer mountains and rich forests.

Rangoon, Myanmar ( city scapes);

Myanmar is just stepping out of a long period of isolation, and as such it’s a very unique place to visit as a tourist. It’s like stepping back a couple of decades in time, and so the city has a classical beauty that is worth seeing before the inevitable modernisation happens.

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Shanghai, Chinese New Year (festival);

A Chinese New Year experience in China is essential for any traveller. Shanghai fills with such incredible energy, colour, and music that it’s truly intoxicating.

Chiang Mai, Thailand city scapes);

Many tourists go to Thailand for the beaches or Bangkok but for photographers, Chiang Mai, in the north of the country, is a preferred destination. It is an ancient and beautiful city with over 300 truly spectacular Buddhist temples.

Freycinet, Australia scenery);

Freycinet is not what people immediately think about when they think of Australia, but a single trip to Wineglass Bay reveals one of Australia’s hidden treasures. Added bonus: it’s so peaceful you’ll probably have the whole beach to yourself!

Luang Prabang, Laos city scapes);

One of the most visually spectacular cities in Laos, Luang Prabang has it all; lovely waterfalls near the city courtesy of the Nam Khan river, a spectacular night market, and some rich history courtesy of it being the former capital of Laos (it is a UNESCO World Heritage city).

Cricket matches in India (sports);

Of all the sports that are played throughout Asia, it’s a cricket match in India where you will have the best time as a photographer. It’s a sport that’s nearly a religion, and provides for some spectacular shots.

EXPOSING your EXPOSURES The art of entering and winning photography competitions.

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GET COMPETITIVE

Here is a round-up of some of the competitions now open to residents in the Asia-Pacific region:

CREATIVE SPRINT MONTHLY PHOTO CONTEST) MONTHLY

T

here are dozens of competitions out there for professional and amateur photographers, so why not enter some of your shots to garner exposure and maybe even win equipment or a monetary grant?

Competitions are a great way to get your name out there, meet like-minded people, and hone your skills. However, just like with any competition, it is worth perfecting your entry to give you the best chance of nabbing a prize.

“I can’t stress enough how important it is for emerging photographers to enter competitions, but they have to be the right ones for you. It’s not worth spending the money or time to enter if your work doesn’t fit the criteria or style,” Asia-Pacific Photobook Archive founder, Daniel BoetkerSmith, told Ascender.

“Take time to do the research, find artists statements and images of previous winners, go to the opening, note what sorts of work is shortlisted, and contact the curator/judge for an informal chat.”

But one competition is not enough; you should enter as many as you can. Once you get shortlisted for one, your chances of getting nominated for others increase, advises Boetker-Smith.

“I know photographers who have been practicing for years, and been exhibited all over the world, who still spend a large portion of their time entering competitions and applying for grants. It’s the way it works now,” he said.

The great thing about photography competitions is that they are very easy to enter and give you a purpose when looking for new ideas while you practice your skills.

Every month you will be provided with just 1 word, and you have exactly 48 hours to create your entry for that theme. The winner will be picked by the photographers who also participated in that sprint.

sony world photography awards 2014 entries close 6 january 2014

Open to amateur photographers and photography enthusiasts, this competition offers 10 categories ranging from Action to Travel. You must become a member of the World Photography Organisation to join, however membership is free.

Is That Your Best Shot? monthly

A monthly global competition, the theme is open and the prize is $500 USD.

SHOOT THE LAND monthly

This international landscape photography competition runs every month, and offers $300 USD in cash prizes and the chance to have your work published in Landscape Photography Magazine.

Life framer photography award MONTHLY

An ongoing monthly competition designed to source creative work and showcase outstanding photography.

The aim is to bring exposure to talented photographers from all over the world, and prizes include $400 USD each month, plus exposure in exhibitions and online.

shoot the face MONTHLY

An international portrait photography award designed to give all photographers the opportunity to showcase their portraits on an international stage. .

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THE

FINISHING

TOUCH EVERYTHING YOU WILL NEED TO GET INTO PHOTO EDITING

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ometimes the greatest shots you will take are actually photos that, straight out of the camera, don’t look particularly special at all. Since much of photography these days is digital, fine tuning an image on a computer opens

up a realm of possibility. Learning about photo editing is actually quite easy at a basic level but when you start getting into high end editing and manipulation, the amount of knowledge you wil need and the equipment starts to increase. In the end, even a small amount of

tweaking can turn a mediocre photo into something great so it is well worth the effort for those with a love of photofraphy. If you want to get into photo editing, there are a few things you will need but even at the lowest of budgets there are plenty of options available..

PC Obviously, you will need a PC but the question is, how powerful does it need to be? Most photo manipulation programs don’t require a huge amount of computing power unless you are working with massive files or RAW format images. Even then, a decent amount of RAM and a reasonable CPU will do the job. If you want to boost the speed and performance when editing, then a dedicated graphics card should also be considered. For laptops, the new WD Black2 dual drive will give you a boost in performance as well by installing your OS and programs on its SSD drive and your RAW images on the included 1TB storage.

SOFTWARE There are many options when it comes to software depending how what you need it to do. At a very basic level, to get your feet wet take a look at free online tools like Pixlr, Fotoflexer or Picmonkey. They provide good simple features and can also introduce you into the principles of editing. The most powerful tools are naturally Photoshop or Lightroom but the cost may be too high for some. A free alternative, at least when learning, is a program called GIMP which has many similar features to Photoshop and can be downloaded online.

STORAGE After all the time and effort you take to create your images, you want to make sure they are protected.

The best option is to use Network Attached Storage (NAS) to store your images. When uploading images from your camera always make multiple copies.

Create one on your local drive that you intend to work with and another to the NAS. A third copy is also a good idea, just in case. Within the NAS, set the drives up in a RAID array which will automatically make an internal backup as well. Most NAS devices have very simple to use interfaces which will walk you through setting it up for RAID. Within the NAS, use drives designed for 24/7 use, reliability and low power such as the WD Red.

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5

happy snapping apps

TURNING MOBILE DEVICES INTO TRULY PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY ACCESSORIES

T

he phone in your pocket is a fantastic device when taking photos, but we’re not referring to the low quality built-in camera. Your smartphone can actually double as a very handy assistant during a DSLR photo shoot, as there are dozens of different iOS and Android apps that will help you make the most of your real camera. From light meters to aperture calculators to colour cards, here are our top 5 apps for the budding DSLR photographer.

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1

DOF Calculator OS: Android

This handy free app allows you to precisely calculate the hyperfocal distance, near focus limit, far focus limit and depth of field for a huge range of commonly used cameras. Simply choose your camera, plug in the focal length, aperture and range to target, and it’ll calculate all of the distances automatically.

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3 Helios Sun Position Calculator OS: iOS

Bubble Level OS: Android

One of the simplest mistakes made by new photographers is shooting at an angle. An easy way to ensure your shot is perfectly straight is to use a digital spirit level, and there are hundreds of different options available. We like Bubble Level as it’s free to download, and does the job with a minimum of fuss.

Every photographer knows that the best source of light for a photograph is the sun, but figuring out exactly where it’s going to be during a shoot can be next to impossible… unless you have this app. Plug in the GPS coordinates you’ll be shooting at, or just use your current location, to see exactly where the sun will be at any given time at any given location.

4 Pocket Light Meter OS: iOS

This free app does exactly what the name implies, turning your smartphone into an accurate light meter. While most cameras include a light meter, it’s often more convenient to whip out your smartphone for a quick measurement instead. This app will then automatically calculate the right shutter speed, ISO and aperture.

5 DSLR Remote OS: Android

Why spend hundreds on a separate remote control for your camera when this app will do the job for you? It can broadcast the trigger command via Infra Red, wire or BlueTooth, depending on the mode supported by your camera. It’s also able to take a series of shots in a time controlled High Dynamic Range sequence.

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IN THE NEXT ISSUE OF

Ascender

In issue four of Ascender, we look at the worlds of animation, visual effects and digital art. From the visual effects artists and their imaginative cinematic worlds, through to the nuts and bolts of building and animating a 3D character, the next Ascender will have it all. We will also talk with professionals working in animation and get an insight into the skills needed to make the next big blockbuster. Look out for issue four in early 2014.