TO PHOAR GE EWS I REV
YOUR GUIDE TO EVERYTHING PHOTO
SONY ALPHA 7R + NIKON D610
LIVE YOUR PHOTO DREAM Inspiring Landscape Photography Techniques for Directing Nature
ORCHESTRATE PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES Top Photo Secrets
CAPTURE THE ESSENCE OF A GARDEN
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TIPS FOR GEOTAGGING THE ETHICS OF WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY THE LITTLE-KNOWN WORLD OF BUGS
5 WORKFLOW-SUITE ALTERNATIVES TO ADOBE LIGHTROOM
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CONTENTS February/March 2014, Volume 39, Number 2
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Contributors Editorial Exposure Close-up
VISION 20 An Unexpected Call to Landscape Photography by Jenny Montgomery Patrick Di Fruscia is a Canadian fine-art nature and landscape photographer with a portfolio full of inspiring images and a wide following on social media. Cover photo by Patrick Di Fruscia
26 The Secret to Photographing Gardens by Louise Tanguay Gardens are considered some of the most challenging subjects to photograph. Here are some tips to help you make the most of it.
30 Showtime Birds
TECHNIQUE 32 Nature Directed
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by Scott Linstead Linstead explains his non-traditional techniques of gaining artistic control over a natural scene.
38 Bugs in My Camera by Adrian Thysse Stepping into your garden can become an adventure—a journey into a hidden universe where a variety of seemingly alien beings lead their secret lives.
42 FAQ How to Focus in Macrophotography
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by Jean-François Landry There is a simple and little-known technique that will help you get a sharp focus in macrophotography: body focusing.
44 Photo 101 Maximizing Your Peripheral Vision by Jean-François Landry Whether by habit or by choice, we close one eye when looking through a camera viewfinder. Is there another way to do it?
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38 PHOTO LIFE
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GEAR 46 GPS Orienting and Geotagging by Dale Wilson Even in this high-tech day, paper and pencil are sometimes necessary to bridge the gap between two independent devices.
50 Digital Workflow Beyond Adobe by David Tanaka Here are five workflow suites that aren’t under the Adobe label.
54 Gadget Guide by Jean-François Landry
56 Review The Nikon D610 by Peter K. Burian Nikon has upgraded its full-frame 24.3-MP prosumer DSLR.
58 Review The Sony Alpha 7R by Peter K. Burian The Sony Alpha 7R is the first compact-system camera with a full-frame sensor.
60 Imaging Products Review by Peter K. Burian
CONTRIBUTORS AND EDITORIAL STAFF Peter K. Burian
is a technology writer and freelance stock photographer. He is the author of several Magic Lantern Guide books on DSLR systems. He is also a digital photography course instructor with betterphoto.com. peterkburian.com
Patrice Halley
has been shooting for magazines worldwide for more than 25 years. After moving to B.C. seven years ago, he started to pursue adventure photography. He now lives in Montreal. patricehalley.com
Jean-François Landry has been providing advice to photographic equipment buyers in Quebec City since 1989. He also shares his passion with amateur photographers through courses and magazine articles. cylidd.com Guy Langevin has worked as a graphic designer in the photo industry for many years. You don’t collaborate with and befriend some of the best photographers in the country without learning a few tricks of the trade, so he became a photographic designer. Trained in aerospace engineering, Scott Linstead stepped into professional nature photography after leaving a high-school teaching position in 2007. He is the author of the book Decisive Moments: Creating Iconic Imagery (2010). scottyphotography.photoshelter.com
Jenny Montgomery is a theatre director and writer who first learned her way around a darkroom in 1998. Photography runs in her family, so it was probably inevitable that it would be a part of her life. Valérie Racine began working for Apex Publications in 2001. She currently serves as Editorial Director for both Photo Life and Photo Solution magazines. Her background includes studies in art, art history and communications, and she is passionate about photography. David Tanaka
is a technology writer based in Lethbridge, Alta. His work as a photographer includes magazine assignments, fine-art printmaking and stock. He also teaches multimedia communication at Lethbridge College.
Photography, travel and workshop teaching are some of Louise Tanguay’s greatest passions. Hawaii, Italy and Namibia are among her recent destinations. Originally from northern Ontario, Louise now lives in Gatineau. louisetanguayphoto.com Based in Edmonton, Adrian Thysse is a freelance stock photographer who enjoys travel, landscape, and nature photography, with a special interest in close-up and macro. adrianthysse.com
Dale Wilson
is a self-taught freelance photographer. A Photo Life collaborator since 1991, he is a new regular contributor to the Photo Life blog. He lives in the Halifax suburb of Eastern Passage with his wife and two sons. dalewilsonphotography.com
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PHOTO LIFE FEBRUARY/MARCH 2014 Volume 39, Number 2 185 St. Paul Street, Quebec City, QC, Canada G1K 3W2 418-692-2110 1-800-905-7468 info@photolife.com facebook.com/photolifemag
@photolifemag
SUBSCRIPTIONS 1-800-461-7468 photolife.com EDITORIAL Editorial Department editor@photolife.com Editorial Director Valérie Racine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .vracine@photolife.com Administrative and Editorial Assistant Jenny Montgomery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .info@photolife.com Contributing Editors David Tanaka Peter K. Burian Art Director Guy Langevin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .glangevin@photolife.com ADMINISTRATION Publisher & Media Sales Director Guy J. Poirier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .gpoirier@photolife.com 418-692-2110 Phone: 1-800-905-7468 Ext. 101 National Sales Manager Michael Skinner . . . . . . . . . . . . .mskinner@photolife.com Phone: 416-473-4624 Accounting Annie Goulet PHOTO LIFE (ISSN 0700-3021) is published six times a year (December/January, February/March, April/May, June/July, August/September, October/November) by Apex Publications Inc., a Canadian-owned company. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not, under any circumstances, including Cancopy, be reproduced or used in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher. PHOTO LIFE is indexed in Canadian Magazine by Micromedia Limited. Back issues of PHOTO LIFE are available in microform from Micromedia Limited, 20 Victoria St., Toronto, Ontario M5C 2N8. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage.
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REGULAR PRICES $35.70 (1 year - 6 issues) $71.40 (2 years - 12 issues) $107.10 (3 years - 18 issues) Prices exclude applicable Canadian sales taxes. Make cheque payable to PHOTO LIFE. US residents pay in US funds and add US$10.00 per year for postage. Foreign residents pay in US funds and add US$90.00 per year for postage. Single copy: CAN/US$5.95 SUBMISSIONS PHOTO LIFE welcomes portfolio and article submissions for possible publication. Article submissions must pertain to the subject of photography and include images supporting the submitted text. All submissions must respect the publisher’s submission guidelines. Complete submission guidelines are available at www.photolife.com, from the publisher at write@photolife.com, or by calling 1-800-905-7468. COPYRIGHT © 2014 APEX PUBLICATIONS INC. No material from the magazine may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Despite the care taken in reviewing editorial content, Apex Publications Inc. cannot guarantee that all written information is complete and accurate. Consequently, Apex Publications Inc. assumes no responsibility concerning any error and/or omission. Publications Mail - Agreement No.: 40010196 185, St. Paul Street, Quebec City, QC, Canada G1K 3W2 PRINTED IN CANADA
PHOTO LIFE
© Richard Walch
”Once you try it, it changes everything” – Richard Walch, Extreme Sport Photograper
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EDITORIAL February/March 2014, Volume 39, Number 2 This is our third year to have a special issue dedicated to wildlife and nature photography, and it is again with great pleasure that we prepare its content, looking for photographers that will inspire you and ideas that revisit the classic concepts of photography.
The other article is by a new contributor, Scott Linstead. With this first piece, he shares an approach to nature photography that you might not have considered before—and that we haven’t covered in the pages of Photo Life (at least not in the last decade or so). He uses non-traditional techniques and exercises a high degree of artistic control in his work, all the while respecting wildlife in all its complexity. However, these apparently divergent approaches have a surprising amount in common. Both photographers share a profound respect for nature, and their images pay tribute to the living world and express their personal interpretations of it. After all, we each have the opportunity to revere nature in our own way, don’t we? Our recent online poll asked about how you interact with nature while shooting. (You can view the results on page 14.) While most of you prefer to photograph nature exactly as you found it, others sometimes like to arrange, add or enhance certain elements. Wherever you fall on the spectrum between “exactly as you found it” and full artistic control, we hope that this issue will inspire you, give you some food for thought, and help you refine your personal approach to nature and wildlife photography. Valérie Racine Editorial Director
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FEBRUARY/MARCH 2014
© DAVID GIRAL
This time we’ve included a wide variety of content, from the vast fine-art landscapes of Patrick Di Fruscia to the intricate, tiny world explored by Adrian Thysse. There are also two articles offering opposing perspectives. One is by Patrice Halley, whose view of wildlife photography is that of a photojournalist who places the utmost importance on being faithful to reality. His text invites us to embrace imperfection and to carefully re-evaluate our own practice and our attitude toward nature.
COMING UP
Winning images of The World We Live In 2013 photo contest Street portraits: how to approach strangers and improve your portrait skills Smart devices as the photographer’s digital assistant 8 tips for shooting tack-sharp photos How to read and use the histogram Compact-system lenses and adapters The latest imaging products reviewed And more…
PHOTO LIFE
URBAN REPORTER SERIES street-smart messenger
Find out more at lowepro.com/urban-reporter Distributed by DayMen Canada - daymen.ca Š2013 DayMen Canada Acquisition ULC
EXPOSURE YOUR VIEW . WHAT’S ON . IN FOCUS . BOOK REVIEWS
[your view] PHOTOGRAPHIC PLANS FOR 2014 I was reading Photo Life’s December/January issue and found the part about your contributing photographers’ 2014 plans very interesting. So, here’s some of mine. I’d like to work with HDR; my Olympus E520 DSLR doesn’t have it built-in, so I’ll need a software to work with. I’d also like to research getting a Sigma lens for that camera. I understand there is a lens-mount conversion kit out there, so that’s something to look at. In a totally reverse-thinking mode, after stating the above, I’d like to resurrect my Pentax ME Super 35-mm camera and get some black-and-white images once more. I really enjoyed that camera, and even though I wore mine out (winder quit), my son donated his with a pile of lenses, so there’s no excuse not to get out there with it. Last, and here’s the biggy, I purchased a medium-format Japanese camera a few years ago, which had previously been owned by a professional photographer. Further to this, I obtained a plethora of professional darkroom equipment and proceeded to construct a darkroom in my basement. OK, I suffer from the “follow-through” procrastination mentioned by your contributors, so there was a cessation of work for several reasons. Well, I’m now starting to warm up to
the idea of completing that room, and disregard all this digital hoopla while I become the reincarnated Ansel. The other option is to just dispose of all that hardware, which today, nobody wants. I’m just enthralled with the stunning detail that mediumformat cameras can deliver, and would like to capture some of my own. Pretty backward, right? —Frederick Barfoot via email
IN RESPONSE TO DALE WILSON’S “SHOULD YOU WORK FOR FREE?” If you working for free then it’s not work, it’s volunteering. Too much of the volunteering won’t pay the bills, will it? —Al Winney via blog
RE: “PHOTOGRAPHY AT THE MOVIES” IN THE DECEMBER/JANUARY ISSUE A good list you put together and some films I’ll definitely check out. —Erick Gow via email
RE: “PHOTOGRAPHY AT THE MOVIES” Can you recommend a movie suitable for high-school photography students from the list? Where can I get a hold of some of these movies? —H.A. Clarke via email
PHOTO CONTEST
Many movies from my list might be of interest to a high-school photography student, and I guess that you can find most of them at your local video store. Some are also available on Netflix, the iTunes store and other online rental services. One in particular that almost made the list but had to be left out due to lack of space would be a great fit a younger audience: Amélie (2001), a fantastic movie that is both funny and poignant and filled with imagination. —Guy Langevin
NOW OPEN A FEW MORE SUGGESTIONS FROM OUR READERS! OVER $10,000 IN PRIZES Submission deadline March 8th, 2014 Professional, Amateur and Young Photographers Enter Online Now
WOW P H O T O C O N T E S T.C A Proceeds supporting The Canadian Women’s Foundation
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FEBRUARY/MARCH 2014
Amélie – 2001 Apocalypse Now – 1979 The Big Year – 2011 I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing – 1987 Memento – 2000 Spider-Man – 2002 (and its sequels)
HAVE YOU READ DALE? Exclusively on the Photo Life website, we’re featuring the weekly contributions of photographer Dale Wilson, in addition to all the usual great daily content. photolife.com
EXPOSURE PHOTO LIFE