PhotoComment August 2010

FEATURE: MENTAL RESOLUTION A newbie newbie tells tells us us about about her her first first photographic photographic course course A

Portfolio Cas Pretorius Pretorius Cas

Product Review ISSUE NO. 18 FREE ONLINE

Nikon S8000 S8000 Nikon

Worldwide Photowalk 2010

CONTENTS

ISSUE 18

Editor’s Comment

4

Reader’s Portfolio

14

Cas Pretorius - Camera Club

Scoop

6

All about what is happening in the photographic world locally and internationally

24

Nikon S8000

Final Comment

Feature

8

Mental Resolution

Events

Product Review

27

Try Something New

Final Photo

28

13

Worldwide Photowalk 2010

LEGAL STUFF International and local Intellectual Property and Copyright laws protect all material (text, images, photographs, graphics, software and icons) used herein. You are only permitted to download, copy or print this on-line publication or any features there from for personal, instructional and non-commercial use.

ABOUT Published By: Comment Media cc Founder: Tristan Hall Design & Layout: Greg Wrench Contact: magazine@photocomment.net To advertise in PhotoComment please email us at magazine@photocoment.net

Whilst all care and attention is employed to ensure the legitimacy, accuracy and correctness of the information, data, texts, images, ideas, photographs and opinions

Visit us on the web: http://photocomment.net

expressed herein, PHOTOCOMMENT cannot be held

Mail us at: PhotoComment P.O.Box 947 Fontainbleau South Africa 2032

responsible or liable in any way whatsoever for the content as it appears herein. Similarly, PHOTOCOMMENT makes no express or implied warranty or representation as to the proprietorship or intellectual property inherent in the images and photographs published herein and which it has commissioned for use from external sources on good faith dealing. Accordingly, PHOTOCOMMENT is hereby indemnified, defended and held harmless against all claims, liability, damages, costs and expenses in regard thereto.

Front Cover Image by: Taryn Woodford Mental Resolution

EDITOR’S COMMENT

T

here are sometimes where everything goes right and others where they don’t – like being locked inside you own passage because the key broke in the locked door. In some respects August has been one of those months.

When you get to read this it will be far closer to September than to August but that is largely due to us working on improving our publication for your enjoyment. For this reason we always encourage your feedback.

This issue looks at the news leading up to Photokina, a review of Nikon’s Coolpix S8000 and our regular portfolio feature from CameraClub.co.za. We also wrap up our Mental

Resolution feature where our mystery newbie attended a fundamentals course at the College Of Digital Photography.

From a website point of view, be sure to check out our new forums on the site and be a part of the new Photo Friday Competition where each week we will pick the best image we received in the week as a finalist for a end of year prize.

That about sums up everything for this issue.

Keep an eye out on the site for some exciting news breaking in the next week or two.

Tristan Hall - Founder

SUBMIT YOUR PORTFOLIO Regular readers of PhotoComment Magazine will

Send us no more than 10 of your best images with

know that in each issue we publish a professional

your contact details to

portfolio and either a reader’s or student’s portfolio.

magazine@photocomment.net with “Portfolio for

This is your chance to get your images published.

PhotoComment” as the subject. Make sure the

For each issue we (the editors assisted by a panel of

images are in JPEG format and no larger than 1

industry leading photographers) will choose a

Megabyte each (or closest too). We will contact you

portfolio from each category that inspires and

if we need any more information or to ask you some

celebrates the art and craft of photography. Include a

questions. Needless to say that the standard will be

self-portrait accompanied by a brief introduction of

high and uncompromising so please put your best

yourself, your style and your philosophy.

foot forward.

READER’S COMMENTS We want to know what you think of PhotoComment

PhotoComment - Reader’s Comments

Magazine or anything photographic. Please send us

P.O. Box 947,

your stories, experiences, questions, inspiration or

Fontainbleau, 2032

even your favourite photo you took this month to

.We read all the mails we receive and will publish

magazine@photocomment.net with ‘Reader’s

anything that catches our attention. You will also

Comments’ in the subject line.

put yourself in line to win some great prizes during

You can also use snail mail addressed to:

the year. We are waiting for your submission!

OLYMPUS News is starting to fly fast and furious as the photographic world draws closer and closer to Photokina the biggest photography show that happens every second year in Germany.

We will have some news to share with you in September as we draw nearer the show but in the mean time here are the build up announcements.

To keep up to date with the latest news see our blog at http://photocomment.net

Three new cameras coming from Olympus which are the mju-7050 with a 14mp CCS and 7x optical zoom, HD video, 3-inch LCD. The FE-5050 with 14mp CCD, 5x optical zoom and a lower resolution FE-4050 version which sports only 12mp and a 4x optical zoom.

MJU-7050

ADOBE

FUJIFILM

Now for many of us this has limited application but it is worth mentioning. Adobe has released their Photoshop Express as an application for the iPhone, and for that very elusive device here in South Africa, the iPad. It is a free download so why not give it a try.

It is also available on the Android Marketplace meaning it is just those of us more business minded people who use Blackberry that are left in the cold.

Ooh, I see a red light flashing, must have an email.

I wonder when they named their company if they ever saw the day that they would no longer have film in their cameras? That point aside, this is for some a more exciting announcement than much of the other compact camera announcements. The FinePix Real 3D W3 is Fujifilm’s second 3D camera and unlike the Sony cameras out there, the Fuji offerings use two lenses set at each end of the camera as traditional 3D cameras do. What is exciting about the new W3 is that is shoots movies in HD. This could very well make it on our geeky gadgets wish list for Christmas.

CANON

NIKON

At time of writing Canon’s announcements have been limited to compact cameras. These include the PowerShot S95, the successor of their popular with enthusiasts and pros S90. The S95 still utilises a CCD sensor with 10 megapixels, offers full manual control and RAW files. The greatest improvement then seems to be in the offering of 720p HD video.

Let us kick off with the long list of Nikon news starting with the announcement of the D3100. Taking the chance to raise the bar, Nikon’s new entry D3100 level will come out with a 14.2mp CMOS sensor (taking their whole range to CMOS) and it will offer – as a first for Nikon – full 1080p HD video. Add to this a 3-inch LCD Screen with Live View and the ability to take the ISO up to 12800 and this quickly become the most exciting entry level camera to date.

Also announced was the PowerShot SD4500 / IXUS 1000HS which claims to be the slimmest super zoom (as Jeremy Clarkson would say “In [pause for effect] the world”). The camera has a 10x optical zoom with a 10mp back-illuminated CMOS sensor and full HD video with a Super Slow Motion mode. Adding to the range of super zooms is the PowerShot SX130 IS with 12mp, 12x optical zoom starting at 28mm and HD video.

In addition to this new body, Nikon have announced the following lenses: 85mm F/1.4 G for fantastic portraits, a new 24-120mm F/4 G ED VR – that is right a fixed F/4 aperture throughout the zoom range. There is a new 55-300mm F/4.5-5.6 G ED VR which is sure to be a hit here in South Africa and for those full frame travel shooters, a new 28-300mm F/3.5-5.6 G ED VR rounds things off.

55-300mm

85mm f1.4 24-120mm Images not to scale

28-300mm

There has also been the announcement of two new compact cameras, the Coolpix S5100 (12.2mp CCD, 5x Optical Zoom and HD video) as well as the Coolpix S1100pj which in addition to having 14mp and a zoom going from 28-140mm also features a projector for showing of your images on something a bit bigger than the back screen.

FEATURE

MENTAL RESOLUTION

FEATURE

MENTAL RESOLUTION

W

hen I enrolled at The College of Digital Photography (CODP) a little over a month ago I had no idea I would come to love making photographs so much. I've always been into art and looking at or creating objects and images that made me feel something, but I never figured I would come to feel, the way I have, that photographers are artists.

(I didn't think I'd ever remember how to work my camera on manual either, working with aperture and shutter speed choices, but I think I'm getting the hang of it.)

by: Taryn Woodford

I wouldn't say I'm ready to go pro but I wouldn't say no to the idea either, of course that would require a great deal more learning and experience (and equipment – but that's another story entirely). I can honestly say I'd be knocking on CODP's door for help on my hypothetical journey to “pro-ship”. I was not bored in any one of the Fundamentals classes I attended (which is a big deal-maker/dealbreaker for me). The lecturers knew what they were teaching and they had fun teaching it; they weren't just standing there throwing textbook pages at us. I could tell that Hannah Paton and Sean Brady really love what they do (I have to give them a special mention – they are fantastic).

On more than one occasion they offered “after hours” support saying; “if you get stuck with your assignments, just call the college and someone will be here to help”. They shared tips they've learned from their private and professional careers as photographers but not once did I feel my work was being looked down on. The criticism was constructive and they often suggested ways in which we could improve the photograph in question. Personally (probably because I'm an artist at heart) I would

FEATURE

MENTAL RESOLUTION

have preferred a more direct and open crit of my photos but I also appreciate that in the Fundamentals class we probably weren't at that level yet – I'm quite aware I'm more than likely getting ahead of myself; which at the end of the day is another plus for these guys – they didn't squash our creativity or vision before we even got started.

Looking back on the short 5 weeks' duration of the course, I can't believe all they've managed to cram into my little head. I'm really impressed with myself (if you don't mind me saying so), and with the college and lecturers for what they've managed to achieve. There's a lot of information but they managed to balance theory and practical to a fine point where I've managed

FEATURE

MENTAL RESOLUTION to retain what I've learned. If I had 4 thumbs, they'd all be up!

That said, I've always been a fan of light; the colour of it and the way it seems to move on a breeze. But this course taught me the idea of painting with the light that falls around us every second of every day.

My eye isn't perfect yet but it has definitely been sharpened and I like what's happening because of it. In terms of creativity I'm a little closer to reconciling what I see in my head and what I see on my LCD screen after the shutter comes down.

Thanks for the opportunity guys. I'm a fan. [o]

Read more about fancyblithe’s adventures on photocomment’s website.

Go to http://photocomment.net, then click on MENTAL RESOLUTION in the top menu.

PROFESSIONAL EVENTS PORTFOLIO

WORLDWIDE PHOTOWALK COLETTE BAILLIE 2010

The 3rd Annual Worldwide Photowalk – organised by Scott Kelby – took place on the 24th of July 2010. PhotoComment took the time to attend the walk in Melville Johannesburg with walk leader Gerry van der Walt from Photo Africa.

With none of us here having attended any of the previous walks, this proved to be a great experience and it was evident that it was enjoyed by all.

We look forward to next years Worldwide Photowalk, in the mean time keep a look out for PhotoComment Photowalks happening in the future. [o]

www.worldwidephotowalk.com

READER’S PORTFOLIO

C

as is currently the top contributor at Camera Club (www.cameraclub.co.za), an online photography club open to all South African photographers. Cas’ photos have secured several good results in Camera Club’s open and theme competitions, and his photos are amongst the most downloaded from the Camera Club website.

Cas Pretorius is a practicing Advocate in Pietermaritzburg. He is married to Stella and they have four boys. Apart from photography, his interests include reading, road running, good food and wine.

CAS PRETORIUS Cas states that light, the first thing God created, is certainly what photography is all about. He describes photography as ‘the art of capturing light’. The photographer, with the aid of a lens, manipulates light to form the perfect image and captures it on any light-sensitive medium.

Although modern equipment goes a long way in assisting the photographer, opportunities are available to everyone, even with the most basic equipment. In the end it all comes down to one thing, namely what can you, as photographer do with the light around you.

Cas got started in photography when, in Grade 7,

Takkies - This photo won Camera Club's December 2009 open competition appeared on the Camera Club website on 1 January 2010. It was taken indoors, blocking out as much available light as possible, apart from the light streaming in through a window at the end of the passage. A tripod-mounted Nikon D70s at a very low angle was used and was exposed for about 3 minutes.

READER’S PORTFOLIO

CAS PRETORIUS

Jakals Trou met Wolf se Vrou - This photo was voted third overall in Camera Club's "Wet, Wet, Wet" photo competition and appeared on the Camera Club website on 17 July 2010. The title of this photo comes from an old Afrikaans saying meaning that it is raining whilst the sun is partially shining. Cas took the photo with a Nikon D70s and 50 mm lens at 1/125 sec, f/6.3.

Reader’s Portfolio Sponsored by:

READER’S PORTFOLIO

CAS PRETORIUS

6 String - This photo - another of Cas' favourites - appeared on the Camera Club website on 10 May 2007 and was taken with a tripod-mounted Nikon D70S.

he convinced his mother to let him use a Kodak Junior II camera (bellows type). Although it was already an old camera at the time, it had never been used and was still boxed. The camera had a maximum shutter speed of 1/50 sec and an aperture range of f6.3 to f32. The next year Cas joined his school’s camera club and used all his savings to buy a secondhand Pentax H2 (no light meter) and 2 lenses one of which was a 200mm which had a manual aperture, meaning that the lens was fitted with two aperture rings – one to set the aperture and the second to close it down after you have focused manually and before you took the shot.

Cas became involved in school sports

photography and still remembers how difficult it was to cover a rugby match - judging the exposure, focusing manually, closing the aperture ring, shooting, opening the aperture ring, advancing the film manually, and still managing to get a decent action photo! He used to spend days in the darkroom and sometimes still longs for the smell of those chemicals.

As photo subjects, Cas mainly shoots landscapes, abstracts and portraiture, although he has a fair amount of experience in wedding and commercial product photography. He has a keen interest in birds and wildlife, but (mostly due to ‘budgetary constraints’) has never got

READER’S PORTFOLIO

CAS PRETORIUS

Mercury's Mic - This photo - another of Cas' favourites - appeared on the Camera Club website on 18 November 2008.

It was taken at a live performance of the music of Queen with a handheld Nikon D70s and a 70mm lens at f4, 1/40 sec.

into that kind of photography, conceding that he probably doesn’t have the patience for it anyway!

Cas is always aware of the light conditions around him: whether it is flat & dull, cool, warm or soft; and he tries to ‘read’ the light by always trying to judge what an aperture reading should be, using 1/125 sec and ISO 100 as starting point.

Asked if he has any tips about photography, Cas replied that, in order to get a remarkable photo rather than just a good shot, when doing landscape or abstract work, it is important to use

your initiative to break the basic rules of photography. To succeed in this, you do need to know what the basics are. He feels that to work in manual, rather than the variety of auto settings found on modern cameras, teaches one how to ‘think light’ and comments that, in his view, the award for the worst invention in photography, would certainly have to go to the Auto/Program settings on modern cameras!

Cas finds inspiration from many photography masters and states that we all have a different way of viewing the things around us. As examples, consider Ansel Adams’ approach to composition and exposure, the surrealism of

READER’S PORTFOLIO

CAS PRETORIUS

Brug - This photo is one of Cas' favourites and appeared on the Camera Club website on 3 September 2009.

It shows the Karoo with a charm of its own! The pic was taken with a Nikon D70s, F9, 1/500 sec.

Fast! - This photo of Cas' son Eloff doing butterfly was taken at a school gala with a Nikon D70s, 1/4000 sec, F5 and appeared on the Camera Club website on 31 July 2009.

READER’S PORTFOLIO Chema Madoz and the simplicity in which David Goldblatt tells the story of life.

Cas owns a Nikon F, a Nikon F3 HP, a Nikon F90 and a Nikon D70s. Despite the advantages of the digital age, Cas still loves to work with film and therefore the F3 is definitely his favourite camera. He does, however, have his eye on a D700, stating jokingly that he hopes Santa subscribes to PhotoComment! The advantages

CAS PRETORIUS of the famous Nikon F mount, enable him to use almost all of his lenses (no matter how old) on any camera, film or digital. To supplement his cameras Cas has two Manfrotto’s, two Nikon Speedlights and a pair of Bowens Trilites.

Although not presently a member of a club other than cameraclub.co.za (blaming it on a lack of time), Cas feels that the benefits of membership to a local camera club can never be

Painting with Light - This photo was voted second overall in Camera Club's "Colour Burst" photo competition and appeared on the Camera Club website on 16 May 2009. The photo was taken with a Nikon D70s set to manual exposure for 3min 11sec at f18. The homemade studio was completely dark. With the shutter open, Cas "painted" the wine glass with different coloured lights.

Reader’s Portfolio Sponsored by:

READER’S PORTFOLIO

CAS PRETORIUS

Broken Window - This photo appeared on the Camera Club website on 10 June 2008 and was taken in a delapidated building in Pietermaritzburg using only available light and a tripod-mounted Nikon D70s with 28mm lens and a 5 sec exposure at f10.

Autumn Colours - This photo appeared on the Camera Club website on 16 June 2009 and was taken at about 4:30pm near Howick, KZN, with a Nikon D70s, 1/320 Sec, F9.

READER’S PORTFOLIO

CAS PRETORIUS

Laning - This photo appeared on the Camera Club website on 7 June 2010 and was taken in Howick, KZN, with a Nikon D70s at f8, 1/60 sec.

Late Afternoon Light - This photo appeared on the Camera Club website on 25 November 2009 and was taken on the beach at St Lucia when the late afternoon sun fell warm on the foreground. The photo was taken with a Nikon F3 using manual Exposure, f11, 1/60sec.

READER’S PORTFOLIO

CAS PRETORIUS underestimated, considering the vast amount of knowledge to be gained, the field trips and the competitions. Cas used to be a member of the Free State University Camera Club in his student days, where he was short of just one more Salon acceptance to have completed his 4 Star rating in the colour slides category. He often used to act as a judge during the club’s monthly club evenings where he sat with many external judges.

Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head... - This photo appeared on the Camera Club website on 18 May 2008 and was taken with a Nikon D70s and zoom lens set at 250mm in natural light on an overcast late afternoon.

C a s s a y s t h a t CameraClub.co.za offers him the convenience of staying involved in the photography community, taking part in competitions and interacting with other members whenever it suits him, no matter what time of day or night. He states that those who started and maintain Camera Club render an amazing opportunity and service to photography in South Africa. [o]

See more of Cas' pics at www.cameraclub.co.za/caspretorius Camera Club membership is free and all South Africans are welcome to enter the monthly and theme competitions. For more information, go to www.cameraclub.co.za Reader’s Portfolio Sponsored by:

PRODUCT REVIEW

W

e recently had the chance to play with the Nikon Coolpix S8000 which finds itself in a hotly contested portion of the market in South Africa, so how did it stack up against the competition?

Features Nikon have tried really hard to pack the Coolpix S8000 with features galore and compared to models past there is a lot on offer here. The 10x Optical Zoom with ED (Extra Low Dispersion) Glass is sharp and did not disappoint us. VR (Vibration Reduction) in this camera is done optically and I don’t think we had a single image with camera shake. Metering seemed to work well and the large 3 inch LCD screen was a pleasure.

NIKON S8000

The cherry on top for the S8000 is the HD Video mode which offers 720p HD video with stereo sound. My only reservation is that it may fall short where some of the competition is beginning to offer 1080 AVCHD video, but in its defence, many of those cameras are in the next price bracket up making the S8000 very attractive.

Perhaps the last thing to mention is that the camera offers 14.2 mega pixels from a CCD sensor which does not lack detail and in its class is a good performer though noise is a bit of a problem in lower light circumstances. One would like to see the Backlit CMOS sensor from the much bigger Coolpix P100 make it into the replacement model for the S8000 in the future.

PRODUCT REVIEW Handling When you first pick up the S8000 you notice that it is cold to the touch thanks to its metal finish. All the buttons seem to be well places and while it feels a tad slippery it is not uncomfortable to hold. That said, there are two areas that began to frustrate me a little the more I used the camera.

The S8000 is endowed with a rather large – and lovely – 3inch LCD screen. This screen takes up much of the back of the camera forcing you – if you are trying to hold the camera with two hands – to place a finger on top of the pop up flash. Now for some out there the question may be why use two hands? When you are at the maximum end of the 10x optical zoom, its always a good idea to add a little more stability.

The second frustration I found was that the camera we tested seemed to be a little slower on start up than I would like. Frequently I was pushing the shutter

NIKON S8000 button after powering the camera up and finding that is still was just not ready to shoot or zoom. Once the camera was ready to shoot it seldom hesitated holding true to Nikon’s claim that it offers quick response time.

Image Quality & Conclusion Overall the image quality from the S8000 was good and for a pocketable large zoom camera you will find it to be one of the best performers. Certainly in this price bracket you may find one camera with a wider angle on its 10x zoom but a plastic body, or better video but a higher price.

So here is the long and the short of it. In this price the S8000 offers great value for money. Look at what your circumstances require and then decide what to buy but don’t tick this off your list till you have tried it. [o]

& Image, ra e m a C ic Magazine? f h o p y ra p g o c to t o s h P te g la the Longest runnin Have you read South Africa’s e hop or read it th S ra e m a C r o ks Boo ow! l CNA, Exclusiveww.camera-image.co.za right n ca lo u yo t a y p w co ent at Get a print ad PhotoComm re u yo y a w e m sa

If you are unable to find a print copy of Camera & Image please let us know at tristan@commentmedia.co.za

Try Something New

I

f you have been following our blog recently, you will have read that I enrolled on a Studio Photography course with the College of Digital Photography. My reasoning was very simple, I have been involved in photography some way or another since I was in primary school. Despite this early rooting in photography, I had for some reason done very little work in a studio.

There was always something about studio that fascinated, yet overwhelmed me. The lights with their softboxes, snoot, honeycombs and features like variable power, packs, etc made me wonder how anyone every masters so many tools.

Looking back, I guess I forgot that the principle that was still consistent in all this was the light. Everything we do about photography comes back to that one point.

As digital cameras have reached the masses, the masses have aspired more and more to create images that before were out of their reach. A massive growth in affordable studio lights from the east has made the option of working in studio environments or rather with studio lighting more attainable as well.

Okay, I am starting to go off my point a little here, this is not meant to be an article about the recent history of studio photography, but I use it to illustrate this point. A few years ago, if you were buying an SLR camera it was so that you could take better pictures at the Kruger on you

Image By: Greg Wrench - from the Worldwide Photo Walk

2010