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! on w be to es iz pr of 0 0 1,0 £1 ion act Don’t forget to enter your best movement and

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ar shots into Amateur Photographer of the Ye

Motion special

PREMIUM EDITION JULY 2021

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● LANDSCAPES Capture motion in water and skies ● STAR TRAILS Long exposure astro rotations ● PLUS Dancers, traffic

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Expert tips and advice to master the art of capturing moving subjects

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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Richard Heathcote Action tips from the Sports Photographer of the Year

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Wildlife in action

Nikon Z 24mm f/1.8 Nikon’s fast, wide prime lens is a five-star performer

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As photographers, we spend our lives capturing frozen moments in time from a world that is in constant motion. Even the landscape is affected by moving clouds, water and the arc of the sun. How we choose to record this motion is a creative decision. Fast-moving subjects can be frozen in motion or allowed to leave a trail of blur to convey their speed and trajectory. There is no

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right or wrong, these are simply creative decisions, though certain subjects lend themselves to one approach or the other. For this week’s issue we’ve assembled a formidable team of top photographers from every genre to share their expertise on how to convey movement in a photo. So, whatever you like to shoot, you’ll find something here to inspire you. Don’t forget to enter your best motion photos into Amateur Photographer of the Year 2021. The details are on page 68. Nigel Atherton, Editor

This week’s cover image The stunning photo of a

If you’d like to see your words or pictures published in Amateur Photographer, here’s how:

In this issue

TREASURES FROM THE HULTON ARCHIVE

kingfisher gracing our cover was taken by Ben Hall. Read his wildlife action tips on page 14

3 7 days 14 Wildlife in action 22 Inbox 24 Photo stories 26 APOY Round 4 results: Landscapes 32 Behind the print 36 Motion tips 44 World in motion 50 Photo insight 52 Long-exposure landscapes 58 Trailing stars 62 Puppies en pointe 68 APOY Round 6: enter now 70 Reader portfolio 72 Sigma fp L 79 Nikkor Z 24mm f/1.8 S 82 Accessories 84 Ask the experts 86 Buying Guide: DSLR lenses 98 Final analysis

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Dolly, the first cloned sheepby Mathieu Polak

The 5th of July marks 25 years since the world’s named after the country singer Dolly Parton, notably most famous sheep, Dolly, was born. The first famous for her generous assets. Dolly (the sheep) mammal cloned from an adult somatic cell, she died shortly before her seventh birthday, from a made headlines around the world when her existence disease not considered to be related to her being a was announced a few months later in 1997 due to clone. Her legacy in scientific fields including stem the scientific advances she represented. Cloned from cell research, medicine and the potential to save the cell of a mammary gland, she was rather cheekily extinct species continues to this day.

The Getty Images Hulton Archive is one of the world’s great cultural resources. Tracing its origins to the founding of the London Stereoscopic Company in 1854, today it houses over 80 mil ion images spanning the birth of photography to the digital age. Explore it at www.gettyimages.com.

AP pi c ture of the week Our favourite photos posted by readers on our social media channels this week

Feather In The Sky by Jamie Simmons Canon EOS R, 17-40mm F4L, 1/60sec at f/11,

Vanguard tripod ‘Just as the lockdown was easing and we were all eager to go out for the first time in months we took our two-year-old up to the Peak District to witness what I thought might be an incredible sunset, after checking out the weather apps,’ recalls Jamie. ‘At the top of Higger Tor, we saw the most beautiful sunset I have seen in a very long time. After a few Lion King-style shots on the more prominent rocks, we came across this one, and I had an idea. It took about 30 to 40 attempts to get this particular shot, which was done entirely in camera using a remote release and continuous burst mode.

‘To achieve the sun flares we had to run backwards and forwards to check the shots, and readjust a few times, before the sun had set. The best images came at f/11 where the sun would flare due to the aperture blades inside the lens. As soon as the sun would hit parts of the image, i.e. my legs or a rock, you would achieve that particular scenario. I moved over slightly to make sure when I jumped up with my son, we would capture the flare as well as my boy in flight. We only had about ten minutes to shoot this before the sun was too low.’ Instagram @jsphotocollective.

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Challenger by Adrian Clarke Sony A9, Sony 200-600mm at

250mm, 1/13sec ‘I have a strong interest in wildlife and bird photography, but have little time to get out in “the wild” because of family responsibilities so I spent a lot of time developing my back garden into an outdoor studio,’ says Adrian, from Stafford.

‘This time of year is fantastic for one of my favourite species, starlings. The juvenile birds are all gaining confidence which inevitably leads to conflicts over food. It’s an entertaining dance watching them collide and rise into the air in a mass of feathers and screeches. To convey the sense of movement I used a slow shutter speed to blur the wings, and a Godox AD200 flash on a stroboscopic setting, to give multiple flashes during the exposure. I’ve found this adds to the “frantic” feel of a squabble. I use a black pop-up backdrop, otherwise the motion can be lost in the background.’

Instagram @adeclarke.

He’s Still Got It!

by Kin So Canon EOS R5, EF 70-200mm IS III USM at

200mm, 1/2500sec at f/5.6, ISO 2500 Kin So is a dog photographer based in Norfolk, and recent winner of the MPA Central Region Pet Photographer of the Year 2021. ‘This photograph of Bert was taken during a photo shoot at the Sandringham Estate. Bertie is a former gundog who had actually met Her Majesty the Queen before at Sandringham during a field trial competition. The moment he arrived at the grounds of the estate his gundog instincts all came back as if he was letting us know that he was ready to work again. I was delighted to capture this shot as he was retrieving his dummy, as his expression of joy just said it all.’ Kin is on Instagram: @solvitaphotography.

Want to see your pictures here? Share them with our Flickr, Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook communities using the hashtag #appicoftheweek. Or email your best shot to us at ap.ed@kelsey.co.uk. See page 3 for how to find us.

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New Scientist launches major competition Wex starts selling Leica

MAJOR retailer Wex Photo Video is now stocking more than 100 Leica cameras, lenses and accessories, including the SL2, M10, D-LUX 7, V-LUX 5, MP and CL line-up. The Leica range at Wex is set to expand further over the coming months.

Wex customers new to Leica can receive a free workshop with an in-store expert and to mark the launch, there’s a prize draw to win a pair of Leica Trinovid 8x20 BCA binoculars worth £379. You have till 30 July to enter. See wex.co.uk/leica-prize-draw.

LONG-established science magazine New Scientist has launched a major photography contest. It will celebrate images that illustrate how science and technology impact our lives and the world around us, with a top prize of £1,000. Anyone aged 18 or over can enter, and entry is free.

The competition has three categories: The Natural World, Modern Life and Our Changing Environment. For each category, the judges will shortlist four images, then a winner and a runner-up. Category winners will then go to a public vote to determine the overall victor.

All shortlisted entries will appear in a New

Scientist calendar for 2022 and will be published on the New Scientist website. The category-winning images will also be published in the print magazine. Entries close on 31 July. The judging panel includes naturalist and TV stalwart Chris Packham, and photographer Sue Flood. ‘I’m thrilled to be judging,’ she said. ‘What’s going to catch my eye? It could simply be an extraordinary capture of a very ordinary event. On the other hand, it could be an incredible event captured at just the right fraction of a second.’

For full details and to enter, see www. newscientist.com/photography-awards/2021.

The New Scientist photography contest is open for entries

Shutterstock gets a LIFE

STOCK agency Shutterstock has announced it is now exclusively selling images from the LIFE Picture Collection, with the collection forming part of Shutterstock’s editorial archive, The Vault.

‘The LIFE collection is one of the most significant photographic archives globally. It features over 800,000 of the most recognisable photos, magazine covers (including Princess Diana, Winston Churchill, and Marilyn Monroe) and historical moments,’ said the company. The two are working together to bring neverbefore-available images from the archive to market. See https://bit.ly/shutterlife.

One of the Marilyn Monroe images from the LIFE collection

Photos boost us more than meditating: survey PHOTO-printing specialist CEWE recently carried out a survey to mark World Wellbeing Week from June 21 to 30, and it reveals that looking back at photos has a more positive effect on mental well-being than exercise or meditating. The survey spoke to 2,000 CEWE customers across the UK; taking a bath ranked first (34%), followed by looking at photos (32%), exercise (25%), listening to podcasts (9%) and meditating (8%).

The survey also highlighted the range of positive emotions that looking back on photos can have. Participants said it makes them feel nostalgic (65%), happy (56%), relaxed (31%) and inspired (14%).

‘Photos have a magical quality that allows us to be transported back to our happiest memories,’ said CEWE’s Claire Moreton.

‘This instant feeling of positivity that we get from reminiscing impacts our well-being in such a beneficial way. It also helps us feel closer to loved ones and reminds us of those precious moments that we hold so close.’

CEWE says looking back at photos is beneficial

The company recommends making a photo book, creating a gallery wall using bigger prints and, of, course, keeping photos on your desk to boost the feel-good factor. www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

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Books & exhibitions The latest and best books and exhibitions The 16mm version of the lens can deliver unusual effects

Lensbaby reveals the Obscura CREATIVE lens specialist Lensbaby has announced the Obscura, which combines pinhole, soft focus and extreme bokeh effects into a single lens.

The lens comes in two versions – a 50mm optic designed for Lensbaby’s Optic Swap System, and a standalone 16mm pancake/body cap lens for mirrorless cameras.

The 50mm DSLR lens has f/32, f/64 and f/161 apertures to deliver the various effects, while the 16mm mirrorless lens has f/22, f/45 and f/90 apertures for the same end-results.

‘Pinhole photography taught me to see composition, contrast, leading lines and the shape of things in ways that

E E L I K G NEH ©

from the world of photography

led me to make some of my most powerful images,’ said Lensbaby’s Craig Strong. ‘We created the Obscura so that you could learn and grow while using a technologically advanced pinhole lens with options.’

All of the Obscura models are available for pre-order now. The Lenbaby Obscura 50 comes in Canon EF and Nikon F DSLR mounts for £249, while the Lensbaby Obscura 16 comes in versions for Canon RF, Sony E, Nikon Z, Fujifilm X, L-mount and Micro Four Thirds cameras, and is priced at £229. Meanwhile the Lensbaby Obscura Optic, which works with all Lensbaby Optic Swap products, costs £179.

Mono film launched – with graphic novel WITH demand for original and quirky film growing, Kosmo Foto has launched its second black & white film, Agent Shadow, via Kickstarter. Agent Shadow follows on from the brand’s 2017 debut release, Mono black & white film, and is a 35mm, ISO 400 film which can be pushed to at least ISO 3200 – making it ‘perfect for street, documentary, and travel photography’, according to the company.

That’s just the start, however. The film is being launched with a special collector’s briefcase box which also includes five rolls and a graphic novella – ‘The 36 Frames’ – featuring the enigmatic Agent Shadow character in ‘a desperate mission across a nighttime city’. The Agent Shadow film is being www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

Kosmo Foto’s film is boxed with a novella

offered exclusively via Kickstarter before Kosmo Foto makes it available to retailers later in the year, and the campaign runs until 20 July. The film will be available in sets of four rolls from £23, with briefcase box sets costing £45 (plus postage). See bit.ly/agentshadow.

Earthworks

Mall Galleries, The Mall, London SW1 6-11 July, 10am-5pm (closes at 1pm on final day). Free entry.

Contemporary landscape painter Lydia Bauman has travelled the world seeking out the vistas of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Morocco, Israel and the British Isles. Her son, photographer Karl Dudman, has also travelled widely across the landscapes of Canada, Iceland, Hawaii, Morocco and the USA to capture them with both film and digital cameras.

This exhibition charts the evolution of their respective techniques and ways of seeing in response to Earth’s natural beauty and diversity.

Both Karl’s and his mother’s work is minimalist, beautiful and abstract at times, leaving you with a wonderful impression of what it must be like to view the landscapes. For those interested in all forms of art, the show is worth a visit. Any sales made from the exhibit will help fund the planting of trees in aid of the National Trust Woodland Appeal.

The Auschwitz Photographer by Maurizio Onnis & Luca Crippa £14.99, Doubleday, hardback, 288 pages, ISBN: 9780857527165

This book is based on the compelling true story of Auschwitz prisoner Wilhelm Brasse, whose photographs exposed the atrocities of the Holocaust.

When Germany invaded Brasse’s native Poland in 1939, he was asked to swear allegiance to Hitler and join the Wehrmacht. After refusing he was deported to Auschwitz concentration camp as political prisoner number 3444. As a trained portrait photographer, he was under orders from the SS to record the camp’s inner workings.

Brasse captured some 50,000 photos of the horrors around him, because he had no choice. Eventually, he joined the camp’s Resistance movement and refused SS orders to destroy the photos when Soviet troops advanced on the camp.

By no means an easy read, it is still an important one. Look out for a feature on the book in AP soon.

11

From the archive Nigel Atherton looks back at past AP issues

Topics of the week include whether club The editor laments the current obsession membership should be compulsory with speed over more sedentary pursuits

3 July 1916

105 YEARS ago the editor was vexed by the obsession with movement, which he blamed on the inventions of the motor car, cinematograph and handheld camera.

‘It will be generally conceded that landscape camera work does not hold the same measure of interest or support that it did a decade or so ago,’ he lamented. ‘A landscape picture is, for the most part, of a peaceful, quiet and nonexciting character, appealing to a calm and contemplative frame of mind. But the advent of the motor close on the heels of the cyclist has abolished the walking tourist. The pedestrian had time to see and enjoy the scenery through which he was passing. But the man on wheels is only concerned to cover the maximum distance in the minimum time. The only thing he has eyes for is a possible police trap, or a bit of “on the straight” for a full-speed spin...

‘For landscape photography the slow-going, deliberative stand camera man has the advantage over the rush-about, snapshot hand-camera man. The latter tells us he has not time to hang around looking at “views”. What he is out for is something with “go” in it. One may wonder how far this present-day spirit of mental and bodily restlessness is the result of the cinematograph...

‘The moving picture series requires a lower type of mind than does the non-moving single picture. The latter makes an appeal to memory and to imagination – also often to the reasoning powers. The former appeals almost exclusively to the immediate vision.’

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The weekly critique of readers’ pictures included ‘The Fur Boa’ and ‘Happy Boyhood’

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Technique

Wildlife in action Photographing wildlife in action can be challenging, but with some patience and perseverance the results can be both dramatic and mesmerising. Ben Hall is your guide

A fast shutter speed was used to freeze the motion of this osprey as it dived for its prey. Timing was critical in order to see the eye through the moving wings

Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 300mm, 1/1000sec at f/4, ISO 2500

Ben Hall Ben Hall is one of the UK’s leading

wildlife photographers with many international awards to his name. His images are widely published throughout the world, he has co-authored two books and runs photography workshops in the UK and overseas.

Visit www.benhallphotography.com.

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Y

ou don’t have to travel to far-flung, exotic places, as opportunities for action photography are all around us – from birds in our back garden and your local park, to the sea cliffs up and down the coastline. As with any type of wildlife photography, researching and observing your subjects is paramount, and will www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

KIT LIST

Telephoto lens For most wildlife

subjects, a tele or tele-zoom lens will be needed, especially for wary subjects. For any fast-moving action, a lens with a large maximum aperture such as f/2.8 or f/4 will be useful, but it is by no means essential.

Beanbag For low-level subjects, a

beanbag is an excellent choice of support. It will offer a rock-solid platform for your lens whilst still allowing a good freedom of movement.

Tripod and gimbal head When using a tripod, a

gimbal head is a great way of supporting long telephoto lenses. A gimbal will take all of the weight out of the lens, whilst also allowing a smooth panning movement – which is perfect when you’re photographing birds in flight.

Portable hide When photographing

garden birds, unless you can shoot from an open window, a portable hide will be useful. You can alter the position of the hide easily to take advantage of different backgrounds and the changing light. ultimately help to get you into the right place at the right time. There are other important techniques, however, which will help you on your way to capturing spectacular action images of wildlife.

Birds in flight

Mastering the capture of birds in flight is difficult. Success demands plenty of www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

perseverance, not to mention the tolerance of many failures, but practice some simple techniques and you will soon find yourself taking successful action shots of flying birds. Ideally, you will need to shoot in relatively bright light, since this will allow you to use a fast shutter speed – which is paramount if you hope to freeze the movement of a fast-flying bird. However,

you should avoid harsh, midday sunlight, as the resulting images will be spoilt by harsh shadows and bleached highlights.

Shooting during the first and last hours of sunlight will give the best results, as the low sun will light up the underside of the bird, revealing important detail that would otherwise be lost in deep shadow.

Aim for a shutter speed of at least 15

Technique 1/1000sec and select the predictive auto focus setting. Expanding your focus points to a group is a handy way of increasing your margin for error when it comes to tracking your subject. You will lose some accuracy, however, so you may need to stop down to a smaller aperture to increase depth of field in case the focus point picks out the wing instead of the head. A good panning technique will result in a greater number of sharp images, and obtaining critical sharpness is perhaps the trickiest aspect of flight photography. The key to successful panning lies in smoothness and anticipation. To adopt the correct posture, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and tuck your elbows in to your side to increase stability. As your subject passes, swivel your upper body smoothly, matching the speed of the bird.

Wing position can make or break a shot, so fire a burst of frames using the high-speed drive mode to give you a sequence to choose from.

Courtship action/behaviour

Bright but soft light worked wonders here.

It provided enough speed to freeze the moving bullfinch and chaffinch but kept shadows at a minimum, which has helped to reveal plenty of detail

Canon EOS-1D X Mark II, 100-400mm, 1/1750sec at f/8, ISO 1600

Images that depict wildlife behaviour, such as a breeding pair of birds performing a courtship display, bonding, or passing food to each other connect with the viewer on an emotional level. They tell a story and offer a glimpse into the subject’s life cycle.

When tackling a project like this, you will need to be prepared to put some time in.

Researching and observing your subject’s behaviour will be the key to success. Pick somewhere local, ideally offering easy access, such as a city or country park. This will allow you to make numerous visits over a period of time. Start by simply observing potential subjects, noting

GARDEN BIRD FEEDING STATION

A FEEDING station for garden birds can be as simple as you wish and should be a relatively inexpensive project. The beauty of a set-up like this is you will have ultimate control over the positioning, the background and its orientation to the light. You could take advantage of both front lighting and backlighting opportunities by simply moving your shooting position. This easy step-by-step guide will help you to set up an effective feeding station in no time and therefore provide you with a steady influx of garden visitors that you can photograph all year round.

Set up a feeding station Offer a variety of bait A feeding pole will need to be fixed into the Try a variety of bait in your feeders such as ground. On this you can then hang one or more feeders. Make sure the background is distant enough to blow out of focus with a wide aperture.

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sunflower hearts, peanuts and fat balls. This should attract a variety of species to your garden, creating more opportunities for capturing action shots. www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

Before and aſter

THESE two images are from a similar sequence. My aim was to use a slow shutter speed and pan to capture the motion of this fallow deer as it sprinted across the bracken. This can be a very hit-and-miss technique, the success relying on both the choice of shutter speed and a smooth panning technique. The first image (left) was taken with a shutter speed that was too slow and has resulted in poor definition of the deer. In the second image (above), a better choice of shutter speed combined with the panning movement has created a motion blur effect in the background whilst still rendering detail in the subject. The position of the deer is also more effective, conveying a real sense of speed and energy.

Clamp a natural perch Clamp a natural

perch to the feeding pole to give the birds a place to sit before dropping down to feed.

Look for attractive perches covered in moss or lichen to add interest.

For authenticity, make sure the perches are in keeping with the birds’ natural habitat.

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

Invest in a hide

If you are not able to photograph from an open window you will need a hide from which to shoot. The advantage of using a hide is its flexibility. You will be able to move position at will, allowing you to experiment with a variety of backgrounds and lighting conditions.

Create your own backdrop

If you are struggling to find a natural background, a large canvas can be attached to a garden wall or shed to create a faux background. Choose muted colours such as greens and browns to keep your shots looking as natural as possible.

17

I photographed this heron bringing in nesting material during the first hour of sunlight. The low angle of the sun has created some subtle backlighting and wonderful background colours

Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 500mm, 1/60sec at f/4, ISO 320

down any patterns that you see.

Search out possible backgrounds and pay attention to how the light changes throughout the day. You should soon be able to visualise the type of images that might be possible. Being armed with as much information as possible will pay dividends in the long run. When photographing birds on water, such as displaying grebes or swans, shooting from a low angle will immediately create a more intimate feel. With the help of a large aperture, a low viewpoint will also make it easier to blow the background out of focus, separating your subject from any potential distractions. For ground- or water-level subjects, a beanbag is a great

shaking water from their wings can work well for this technique, their wing beats resembling brush strokes on canvas.

Dropping your shutter speed to over 1 second and intentionally moving the Action in motion camera during the exposure can result in Pin-sharp images of wildlife in action some interesting and abstract effects. There undoubtably hold arresting impact but are no rules here, so don’t be afraid to revealing the movement of your subject experiment with different shutter speeds using a slow shutter speed can be a great and camera movement. way of capturing a sense of motion and Abstract images connect with the energy. Pick an overcast day and select imagination, so your subject doesn’t even shutter priority to give you control over the have to be recognisable for the image to shutter speed. You will need to experiment work. A mammal in full sprint can look to find the best results for your chosen equally impressive, so why not visit your subject, but between 1/15 and 1/60sec is a local deer park to experiment with good place to start. Birds in flight or panning? By using a similar technique to

choice of support, and should allow you to get down low enough to include a foreground which will immediately create a sense of depth.

Why it works ▲

I USED a fast 300mm f/2.8 lens to capture this osprey as it dived for its prey. I selected an aperture of f/4 and shot from a very low angle to the water which has created a diffused foreground and background, helping the bird to ‘pop’ and eliminate any distracting elements from the frame. The light at the time was bright but overcast, so there is plenty of detail underneath the wings and no harsh shadows on the water.

Compositionally, I broke the usual rule and placed the bird to the left-hand side of the frame, so it is exiting the picture.

This would usually create an unbalanced feel to an image, especially with a moving subject, but my aim here was to show the impact on the water and include as much of the water droplets as I could, so in this instance it works.

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A very fast shutter speed was needed to freeze this kingfisher as it dived for its prey.

Small, fast-flying birds such as this will require at least 1/2500sec to ensure sharp focus

Canon EOS-1D X, 70-200mm, 1/4000sec at f/7.1, ISO 2000

Technique Ben’s top tips for capturing birds in flight 1 When panning, be sure to switch your image stabiliser to setting 2; this only corrects vertical movement and should help to speed up the auto focus.

Switch to predictive focus mode, because this will allow you to track your subject, keeping it in focus at all times.

When panning, expanding your focusing area will give you a greater margin for error when it comes to keeping your focus point on a moving target.

If the light is bright enough, try stopping your aperture down to f/8. This will increase depth of field, making focusing accuracy a little bit less critical.

Shooting in high-speed drive mode will allow you to fire a sequence of frames, giving you the best chance of capturing the optimum wing position.

When shooting birds against the sky, you will need to increase the exposure to prevent your subject from becoming a silhouette – unless that is your intention, of course. Up to two stops of positive exposure compensation should result in a nicely balanced exposure.

To compose in-camera, move your focusing points to one side of the frame: right if your subject is travelling left, and vice versa. This will leave space in front of the bird, creating an effective composition.

The histogram is a powerful tool.

Make a habit of checking it regularly to prevent under- or overexposure, especially when shooting in changing lighting conditions.

Using back button focus means that you can leave your focus set to predictive mode at all times. To lock focus, press and release the back button, to track a moving subject, simply hold your thumb down.

When attempting silhouetted flight shots, use spot meter and take your meter reading from a bright area of the sky. This will prevent any highlights from overexposing.

2 3 flight photography, but using a slower shutter speed, you should find it possible to create a motion blur effect in the background, whilst keeping the subject relatively sharp and distinct.

that, after some time, the birds will land on the perches momentarily before hopping down to the feeder. Action can be fastpaced at a feeding station, so look out for moments when the birds squabble over the food and be ready to fire at a moment’s Garden birds notice. You will need very fast shutter With a bit of preparation work, even your speeds to freeze the movement of small own back garden can become a haven for birds, at least 1/2000sec, so keep your wild birds, providing endless opportunities aperture wide and use a suitable ISO. To for action photography all year round. By capture flight shots, try pre-focusing on the placing a simple feeding pole in your perch using manual focus, and fire a burst garden, you should find it easy to attract a of shots as the bird takes off, or comes in to variety of subjects within range. For land. You may need to stop your aperture natural-looking shots, search for some down to increase depth of field but be attractive perches and use a spring clamp to careful with your shutter speed and attach these to the pole. You should find raise the ISO if necessary.

Capturing the behaviour of your subject will give a real insight into its life cycle. For this image, I sought out a shadowy background for these mute swans, to create drama

Canon EOS-1D X, 500mm, 1/3200sec at f/5, ISO 250

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LETTER OF THE WEEK

Stephanie Dubois

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www.kelsey.co.uk 22

Tribute: model Stephanie Dubois

Sel ler beware I was disturbed, but not

surprised, to read Tim Patrick’s letter in AP 22 May. Back in 2003 I bought various Leica items from a trader named Fieldgrass and Gale. I had no complaints about the service or the quality of what was supplied. Some time later I mentioned to a long-established and respected retailer that I had bought some items from Fieldgrass and Gale.

He told me that the news on the dealer network was A Samsung 64GB EVO Plus microSDXC with SD that Fieldgrass and Gale adapter Class 10 UHS-1 Grade U3 memory card supports 4K UHD. Offering R/W speeds of up to 100MB/s /20MB/s and had failed to pay various a 10-year limited warranty. www.samsung.com/uk/memory-cards. people for the items sent to it for sale, and the advice was to avoid any difference. In April last days, with no intention of dealings with them.

I’d like to thank the AP year I started a 365 stopping. There’s a fine Ultimately the company team for your regular project, using the Blipfoto balance between being behind that trader, run by articles on photography platform (www.blipfoto. inspired to take a new Peter Walnes, collapsed and well-being. com/Rock_Dr) as a photograph every day and into liquidation, leaving I’ve found that some source of inspiration and feeling obliged, when it the amounts owing to small changes in the way encouragement, enabling would become a burden, creditors outstanding.

I think about photography me to share my efforts. but it has worked for me. Looking back now at those have made a big I am now close to 400 I think (hope?) that my invoices, which were signed

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Thank you for publishing my letter about remote shooting (19 June).

I am very sad to have to record that Stephanie Dubois (whose photo you published) tragically died in May. I had the dubious privilege of being one of the last photographers to work with her, on our second remote shoot.

Stephanie was full of life and hope, and was enjoying her new house in Cyprus: during our last shoot she described her plans for the coming months. People have many misconceptions about models, and Stephanie confounded more of them than most. She was never in any way a victim of the male gaze, and was bracingly intellectual in her approach to work that many see as not requiring much thought. Every model has a life away from the camera, but I think that few have as broad a range of interests.

Stephanie worked hard at modelling, mentally and physically.

She knew that it is tiring to bend your body into the best shapes, but she never backed away from difficult poses, and I have wonderful results from half a dozen different occasions over a period of five years. One of the models who have no truck with

photography has improved and I now find pictures in the environment around me, rather than resenting other photographers’ fantastic locations and opportunities. Indeed, probably 80% of my pictures have come from the fields and hedgerows around my home, and I no longer feel the need to jump into the car and drive to ‘locations’.

I recognise that a 365 project isn’t for everyone, but a change can make a difference. I am still busy with a hectic and now virtual job but this small change has improved both my photography and my mental health. Please do keep covering this topic, and sharing the positive stories.

Dr Richard Eyers

Win!

glamour (despite being inherently glamorous herself), she excelled in portraits, fashion, and art nude. The world is a poorer place without her, and my thoughts and prayers are with her family.

John Duder We are very sorry to hear of Stephanie’s tragic death. She was well known and liked in the portrait and model photography community.

My365 project

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YOUR LETTERS

Mark shares that MINT is offering this TL70 for £329

by Peter Walnes, there was no suggestion on them that Fieldgrass and Gale was a limited company. Tim Patrick’s experience shows there is nothing to stop a person who has allowed a company to go into insolvent liquidation from setting up an unincorporated business dealing with the same type of goods. This serves as a reminder to everyone that you should know who you are dealing with when you are selling or buying photographic equipment.

John Clark Thanks to Tim’s letter we are now aware of over a dozen people who are owed money by Peter Walnes.

Selling used kit

I thought I’d share my recent experience with selling redundant kit.

I saw an ad in AP for a company who purchases used equipment (with whom I have no beef) and having emailed a list of my six lenses and Praktica and Canon EOS film camera bodies, I www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

was given a very reasonable quote, which I accepted.

The equipment was admittedly unused for some years, but stored carefully and looked to be in great condition, but two days later I got a phone call explaining, very apologetically, that the majority of the lenses had fungus in them, the shutter dampers on the camera bodies were perished, and they were generally ‘tired’ rendering them ‘inoperable’, so I ended up with only a quarter of the price that I had been quoted in the initial enquiry. So if you’re thinking of selling unused equipment, if it is in anything but reasonably new condition be prepared to be disappointed by the amount you may receive.

Roger Lush

MISomeNTtime Instantflex ago I was

trying to sell an old Polaroid camera (Image System E) and came across MINT Camera, which buys vintage Polaroid cameras that

it reconditions. But not this one, as it is no longer possible to get the film size. This has meant that I am now on the firm’s email list for potential sales of reconditioned Polaroid SX70 cameras and replicas, but MINT is also offering a new twin lens reflex camera which takes modern Instant films, for which it is also seeking sales outlets. It is a bit of a gimmick perhaps, but might be of interest to AP readers.

Mark Cummins For north of £300 I’d probably prefer a used Rolleiflex but it would be interesting to hear other readers’ views. Perhaps there is a big instant photography fanbase among our readers that we are not adequately serving.

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A place for older DSLRs

I agree with Sam Carroll, (Letter of the Week, 29 May) that there is still a place for older digital technology, in the same way as for those wishing to use film. But like those technologies, the Pentax *ist D and similar cameras of that era have disadvantages. I still use my *ist D, despite it taking a 1MB SD card and producing a low-resolution image. There are many instances when a digital image is required but the image size produced by more modern cameras is not. Shooting with any camera that has limitations forces the photographer to think before pressing the shutter and, if available for around £100, becomes an excellent way of seeing the way forward. When quality is important, then my K-1 II comes out but it’s also a heavier camera to carry around.

Bill Fisher

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23

Photo Stories

Slappy Snaps

Peter Dench talks to Belarusian photographer Anton Dotsenko, about his images of Russia’s increasinglypopularFace-Slapping contest

T

he head and face slapping comedy of Benny Hill is side-splittingly funny.

The Fast Show sketch The Long Big Punch Up, hilarious. Monty Python’s The Fish Slapping Dance, induces happy tears. There is nothing funny about Russia’s Siberian Power Show, Face-Slapping Championship. Any ocular water-works by the participants, a weakness.

The YouTube videos are wincingly compelling to watch, over 18 million views attributed to one. Like much information coming out from the other side of the former Iron Curtain, facts can be difficult to verify, often due to translation. From what I can fathom, there are no weight categories.

Mismatched Russians stand in various states of undress and take five turns to slap each other in the face across a narrow table. Only the upper part of the palm can be used to strike the cheek without touching the jaw, temple or ear of the opponent. Some barely flinch, others stagger backwards or crumple to the floor. Clouds of chalk puff from the palms of each slap, adding to the atmosphere. The crowd holler wildly or gape in disbelief. Medical assistants helped to revive at least five sportsmen with smelling salts. Evading the slap is a foul. If a competitor commits two fouls, he loses the match. If all slaps are completed, a judge decides who fared better and the winner proceeds to the next round.

‘Anyone who is willing to take part can do so, but the person must understand that it is not fun, it is fun on the one hand, but it carries a high risk to life, risk of getting injured. We explain it to everybody, we get everybody together to explain the rules, what can and cannot be done. There is at least one judge who is watching that the rules are followed, because people sometimes are cheating, deliberately breaking some rules, but this can lead to serious traumas with their opponent. Every person, by all means, should be aware that it is dangerous, that there is risk to life, so everyone signs an acknowledgement that he is aware of this,’ explains the competition organiser, Denis Kiyutsin, matter-of-factly.

Photographer Anton Dotsenko (from Belarus, not Russia or America as is often 24

reported), was in Siberia when he first saw face-slap footage in 2019. The raw emotion and drama struck him hard and he reached out to coordinate photographing at the following year’s event. ‘The organisers allowed me to be anywhere, it made the job much easier; when the organisers complicate the work of photographers with ridiculous restrictions, the quality of the final work suffers. Of course, the work of photographers should be regulated. It all took me about one hour but at the same time, I supervised a video recording, sometimes taking a video camera in my hands. It’s awful to try to take photos and videos in one event,’ says Anton.

The video has received over 14 million views.

Drawing attention

In 2020, Anton’s reportage, Bigorexia (an anxiety disorder where someone sees themselves as small despite being muscular), was shortlisted in the Professional, Sport category, at the Sony World Photography Awards. For the 2021 awards, his Russia’s Face Slapping reportage, achieved the same.

He previously competed in Bodybuilding but decided around ten years ago he could be more useful drawing attention to what he considers a noble sport and the wider world of strength sports, through his photography.

Anton’s Nikon and 70-200mm lens zoom close in on the face-slapping, his images the hue of a bruise. Was it uncomfortable to watch? ‘Yes. This is a very big ethical issue.

Especially considering that they continue to hold them, for the organisers this is a great opportunity to draw attention to other sports at the event. I felt responsible for the fact someone could be hurt, because the blow falls on the cheek next to the temple. But thank God there were no serious injuries. The maximum damage was scratched cheeks, outside and inside with a mouthguard.’

Has Anton any advice for entering the competition? ‘Yes – do not take part in the slap competition. It looks interesting, but it’s only a matter of time when someone will seriously suffer from this. Please take care of your health, it’s of true value!’ I meant did he have any advice for entering the Sony World Photography Awards but am glad it was not clear – this advice is far more prized.

Anton Dotsenko Anton Dotsenko is an

award-winning photographer from Belarus with an interest in covering the world of strength sports.

Clockwise from top: Contestants, media and medical staff at Russia’s Siberian Power Show, Face-Slapping Championship

25

In association with MPB

Amateur Photographer of the Year

Here are the top ten images uploaded to Photocrowd from Round Four, Landscapes, with comments by the AP team and our guest judge

Round Four Landscapes

1

From minimal, semi-abstract scenes, to classic mountainscapes and ethereal misty views, the capacity for creativity in landscape photography knows no bounds. This category is always one of our most popular, but this year was marked by slightly fewer entries than we’ve come to expect – perhaps it was the lockdown effect coming into play, with people not having had the chance to get out into the landscape as often during the past year. Despite this, the entries were as diverse and creative as we’ve come to expect from this round.

1 Daniel Newton Dubai 100pts

Nikon Z 7, 24-70mm at 29mm, 1/200sec at f/11, ISO 64 This was a unanimously recognised and well-received image, achieving placings and commendations from nine of the ten judges. A classic, bucolic landscape scene it most certainly is not, but that’s what makes it stand out. There’s an odd balance of bleakness and anticipation here.

Bleak, of course, thanks to the desolate sand dunes that flank the empty road, while the anticipation comes from the sense that the viewer is heading somewhere. We can’t help but be curious as to what might exist beyond the horizon. The interesting processing adds to the overall effect.

By desaturating and toning the image in the way he has, Daniel has enhanced the sense of otherworldliness. We could see this one as a book cover, and also hope he has a very big print of this hanging on his wall at home.

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2

APOY 2021 CAMERA CLUB HIGHEST SCORE

2 Tony Stringer UK 90pts

Nikon D7100, 18-300mm, 1/400sec at f/8, ISO 100 The S-curve of this sand dune is what the viewer’s eye goes straight towards, and Tony has done well to place it in the centre of the frame – especially as he was shooting from a moving vehicle. The windblown lines either side of the ‘S’ lead the eye up towards the dune’s peak, and the trees at its base give a sense of scale. Often, we see Namibia’s desert portrayed in colour, so the b&w conversion makes an interesting change. As the highest-scoring entrant from a photo society, Tony earns 90 points for A1 Camera Club Weston Super Mare.

3 Dave Smith UK 80pts

Canon EOS 550D, 75-300mm at 75mm, 1/800sec at f/10, ISO 800 What a shot, which transports the viewer right into the scene, making us feel as if we are on top of a mountain looking down upon the intrepid paragliders as they float over a mist-covered Lake Annecy.

Dave did well to compose so that the paragliders stand out against the softness of the lower part of the frame. Any higher, and they would have been lost against the shadows. He’s also adhered to the rule of thirds nicely, which works well here. Overall, an atmospheric and evocative capture.

3 www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

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APOY 2021

4

4 Angela Lambourn UK 70pts

Samsung NX10, 18-55mm at 18mm, 1/160sec at f/13, ISO 200 So much of landscape photography is about achieving balance, and this is what Angela has excelled at with her almost ghostly image. The reflections play an important part, of course, but the repetition of the shapes of the mountains on the left are equally crucial, leading the eye across to the larger peaks on the right. The soft ripples in the foreground water add texture and depth, while the clouds at the top ensure the eye doesn’t simply head out of the frame.

5 Nick Bodle UK 60pts

Fujifilm X-E2, 55-200mm at 57.8mm, 1/90sec at f/11, ISO 640 Who doesn’t dream of a scene such as this when they head to the Lake District? Mist rising from the water cries out to be photographed, and Nick has carefully controlled the composition, which the mist has rendered minimal. Placing the stand of trees in the bottom right of the frame gives everything an ‘anchor’, leading the eye there first, and allowing us to take in the softer lines of the trees on the left afterwards.

The duck, which was introduced in postproduction, has been handled well, too.

6 Roger Newark UK 50pts

DJI Mavic 2 Pro, 28mm, 1/100sec at f/4, ISO 100 An excellent drone shot, which has allowed Roger to produce an image that’s all about lines in the landscape. The ‘X’ is, of course, the first thing we see, along with the steam from the passing train, but beyond these elements, the lines created by the lateafternoon shadows, the ‘ditto’ marks within the viaduct’s arches and the painted lines on the road that runs beneath them all play an important role. Finally, converting the image to black & white serves to emphasise its graphic qualities.

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IN ASSOCIATION WITH

ROUND TWO WINNER, YOUNG APOY

Winning kit from MPB The gear our winners used can be found at MPB

Jack Giam Australia 100pts

Canon EOS 750D, 16-35mm at 16mm, 30sec at f/5.6, ISO 200 The contrast between the bright orange of the traffic trails and the navy of the sky and water is what immediately catches the eye here. Jack has composed his shot very nicely, with the line of the road starting in the bottom right corner, then curving round and out of sight, leaving the viewer wondering where it leads. In the right kind of daylight, this would have been a pleasing enough image, but taking the initiative to shoot it at night is what elevates it, and makes it a worthy winner.

6 www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

The striking third-placed shot of paragliders over Lake Annecy, against a mountainous backdrop, by Dave Smith, was taken using a Canon EOS 550D. This DSLR was launched in 2010, and demonstrates that eye-catching images don’t have to be shot using expensive kit. In fact, this entry-level 18MP APS-C camera body can be picked up at MPB, in excellent condition, for a mere £164.

Taking fifth place, Nick Bodle used a Fujifilm X-E2 for his glorious image of Grasmere in the mist. A hugely popular 16MP interchangeable-lens mirrorless model, it gives superb image quality and has the lovely, classic layout that we’ve come to associate with the Fujifilm brand. This camera is available at MPB in excellent condition for £229.

In ninth place, Luke Moseley shot his guest-judge-favourite image using a Sony A7R. A full-frame 36.4MP mirrorless camera, it is small and light, but solidly built, and produces superb raw files – ideal for landscape photography. Find one in excellent condition at MPB for £629.

To browse the extensive range of stock at MPB, visit www.mpb.com

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8 Doug Richardson UK 40pts

7 Josip Miskovic Italy 45pts

7

Canon EOS 80D, 15-85mm at 15mm, 1/50sec at f/14, ISO 100 There’s a bleakness to this scene that is very compelling, and it caught the attention of several of our judges, as it has a documentary feel about it, as opposed to being a classic landscape. When you learn it was shot in central Bosnia during winter, the image cannot help but take on a symbolism that links it to the Balkan War of the 1990s.

The muted tones emphasise the sense of desolation, as does the blank, almost featureless sky. Composing with the horizon line halfway down the frame goes against the classic rules of landscape, but works well.

Nikon D800E, 24-70mm at 24mm, 8sec at f/10, ISO 100 Bow Fiddle Rock, off the coast of Moray in Scotland, is a popular spot with landscape photographers. This image stands out for a number of reasons.

Firstly, it’s a strong composition, with the foreground rocks leading the eye towards the main subject; then there’s just the right amount of movement in the water, so the detail isn’t completely lost.

Finally, the processing is clever without being overdone, giving the overall image a dark, foreboding atmosphere.

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9 Luke Moseley UK 35pts Sony A7R, 35mm, 2sec at f/8, ISO 100

Guest judge Jeremy Walker says: ‘An elegantly simple shot which

has been executed well. It’s full of mood and atmosphere, and screams autumn. The quality of light is superb, while the golden colours and tones are perfect without being over the top. Although long exposures of flowing water are two-a-penny, the blur and motion of the water is just right, without the waterfalls dominating the image.

‘The image works for me without any obvious adherence to the oft-stated “rules of composition”. In fact, the image breaks many of the so-called rules, which is refreshing to see.

‘Post-production work looks as if it has been kept to a minimum, although I’m sure a few tweaks have been made here and there – and why not? We have the tools to work with, but their use should be subtle. On a personal note, I might have been tempted to take out the railings in the top right of the image, but this is just personal taste, not criticism.

‘This is a beautiful, well-observed and simple photograph of autumn colour.’

To see more images from APOY Round Four and Young APOY, visit amateurphotographer.co.uk/APOY2021 30

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

The 2021 leaderboards Barring Daniel Newton jumping into

joint fifth place, thanks to his winning image, there is little change at the top of the main leaderboard following the latest round. Lucy Monckton and Muhammad Hossain are continuing to battle it out at the top of Young APOY, but with five rounds still to go, a lot could yet change. With five photographers shortlisted (including Nick Bodle, in fifth place), Launceston Camera Club has gone straight to the top of the camera club leaderboard.

10

10 Christine Johnson UK 30pts

Nikon D750, 24-120mm at 52mm, 1/100sec at f/10, ISO 100 There’s a fabulous sense of place about this photograph. We feel as if we are standing next to the photographer, looking at the scene as she releases the shutter. It’s very much an image of two halves, with the top being all about the dramatic, steel-blue clouds and tantalising distant mountain skyline. The bottom couldn’t be more of a contrast, with the verdant, rolling hills all lush and green. The subtle heart shape, created by a break in the cloud, anchors the centre of the composition. All in all, a very pleasing image.

CAMERA CLUB COMPETITION

APOY

1 2= 2= 4 5= 5= 5= 8= 8= 8= 8= 8= 8= 8=

Pete Baker Jayne Bond Tuule Müürsepp Ian Bramham Daniel Newton Dave Smith Emma Phipps Angela Lambourn Tony Stringer Jim Cumming June Fox Juraj Bencik Ron Tear Simon Tipping

YOUNG APOY

1 2 3 4 5= 5= 5= 5=

Chris Robbins UK 10pts

Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 100-400mm at 200mm, 1/250sec at f/11, ISO 320 As regular entrants to APOY will know, this year you can accumulate points for your camera club by selecting it from the dropdown menu when you upload your images. Whatever points your image is awarded, your camera club is awarded too. Chris Robbins is one of several members of Launceston Camera Club to have received 10 www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

Lucy Monckton Muhammad Hossain Jake Kneale Hugo Begg Benjamin Tiso Jack Giam Katy Read Shubhodeep Roy

CAMERA CLUBS

points for his Commended image, above, in this round, while another member, Nick Bodle, was awarded 60 points for his fifth-placed shot. This approach, of getting as many members as possible to enter, has paid dividends, with Launceston Camera Club rocketing from joint sixth last round to the top of the leaderboard this round. Other camera clubs, take note!

Launceston Camera Club Royston PS Loughton Camera Club Weston-Super-Mare: A1 Camera Club 5= Carluke Camera Club 5= Truro Camera Club 1 2 3= 3=

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Technique

Mark Gilligan Mark Gilligan is a professional photographer

based in the north-west of England. A LEE Filters Master and a winner of the #OMGB in the LPOTY, he is a Fellow of the BIPP. Visit www.wastwaterphotography.co.uk.

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The slight dragging in the sky gave a dappled effect which will balance with the tallest tree

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I won’t crop this. I like the composition as it was taken using my Fujifilm XF 10-24mm

print Behind the Mark Gilligan reveals how he converted this scene to mono and prepared it for printing

I am sure that like me, you visit locations which look promising but due to the conditions, they don’t deliver. So, we put them in our memory bank for ‘the right time’. I have been going to Snowdonia for work and my own personal photography trips for over 45 years now and love Cwm Idwal in the Ogwen Valley. As you walk up to the Cwm, you cross a bridge where Afon Idwal tumbles out of Llyn Idwal. Over the years I have taken the odd snap but not the one I wanted so I kept returning. Normally, there is a breeze causing movement in the tree, which I personally wouldn’t want in the image that I have in mind. However, on this day, it was flat, overcast and windless. I found the composition I liked, and slotted in the LEE Little Stopper and 0.6 medium grad as ‘that time’ had arrived.

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To preserve highlights in the Maintain the flow water, the rocks are and power of the recorded darker. I will use the water without overcooking shadow slider to lift shadows the highlights

PREPARING FOR PRINTING

correction 1ThisLens is a primary move when using LR

software. To ensure that it has recognised your lens, tick the Enable Profile and Remove Chromatic Aberration boxes. You will see the image pop open especially if you have used a wideangle lens.

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curve 2WeTone 3 Basic adjustments all have our own way of working and as It is important that the rocks are defined my LR is already set up with Lens Correction applied, my initial aim is to obtain the best ‘S’ curve I can in the Tone Curve. For this, I simply adjust the Lights and Darks. I don’t usually touch Shadows or Highlights here.

using the shadow slider. They need to complement the silky feel of the water which is now in check using the highlights slider. I checked for sharpness as I took the image. www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Mark’s top tips

1 Dust spots

No matter what you do, dust will invariably sneak on to the sensor! I go through the image with a fine-tooth comb and remove any using the clone or heal tool in LR, depending upon which is more appropriate.

2 Calibration

My screen is calibrated on a regular basis as it is important to be faithful to your image. Whilst this is a b&w photograph, I don’t want any stray colours getting into the mix giving it a slight tinge.

3 Sharpness

I am sure you will have checked the image for sharpness as soon as you took it but really scrutinise for any softness or imperfections – because the larger you print, the more these will show up. I always apply sharpening as my final process.

4 Time

I take my time when getting the image ready to print. I never rush this because I find that it helps to do what you think is right, then take a break from it. For me, I find that returning to it later can be beneficial.

5 Paper choice

Different papers can change the look and feel of your image. It helps to be aware of the effects they have. A client will generally ask, ‘what do you think?’ and you need to establish how it will be presented.

WhiteWall recommends 4I tookB&W conversion this in raw using the Fujifilm Provia

simulation. However, the conditions – flat and overcast – meant it would be presented much better as a b&w photo. I either use the Silver Efex Pro plug-in or in this case, I simply converted and tweaked in LR. www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

‘For this beautiful black & white photo, I recommend our passepartout in natural white. Our passe-partouts are made from the finest, non-acidic, fade-resistant museum cardboard and for this picture I chose the medium size of the passepartout. The solid wood frame Hamburg in black oak and a glossy float glass set off the motif very well. Our Ilford black & white paper with its brilliant whites and rich black tones turns the photo into an absolute eye-catcher.’ Jan-Ole Schmidt, Product Manager, WhiteWall.com

How to

capture Mini Guide movement Landscape

32 pages of advice and tipson photographing moving subjects to pull out and keep

From running water to star trails: all you need to know

Sport

Top sports shooter Richard Heathcote shares his tips

People

From kids to street shots to dancers and their dogs

Low light Traffic trails, kaleidoscopic light painting and more

PLUS

Ernst Haas

The story behind his iconic bull-fighting shot

In motion Technique

Controlling motion is as much a part of photography as capturing light, whether freezing action for that decisive moment or deliberately stretching time to convey speed. Caroline Schmidt speaks to experts for their insights and inspiration

Portraits

Capturing children Children aren’t best known for staying still for

long, following instructions nor giving genuine smiles to the camera on cue but, so long as you have this expectation, you’ll have the Caroline Schmidt patience to capture great portraits. Children An experienced family and are meant to be free and playful, and when children’s photographer, they’re enjoying themselves the pictureCaroline’s portraits and comes thick and fast – you just have expertise is regularly published potential be ready to capture it. Having a good online and in magazines as well tocamera fast and accurate autofocus, as shared during photography such as with the Nikon D750 and Sony A7R III, workshops. will dramatically increase your chances of www.carolineannphotography.co.uk, isolating those perfect expressions – the Instagram: @carolineannphotography. smallest of lags between pressing the shutter and the frame firing can result in a miss. Use continuous focusing mode so that the camera detects the subject’s movements and refocuses accordingly to keep the subject

Jordan Butters A professional automotive

photographer and dog owner, Jordan specialises in creating dynamic and energetic images in the automotive sector but enjoys photographing his own and other people’s canine friends. www.jordanbutters.co.uk, Instagram: @ jordanbutters, Twitter: @jordanbutters.

Puppy love

Dogs make for great subjects – they’re animated, easily bribed into position and when they’re in motion, with gums and ears flapping, they’re the ideal subject for showing off movement.

There are two ways to approach capturing dogs. You can use aperture-priority mode to select your widest aperture, which will ensure that you get the fastest-possible shutter speed for the correct exposure. Or use shutter-priority mode and choose a fast shutter speed. If you choose the latter, keep an eye on the aperture readout – if it’s flashing it means that your aperture can’t go wide enough to expose the image correctly.

Matching your ISO to the light you’re shooting 36

in will help achieve the right exposure, too.

Bumping up the ISO higher can help you to reach those fast shutter speeds needed to freeze the moment. A shutter speed of 1/320sec or faster should be quick enough to freeze the speediest pups.

Choose a long lens and get down low for that eye-level perspective. Select continuous burst shooting mode and use continuous autofocus so the camera adjusts the focus

sharp. Combining this with back-button focus will give you more control over your focusing, too, and continuous burst mode will increase your chances of getting ‘the’ shot between acts of chaos. For your shutter speed, it’s best not to drop below 1/250sec-1/320sec so this may mean increasing your ISO to accommodate a smaller aperture like f/5.6; as the dog gets closer. Then ask someone to hold the dog in place while you tempt them with a treat and move a good distance away.

Then, on your command, they release the dog and step out of the frame as you call it towards you. Fire off as many frames as you can, placing your focus point/s on the dog’s eyes. Just remember to put the camera down and prepare for landing before the pup gets too close – there’s nothing more painful!

having more depth of field will give you more image space for a child to move in without falling out of focus. Ultimately, however, once you’ve mastered your techniques you can aim to shoot at wider apertures like f/1.4-f/2.5, whilst retaining focus on their eyes, for a beautiful balance of sharpness and blur that helps produce a better portrait.

Sports Whether it’s photographing a children’s

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

up, you can try to predict their expressions and when you should start to fire your shutter.

Don’t wait until you see the perfect portrait because that will be too late; begin firing frames when you think it’s on its way and don’t stop shooting until the moment passes completely, and somewhere in the middle you capture the unexpected.

away with a shutter speed like 1/125sec. To get high speeds when ambient light is low often means shooting wide open with high ISOs. The shallow depth of field means that focus needs to be very precise, so set continuous autofocus (or your camera’s equivalent) to track your subjects and a high burst rate so you can take multiple frames per second. Explore back-button focusing too in order to help keep your main subject sharp,

even if other subjects in the frame interrupt the camera’s autofocus. You could also consider using off-camera flash, when appropriate, as this will provide equivalent shutter speeds far faster than anything your camera is capable of (see high-speed flash on page 39) and explore flash settings such as slow-sync mode that will allow you to drag the shutter to record movement whilst the flash freezes your subject.

Y T T EG - M E E Y E / S A M O H T Y R R A B ©

five-a-side football match or a Premiership game, splashing in the pool or competitive swimmers, most of the time you want to stop movement in its tracks. It relies on good timing, accurate focusing and very fast shutter speeds. A great sports shot shows a subject at the peak of its action, like a sprinter crossing the finishing line, a dancer at the top of a move, or a diver finger-tip distance from the water’s surface. As well as camera skills, you need to understand the subject’s behaviour so you can predict when that peak will be and the best viewpoint from which to capture it from. All the factors have to work in unison and a split-second delay can make all the difference between getting a great image or not. Use aperture-priority or shutter-priority mode, and assess the speed of the sport. Start at 1/250sec, which is the average speed for children running, and increase as deemed necessary – a fastpaced football game needs at least 1/500sec but 1/1000sec isn’t unheard of if light levels allow. For slower movements, or if you want to introduce blur to convey a sense of motion (see panning), you can get

Aside from the technicalities of photographing children, a lot of your best portraits come from controlling the chaos.

Children love to play so encourage that by initiating games, but ensure it’s in an area with a clutter-free background and good lighting so that you can focus your attention on them. By setting the portraits

Technique Still life Catharine Lowe Award-winning food photographer, Hampshire-

based Catharine shoots regularly for restaurants, magazines, events and food companies. Cath is a winner of Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year, Portraits, 2021. See more at www.cathlowe.com, @cathlowephoto.

Fantastic food

Sieving, stirring and sprinkling are a few of the actions you can expect to capture when endeavouring to use motion to make food still-life images more dynamic. Alongside your choice of light, shutter speed plays a key role. Do you want the movement of a whisk in a bowl to be blurred or crisp?

Every scenario is different, every liquid or particle moves at different speeds so there’s no set suggested shutter speed. You need to consider how fast your subject is moving, how much motion you want to show and then experiment with various shutter speeds.

To achieve a fast shutter speed, whilst maintaining a mid-to-small aperture for sufficient depth of field, you will need a lot of light. It could come from a bright, close-by window bounced off a white card for extra diffusion; or use flash and its high-speed sync mode so you can shoot faster than your camera’s sync speed (typically 1/160sec1/200sec). Increasing your ISO can help, too. A tripod and remote shutter release are also essential so you can create the action whilst still firing the shutter. For handsfree shooting use the camera’s self-timer mode. Use continuous shooting mode to increase your chances of capturing a great image, but shoot a scene-setter before you take an action shot. Getting an unspoilt image of the set-up before you introduce any mess will be invaluable as you can use it to clean up images in post-production.

Pouring

Once you’ve shot a scene-setter, try taking an image with the pouring vessel empty so that you can see where best to hold it for the final picture. Take a number of shots pouring onto your subjects in a few places to give yourself choice. Ensure the vessel is turned towards the light so the liquid is nicely lit. This image of pouring rhubarb liquid was taken using daylight and at 1/45sec as I wanted some blur to show the liquid was moving.

Splash

When preparing a big splash, ensure that no flying liquid can hit electronic equipment or that no props can be damaged by spilt liquid. For a big splash, fill your glass to the brim so the liquid can escape easily. Coins make dramatic splashes when dropped but can look odd in transparent liquid so I often blend a shot of clear liquid with another image with a great splash (but with about 20 coins within).

Sieving Flour and icing sugar can look beautiful when sieved and swirled from side to

side at different speeds. Try tapping the side of the sieve rather than moving across for lovely movement and make sure you choose a contrasting background so that white swirls show up, ensure your hands are presentable and your clothing doesn’t distract from the scene. I used flash here and experimented until I got a mixture of blur and sharpness to give a real sense of movement.

Richard Webb A photography enthusiast and

full-time air traffic controller from Hampshire, Richard spends any free time he has that’s not with his family shooting spectacular water motion photography. He constantly develops creative ways to capture the beauty of water in a blink of an eye. @rich.rwphotography.

High-speed water still-life I have a love affair with water. I spend my

time looking for things I can put in my dunk tank and new ways to create splashes or drops. Whilst you can shoot water droplets with no more than natural light, a hole in a plastic bag and a shutter speed of 1/500sec or faster, it’s imprecise and time-consuming.

For me, speedlights and a splash water drop kit revolutionised the quality of my work and the success of my images, allowing me to become more creative and look for objects to use such as creating a droplet within a bubble or a bottle.

The drop kit syncs my camera and flash for when the droplet impacts the water’s surface, almost guaranteeing sharp and impactful shots. Without it, the process is very hit-and-miss as you have to predict the moment of impact and fire a remote release in unison. Using flash gives me an equivalent shutter speed far quicker than a camera is capable of without compromising on depth of field through using a wide aperture and a high ISO to achieve a shutter speed fast

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enough to freeze imprecise action.

I always set my lens to a mid-aperture, like f/8 to f/11, and my camera’s flash sync speed of 1/160sec; the flash is what freezes the action whilst the shutter speed captures the ambient light. I almost always use 1/64 power on my flash, sometimes increasing it to 1/16 power if I’m bouncing it off a white surface behind the set-up. Backlighting is nearly always the most effective way to light water splashes and glass as you avoid reflections, glare and unsightly highlights. It’s

one reason why I only use water or coffee; milk, not being transparent, needs to be lit from the front too to avoid them becoming silhouetted and creates glare spots.

The beauty of high-speed water still-life shots is that the set-ups do not need to be big; I do all mine in my garage studio, often in a space the size of a sheet of A3 paper.

Instead of a macro lens, I prefer the flexibility and greater depth of field of an 18-135mm lens and use a humble Canon EOS 80D – creating great images needn’t be expensive.

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Technique CAPTURING MOVEMENT Street

Helen Trust

An award-winning amateur photographer, Helen has a passion for architectural photography that takes her around the world. She is an ambassador for Formatt-Hitech filters with a penchant for long exposures and minimalism. Instagram @Helen_ Trust, helentrustphotography.com.

Jordan Butters A professional automotive photographer, based in

People in motion When photographing cities, I’m always negotiating people

– sometimes including them helps to bring context and scale, other times using a long exposure rids the scene of movement to focus on the architecture. When shooting indoors, tripods aren’t often allowed but to blur or eliminate moving people you do need some support during a long exposure. Banisters, walls and discreet Joby tripods can work well, but it helps to find a viewpoint that doesn’t have any heavy traffic.

In the Oculus New York, its white walls and fluorescent lights make it very bright so I found I had to stop all the way to f/22 at ISO 100 to get a long enough shutter speed.

I often begin with a sharp shot and then adjust the shutter speed until the people blur but retain some structure. The exposure depends on how fast they’re moving. Generally, anything longer than half a second will introduce movement. To vacate a busy scene, you need a shutter speed of at least four to ten seconds to avoid any ghosting stragglers. Photographing a flow of people leaving a train in one direction, for instance, is easier than having walkers coming from different directions at different speeds as it’s likely at least one or two people will be rendered as ghosts in the exposure – though that’s not always a bad thing.

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Panning

Northamptonshire, Jordan specialises in creating dynamic and energetic images in the automotive sector. He works for a mixture of commercial and editorial clients across the globe. www.jordanbutters.co.uk, Instagram: @jordanbutters, Twitter: @jordanbutters.

From capturing split-second moments using a fast shutter speed to bolting cameras onto cars to capture motion around your subject, there are a lot of creative possibilities you can explore when photographing moving cars, but the best one to begin with is panning.

The technique – usually carried out in shutter-priority mode – has you tracking the passing subject with your camera, keeping it in the same place within your viewfinder, whilst triggering a continuous burst of images. It’s a technique that can be honed from the spectator areas at a racetrack, but photographing any passing car (or cyclist) is good practice.

Whilst perfecting your panning motion is important, choosing the right shutter speed is equally importrtant and there are variables you’ll need to consider, namely the speed and direction in which the car is travelling in relation to where you stand. Cars moving parallel to the camera are the easiest to capture: set your camera to shutter-priority mode and choose single-point, continuous autofocus, as well as continuous burst mode.

Begin by picking a ‘safe’ shutter speed roughly three-to-four times the

speed the car is passing you. For example, on a 40mph road, choose 1/125sec; for a car passing at 60mph choose 1/200sec. As the car approaches, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and lock your elbows tightly into your sides. Look through the viewfinder, place your focus point onto the car, and rotate only your torso at the hips as the car passes, whilst firing off as many shots as you can until the car has passed completely.

At these ‘safe’ shutter speeds there will probably be some motion in the car’s wheels, but not much in the background. Once you start seeing consistent results, start stopping the shutter speed down. Once you get to a 1:1 correlation between the car’s speed and shutter speed (i.e.

1/40sec at 40mph) you’ll notice a lot more background movement, and with enough practice, slower speeds such as 1/10sec on a car passing at 100mph becomes entirely doable!

If the car approaches or moves away from you at an angle, slow shutter speeds become increasingly difficult as the distance between you and the car is always changing.

Panning is a technique that requires technical skill, the right physical movement and a pinch of luck. www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

Jason D Page A light painter, Jason’s

Camera painting

Kinetic light painting, otherwise known as camera painting, is when the camera rotates work focuses on using a a wild kaleidoscopic design of light camera as an instrument for toovercreate a static scene. To be able to rotate the recording light rather than camera 360°, you need a Panoramic Tripod a tool for documentation.

Gimbal and a hotshoe-mounted spirit level to He’s the founder of see the degree of rotation. What’s fantastic LightPaintingPhotography.com, an educational about this technique is that it can produce resource for all things light painting, and is the amazing images from the most mundane inventor of the light painting tool system, Light so long as there’s a lot of ambient Painting Brushes. www.lightpaintingbrushes.com, scenes such as bright buildings and neon signs. www.instagram.com/jasondpage_lightpainter, light It’s important to triple-check your camera is www.facebook.com/jasondpage, securely attached to the gimbal before turning www.youtube.com/user/LightPaintingPhoto. it upside down, then find your centre axis rotation point. It’s easy to do in live view with

the grid active, then slowly rotate the camera to make sure the point stays in the centre throughout the 360° rotation. For your exposure, find a baseline for the scene and start there. For instance, if it’s a night scene it might require f/8 at three seconds (ISO 100), in which case you switch to Bulb mode and only remove the lens cap for three seconds at a time. Start the exposure with the lens cap on so the sensor cannot record any light and stop the exposure by replacing the cap. For an intricate design, you could stop every 45° to remove the lens cap for three seconds before replacing it and rotating the camera another 45° before repeating the process for a full 360°.

Traffic trails

T S U R T NELEH ©

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

At night, cities can have so much energy and atmosphere, which traffic trails do well to capture. For mesmerising, continuous streaks of light created by passing head or tail lights, position yourself with a wideangle lens and a tripod by the side of a road (remember to wear reflective clothing)! A wideangle lens will exaggerate the streaks closest to the camera as well as include background detail. If there’s a lot of sky in your image, aim to shoot into twilight so the sky is still blue against the city’s lights. To calculate your exposure time, count how long it takes for a vehicle to pass through your frame to ensure the trails don’t start or end abruptly in the frame. Use shutter-priority or manual mode and a small aperture of f/8-f/11 to extend depth of field to the background; Depending on the speed of the traffic, you’ll probably find that between five and 30 seconds works well.

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Technique Landscapes

Helen Dixon

Cornwall-based landscape photographer Helen is a self-taught professional and widely published in magazines and newspapers. Her work is used for calendars, greeting cards, brochures and can be found on the walls of many corporate clients and art galleries. www.helendixonphotography.co.uk.

Sea

Water in a landscape offers countless possibilities: waves crashing on rocks or shoreline, wispy waterfalls, smooth meandering streams and glass-like sea are a few of the styles that adjusting your shutter speed can yield. I prefer to capture my water with some texture. With big waves, 1/3sec is often enough to blur movement without losing detail and I try to include a static, manmade subject like a lighthouse or groynes to bring a sense of scale to the waves when I can. When seas are calm and in a retreating tide, that’s when I make the most of them with a longer exposure for a surface that’s smooth as glass and wispy lines in the tide.

If the sea is stormy, I opt for an exposure of 1/50sec to 1/250sec to freeze those droplets in mid-air.

Extending your exposure can require a combination of ND and ND Grad filters, but I begin with a polarising filter for its two-stop advantage and glare-eliminating benefits. Sometimes this can be enough without an ND but on bright days, I may also need to use a two- or three-stop ND filter.

Wind

Trees, crops, clouds, flowers… wind – whether a gentle breeze or a fierce gust – creates fantastic opportunities for making static landscapes more dynamic. By embracing the wind rather than flighting against it, I can add energy to my images. A wideangle lens lets me fill the foreground with movement and still retain a sharp background, and 1/2sec is often a good place to start. Finding the right balance between blur and retaining some detail and texture takes practice and experimentation – the right speed could be anywhere between 1/2sec and three seconds. In really strong winds, you may need to increase to 1/10sec. If there’s a lovely breeze by the coast, I often like to use a ten-stop ND (or a 0.9ND at twilight) with the purpose of blurring clouds moving towards or away from me – I look for low clouds that are punctuated by sky as these move faster and show movement.

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Intentional Camera Movement ICM, as it is commonly known, is a technique that deliberately introduces

controlled blur and movement to a frame as you move the camera during an exposure. My favourite effect is when the camera is moved vertically in a woodland, rendering the trees colourful streaks, or panning horizontally in a field of flowers like daisies and poppies. Moving the camera horizontally across the coastal horizon during an exposure blends all the scene’s colours into a soft, streaky palette. I often use a 24-70mm lens to keep my framing tight and my lens is focused to infinity. I use a mid-aperture and aim for at least 1/20sec or longer – sometimes an ND filter is needed to help lengthen the shutter speed to complete a panning, zooming or rotating movement.

A tripod can help to keep lines straight, but it is possible to do the technique handheld. Start at the top of the scene and carefully drag the camera in a downward, or sideward, motion at a consistent speed. www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

Jason D Page A light painter, Jason’s

Light drawing, however, is different in that the light source is recorded by the camera as it’s shone directly at the lens – whether that’s work focuses on using a words, drawing around subjects or camera as an instrument for writing creating my own shapes, as I have here recording light rather than (below). I turned the light source on and off a tool for documentation. while I drew diamonds and rotated my body He is the founder of 360° to create an orb. Each time you turn the LightPaintingPhotography.com, an educational light on, it leaves an impression on the resource for all things light painting, and the camera’s sensor. inventor of the light painting tool system, Light The exposure for light painting relies on a Painting Brushes. www.lightpaintingbrushes.com, recipe of ingredients: the ambient light, the Facebook: facebook.com/jasondpage, YouTube: light source’ s lumen output, the tools you’re www.youtube.com/user/LightPaintingPhoto. using, the speed at which you move and your camera settings. Tweaking any of these Light painting Light painting and drawing can yield surreal results as the camera captures the illuminated brush strokes of the light painter during a long exposure. When scouting for open locations, be mindful of any ambient light like street lights that might intrude into your scene at night. Even the moon can affect exposures: a full moon will emit much more light than a new moon. Also look for tripping hazards in the light for when it’s dark; and always let someone know where you’re going.

Light painting is when you project light from a handheld source on to areas of a scene to illuminate them. In this forest image (above), I used various colours from the Light Painting Brushes Color Hood set and moved through the scene, ‘painting’ it with light for the course of its 857-second exposure. By using a hooded light source, the camera doesn’t record any light streaks and, by wearing dark clothes and constantly moving around, I’m not recorded either. www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

elements can dramatically change your image. You just need to find the right combination to bring your creative vision to life. A good place to start is in Bulb mode at f/8 and ISO 100. See how long it takes to get a good exposure of the scene without any light painting, then you can work it out from there. A three-minute exposure will mean I know I have three minutes to create my drawing. If I know it will take more or less time to finish the design, I adjust the exposure accordingly. Most of my landscape images are generally created at ISO 100 between f/5.6 and f/11 and anywhere between 30 seconds to many minutes.

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SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY

World in motion

Richard Heathcote is an award-winning sports photographer at Getty Images.

Steve Fairclough spoke to him about his career and the techniques he uses to convey motion in his images

S

ince the mid-1990s Richard Heathcote has been an innovative and experimental sports photographer who isn’t afraid to break rules and use new technologies to get his shots. After developing his darkroom skills at a young age he left school, aged 16, and took a variety of photography courses. ‘I did a National Diploma art college course in Watford. Then I went and did the degree equivalent in photography in Reading after that, so it was four years of further education doing general photography courses, building up knowledge and trying to work out what I wanted to do.’

Heathcote reveals, ‘I was always www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

Rafael Nadal of Spain serves during his third-round match against Florian Mayer of Germany on day six of the 2017 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on 2 September 2017 in the Flushing neighbourhood of the Queens borough of New York City.

Canon EOS-1D X Mark II, EF35mm f/1.4L II USM lens, 1/8sec at f/8, ISO 100

interested in sport and it was a way of marrying things I was interested in – sport, football and photography.

I thought it was a natural progression and something I enjoyed. When I did my further education course there was a lot of studio and lighting-based photography. It was interesting but not what I was really interested in.’

In 1997 Heathcote joined the sports photography agency Action Images, starting out in the darkroom and Mac room as a junior, but he had his foot in the door. ’I spent seven years there just learning and picking up things from some really good photographers. They had some fantastic people and it was a brilliant www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

Magnus Nedregotten and Kristin Skaslien (out of frame) of Norway in action against Dexin Ba and Rui Wang of China during the Curling Mixed Doubles Tie-break on day two of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Gangneung Curling Centre, South Korea.

brought out the D1, I switched over and used that for a couple of years.

Then I switched back to Canon in 2002, when they brought out the first 1D, for the football World Cup. Early cameras I’ve pretty much been shooting with Whilst Heathcote started out Canon ever since.’ shooting with film cameras, he was In 2004 he joined Getty Images an early adopter of digital. ‘I had one and admits, ‘It was a bit of an of the first Canon/Kodak DCS 520 eye-opener – there was a lot more cameras. There were only a few in pre-planning, a lot more structure the country. I was inexperienced behind coverage. I realised I needed when using those early cameras. to be a bit more organised and be There were frustrations over some of “on things” a bit more. It’s the cards, things failing, the file size something I pass on to the younger Canon EOS-1D X Mark II, and the quality of the pictures was photographers now, and it comes EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II horrific in relation to today’s mistakes I made at a certain USM lens at 105mm, 1/4sec cameras. It was more about getting from point. There’s a list of at f/25, ISO 100 that quick picture. When Nikon photographers as long as your grounding: processing film for photographers, learning about wiring, sending pictures, hitting deadlines and all that kind of stuff.’

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SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY arm who have got to a game, opened their car boot and realised they’ve left their long lens, laptop or monopod at home.’

Aside from remembering all of your kit, and making sure everything is in full working order, Heathcote explains, ‘You have to think about the event you’re going to and what you want to get out of it. The last year, where there have been fewer photographers at events, we’ve had a pool situation so you aren’t just covering the event for Getty Images.

We’ve been covering football where content is being shared with the other major news agencies. You don’t have the luxury to spend half an hour trying to get one or two pictures, which sometimes we can afford to do under normal circumstances. We are very lucky in that Getty Images sees the value in letting us put the time in to get that unique picture. You have to think about the content that you’re producing, but it’s not always what you yourself would want to get out of a game, it’s what’s required.’

Key equipment

Heathcote’s current kitbag includes two EOS-1D X Mark III DSLRs, two EOS-1D X Mark IIs and one EOS R5 mirrorless camera. He says, ‘The two 1D X Mark IIs are essentially remote cameras for football or athletics. The main workhorses are 1D X Mark IIIs and an R5. Lens-wise a 400mm f/2.8 and a 70-200mm f/2.8 are my main lenses. Then there’s a 24-70mm and a 16-35mm. For certain things I quite like primes… sometimes I’ll use a 135mm f/2 at football instead of a 70-200mm. I like to shoot golf on quite open primes, so I’ve got an 85mm f/1.2, I’ll use a 50mm f/1.2 and, occasionally, the 24mm or 35mm f/1.4 lenses.’

Although some sports photographers still use pedals to fire their remotes, it’s more common for Heathcote and his colleagues to use PocketWizard radio triggers instead.

Other equipment options he deploys are a small Sony RX0 in the back of football nets which ‘gives you a different angle’. He adds, ‘I’ve looked at trying to put small cameras in places where you just can’t fit a DSLR. It goes back to planning, and what you want to get out of the event, what pictures you’re after and then finding the right equipment to do that job.’ In a similar vein, since 2012 he has headed up Getty 46

Images’ robotic camera installs at major sporting events, which allow the company to get cameras into places they couldn’t normally and offer remote control of and firing of multiple cameras via a laptop.

Creating a sense of motion

Aside from capturing the key moments of any major sports event there are also the creative aspects of sports photography, such as shooting motion. Heathcote reveals: ‘In my opinion, there are two ways to show motion. There’s the typical pan/blur where you create the impression that something’s moving. You’re trying to completely change how the background looks.

The other way is the polar opposite where you’re actually freezing the action, which is about capturing that perfect moment that shows the

Right: Men’s Preliminary Round Group B between Russia and Great Britain at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Canon EOS-1D X, EF70200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens at 140mm, 1/4sec, f/20, ISO 100 Far right: Michael Phelps (left) and Ryan Lochte (right) compete in the first semi-final heat of the Men’s 200m Individual Medley at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Shot on a robotic head with a Canon EOS-1D X, EF70200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens at 90mm, 1/20sec at f/11, ISO 100

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

Anthony Joshua (right) punches Andy Ruiz Jr. during the IBF, WBA, WBO & IBO World Heavyweight Title Fight between Andy Ruiz Jr. and Anthony Joshua during the Matchroom Boxing ‘Clash on the Dunes’ show at the Diriyah Season on 7 December 2019 in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia.

power of your subject, and you can

see the direction of things Canon EOS-1D X Mark II, EF24-70mm f/2.8L II USM lens at 61mm, also and motion changing.’

1/1600sec at f/3.2, ISO 5000 moving He continues, ‘In terms of freezing

something it’s always done using high shutter speeds. A good example is an Anthony Joshua boxing frame I captured in 2019. It’s a perfect punch connection picture. The shutter speed is probably 1/2000th of a second, maybe 1/1600th because of the lighting. You’ve got that perfect connection when the hands hit the face and the face of the opponent is moving… you just get that distorted face. That’s a freeze-frame moment but, because you can see the face moving, it gives you that sense of seeing the motion, where things are going, the explosion of that spray coming off the face and the glove at the same time – that’s one way of showing it.’

Heathcote says, ‘Choosing the shutter speed is so important, but if I can, I always want to shoot with my aperture wide open. If I have an f/2.8 lens I will shoot at f/2.8, unless it’s a wideangle and I want plenty of depth of field. If your’re doing a pan/ blur you have to stop the aperture down to help create a slower shutter speed, because you want to blur the background to keep the viewer’s attention on the subject.’

For shooting motorsport action Heathcote notes, ‘When you want to create motion with a pan/blur, you need to refine your technique.

The best method is always to pre-focus… the drivers or the riders are hitting lines on a

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

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SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY

Richard’s top tips

1

There are certain things you want to freeze and certain things that you want to blur. In motorsport you want to show motion and you want to blur it because if you take a picture of a car or a bike at 1/2000th of a second it looks like it’s parked up and not going anywhere. So you want to shoot that and use a slower shutter speed to convey that motion. By blurring the background you’re showing the viewer the movement or the speed of something.

Water’s a bit different, you could shoot water either way.

You can blur it or freeze it instantly at a really high shutter speed to show that moment and you just see that explosion of water going everywhere. For me, although you’re freezing everything, that means you’re almost showing motion because you can see where it’s going.

You have to pick your technique for your subjects.

There’s no harm in trying both freezing and blurring, but you have to think about it and what works best for each subject.

There’s no harm in experimenting. You’re probably not going to get it right first time.

Most of the time you need to experiment, play and practice. The best photography almost always comes out of experimenting and trying new things. Messing things up to begin with isn’t a bad thing.

It’s part of the learning process.

So, it’s a case of ‘Okay, that didn’t work. I’m going to try something else.’

One of the first assignments in my college photography course was to break the rules. It was a lesson in experimenting, finding out how things react and work and whether you need to try something different. That’s not a bad thing. You create your own style and you only create your own style by doing things like breaking rules. If everyone followed a rulebook everything would look the same, no one would be creative, no one would stand out.

2 3

4 5

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The Canada team during the four-man bobsleigh heat 1 & 2 on day 15 of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics at the Whistler Sliding Centre on 26 February 2010 in Whistler, Canada.

Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 222mm, 1/60sec at f/10, ISO 200

track and it’s very predictable, so you know where you’re going to need to be focusing.’

Freezing within a blur

Although shooting motion in motorsport is about using creative blur, there are other factors at play.

‘A point of interest of a motorbike rider or racing driver is that you can’t see their face. They have got a helmet on and that’s the part of the subject you want to be sharp. If you have a pan/blur and the only part that’s sharp is on the side or the rear of the car but the head is all blurred, you’ve missed the picture. You need the head, the focal point, the person, the human being to be sharp.

‘You’ve also got to decide where you want your subject to be within the picture and then use a focus point to help frame it. Move your focus point across to that place and then, making sure you’re not autofocusing, use that focus point as a reference point, track your subject as it moves. This will help to get a

Richard Heathcote is an award winning sports photographer, culminating in winning the coveted Ed Lacey Trophy by the Sports Journalists’ Association.

With over 20 years of experience, he has covered FIFA World Cup tournaments, UEFA European Championships, Olympic Games, the Rugby World Cup, golf’s four majors and The Ryder Cup. richardheathcote.com.

much higher hit rate with your pans, then you can always try tilting the camera. You can create a sense of speed by a slight tilt on the frame.’

Another key factor for shutter speed selections is the consideration of the speed of the subject. ‘A shutter speed that blurs a footballer running down a pitch will be slower than the shutter speed you would choose to blur a 100 metres sprinter. To blur a car you’d have a faster shutter speed, so you can’t just go and choose 1/15th of second and get them all.

1/15th of a second will give you a nice blur on the footballer but for a 100 metre sprinter you wouldn’t get as much sharp; your hit rate would be smaller. If you shot a Formula 1 car at that shutter speed you’d hardly get anything.

‘If you look at the metadata on a lot of motion shots, the sprinters down a 100 metre track might be at 1/30th of a second but the Formula 1 cars could be on 1/60th of a second. The pictures look similar in terms of the amount of motion and www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

The Men’s Sprint Semi Final Track Cycling during day four of the 16th Asian Games Guangzhou 2010 at Guangzhou Velodrome on 16 November 2010 in Guangzhou, China.

Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 105mm, 1/5sec at f/14, ISO 100

the amount of blur in the frame, but it’s about picking the shutter speed relevant to the subject that you’re shooting. That comes from trial and error, as well as learning from other photographers.’

Using backgrounds

Combining the correct exposure settings to convey motion in images is just one part of the overall picture – another is using other elements in the frame to show motion. In conventional sports pictures you’d ideally want very clean backgrounds but Heathcote explains, ‘The interesting thing about backgrounds is when you’re attempting a pan/ blur, a messy background can actually help because those highlights or different colours in the background, once you blur it, give you lines and shapes. Then those lines, shapes and colours become a pattern within the picture. For example, using something between you and your subject to intensify that feeling of speed and motion.’ www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

In early 2020 Heathcote took home the coveted Sports Journalists’ Association (SJA) Sports Photographer of the Year award with a portfolio that included the aforementioned freeze-frame image of British boxer Anthony Joshua punching Mexico’s Andy Ruiz Jr. and an ultra-colourful pan/blur shot of superbike racing action at Donington Park.

He also deploys techniques such as choosing a point of interest and rotating the camera to give the impression of motion in a frame – notably in a shot of tennis superstar Rafa Nadal serving – and he has also used a robotic camera in order to capture an iconic overhead shot of US swimmers Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte competing in a 200m individual medley semi-final at the 2012 London Olympics. It’s clear that, whatever the sport and whatever the technique used to capture it, Richard Heathcote is a true master of shooting motion.

Russia’s Tiffani Zagorski and Jonathan Guerreiro in the Figure Skating Ice Dance Free Dance, PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics.

400mm, 1/6sec, f/9, ISO 50

La Suerte De Varas

By Ernst Haas Photo Insight

Documentary photography shouldn’t lie, of course, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be visually stimulating and creative, says Damien Demolder 50

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

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ne of the purposes of photography is to show the person who wasn’t there what it was like to be there – ‘if you had been here, this is what you would have experienced’. That goes for all sorts of photography, whether the visual explanation is of the view from the top of a particular hill first thing in the morning, the moment the finishing tape was broken by the sprinter, what it is like to sit in a room with a certain person or the aftermath of a bomb blast in some troubled part of the world.

Some photographers fulfil that brief in a very factual way and use the camera to describe the objects and things in front of www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

hand with journalism – and was constantly on the lookout for new and more effective ways to communicate. He was also an early adopter of colour film in a world of press work that was almost exclusively in black & white. While his use of colour in the early 1950s was welcomed by popular publications, such as Life, he suffered somewhat at the hands of curators and critics who considered colour a distraction and Haas to be a less-than-serious photographer.

Fortunately the narrow-mindedness of others didn’t inhibit Haas’s use of colour and his passion in finding new ways to explain experiences to the viewer. The image shown here is part of a series he shot of Spanish bull fighters in 1956. Recorded on his favourite Kodachrome, the pictures stand out for their bold colours and beautiful description of the movements of bull and bullfighter. Haas used an extended shutter speed, probably around 1/10sec, with a long lens and a generous helping of camera movement to fill the frame with the feel for the motion of the moment we might experience were we there ourselves.

When we see fast-moving scenes we experience the general flow of things rather than specific details, which is why actionreplays were invented. When you shoot these scenes at 1/2000sec the result might show what happened, but it doesn’t show how we experienced it. High drive rates and short shutter speeds give us a clinical breakdown of events, but Haas wants us to know what it was like to see it with our own inadequate eyes.

Story has it that when Haas collected his films from the lab they were marked with a note that there had obviously been a technical error with his camera and that the pictures were unusable. But they went on a year later to cover 12 pages of Life, and have gone down in history as fine examples of the benefits of using a long instead of a short shutter, when shooting movement.

The series was titled ‘Beauty in a Brutal Art’ and mostly concentrates on the interactions of bull and bull fighter, with flurries of red and pink capes and the blur of arms and legs, but he also included a chaotic scene of bull runners entering the arena, pushing and shoving, egging each other on. The frame is filled with motion, and through the swirl and colour we can see exactly what is going on.

For emphasis, Haas moved the camera while shooting these, to ensure the whole scene was blurred, not just the action in the arena. He must have practice me-thinks, as he knew leaving the background sharp would have drawn our eye away from the very thing he wanted us to see. It cleverly emulates how our concentration would have ignored the background while our mind focused on the dangerous spectacular before us.

them – answering the statement ‘this is what I can see’. These pictures might be honest and faithful, but the technical accuracy of their account and their attention to detail might sometimes overlook the idea that pictures can convey emotion as well as data.

Ernst Haas (1921-1986) was one of those documentary photographers who realised that telling a story, whether hard news or a feature, is about creating an emotional connection with the viewer. In that pursuit he combined a love of art with that of photography to create thousands of images that speak to us in ways many other pictures simply do not. He enjoyed experimentation – something that doesn’t always go hand-in- You can read more about Ernst Haas at ernst-haas.com

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Technique James Abbott James Abbott is a

freelance photographer and photography journalist specialising in creating shooting and editing techniques that help photographers to improve their skills. His first book, The Digital Darkroom: The Definitive Guide to Photo Editing in Adobe Photoshop and Affinity Photo, is on sale now. www.jamesaphoto.co.uk.

KIT LIST

Tripod A tripod is essential for long-exposure

photography because the camera must be kept completely still during exposures to avoid camera shake in areas of the scene that should be sharp.

Shutter remote

Using a shutter remote allows you to fire the shutter without touching the camera and causing camera shake. They’re also necessary for shooting in Bulb mode to manually hold the shutter open.

Exposure calculator apps The LEE Stopper and NiSi Filters apps

allow you to dial in the standard exposure and will calculate the exposure required for a variety of ND filters including 6, 10 and 15-stop NDs.

Filter holder If you plan to combine ND filters with

graduated ND filters to maintain sky detail, you’ll need a filter holder where 100mm filters slot in place and can be stacked according to requirements.

Variable ND filter Variable ND filters are a budget option

providing a variable density ranging from roughly 1.5 stops to 8 stops, which is controlled by rotating the front part of the filter.

Sony A7R III, 16-35mm, 1/10sec at f/13, ISO 100, Polariser

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This image taken at Wastwater in the Lake District was shot using a 6-stop ND to smooth the choppy water and help to capture a reflection of the sky

Sony A7R III, 16-35mm, 0.8sec at f/13, ISO 100, 3-stop ND filter

Sony A7R III, 16-35mm, 5sec at f/13, ISO 100, 6-stop ND filter

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

Long-exposure landscapes Extend the passage of time to create stunning, ethereal landscape images. James Abbott guides you through the world of long-exposure photography using ND filters

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very landscape photographer strives to put their stamp on the locations they shoot, and while most are best shot at a specific time of day to take advantage of the best light possible, one way of finding your unique voice is to take control of exposure times using ND filters.

Lower-strength ND filters can be as simple to use as

Sony A7R III, 16-35mm, 64sec at f/13, ISO 100, 10-stop ND filter

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

Reduction of light in stops 1 2 3 6 10 15

attaching them to your lens and shooting normally, while the more extreme filters ranging from 6-stops and above require a little more care and attention to ensure correct exposures. In this long-exposure masterclass, we’re going to take a closer look at long-exposure landscapes and how to successfully shoot them using ND filters to achieve a range of effects.

Optical density ND factor 0.3 0.6 0.9 1.8 3.0 4.5

ND2 ND4 ND8 ND64 ND1000 ND32000

Filter densities explained

Different filter manufacturers use several methods of displaying ND filter densities and these include how many stops of light the filter reduces, which is the easiest, optical density, and ND factor. Once you buy into a filter system, it pays to familiarise yourself with the method used so you can quickly identify filters.

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Technique LONG EXPOSURES

Approaches to long exposures

Long exposures come in a variety of styles, with some relying purely on a lack of light while others require the use of strong ND filters

ALL LANDSCAPES have moving elements, whether that’s grass, water or clouds etc.

Many even have a combination of some or all of these factors, so there’s always a huge amount of potential for creative long exposures. The most dramatic, and often interesting, movement can be found in water and clouds, and exposure time itself can produce drastically different results depending on what you’re aiming for.

Scenes with clouds in the sky look great when you use a long exposure to capture them streaking towards the camera, and depending on how fast the clouds are moving the exposure required could be anywhere from 30 seconds to several minutes. Whereas with water, exposures between 1 and 3 seconds provide the most texture and definition in the water, while exposures of 30 seconds and above create a silky water effect in waterfalls and the completely smooth water in lakes and the sea. The latter is a popular approach when it comes to shooting minimalist images of a tree, for instance, surrounded by Midday long exposure 10-stop ND filters silky-smooth water. allow you to capture long exposures in even the brightest conditions. This 62-second Getting the look exposure was taken around midday and was used to smooth the water and blur the clouds One thing that will always make long exposures effective is a static visual element within the scene that remains pin-sharp.

Not only does this contrast and accentuate the movement in the scene, it also acts as a visual anchor that avoids images becoming a pure blur and ultimately abstract.

Personal preference will often dictate which exposure time you opt for, but light levels can also be a factor; it’s easier to extend exposure time than reduce it, which is why it’s essential to carry several ND filters with you when shooting landscapes.

For instance, when shooting waterfalls, you’ll often be in dark locations so a 3-stop ND filter may allow you to achieve exposure times of 1-15 seconds while shooting in the morning. However, shooting in the afternoon might require a 6-stop or 10-stop ND to be used to achieve an exposure long enough to blur clouds.

‘It’s easier to extend exposure time than reduce it, which is why it’s essential to carry several ND filters’ 54

Low-light long exposure

Not all long exposures require the use of filters; this image was taken before sunrise and the exposure time was 10 seconds. If you don’t have ND filters, aim to shoot before sunrise and after sunset for naturally long exposure times

Cloudscape This simple, almost abstract, image is all about the colourful sky. By using a 6-stop ND, it was possible to achieve a 25-second exposure to blur the clouds and water www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

ND filters compared

ND FILTERS come in a range of light-reducing densities, and with screw-in filters you can get variable ND filters with strengths ranging from around 1.5 stops to 8 stops.

For ultimate flexibility and control, the four filters that you need to control overall exposure are a polarising filter, a 3-stop ND, a 6-stop ND and a 10-stop ND. You can buy other densities, but with these four filters you’re covered for practically every eventuality. The four images here (see previous page, bottom) were shot in bright conditions so exposure times show a clearer progression of blur as filter strength is increased.

Polarising filter 1/10 sec

Polarisers are often used in combination with ND filters as they remove surface reflections from water and can deepen blue skies, but, with the ability to reduce exposure by up to 1.5 stops, can also be used as a weak ND filter.

3-stop ND 0.8 sec

The humble 3-stop ND filter is arguably the most versatile of all ND filters since it’s ideal for shooting in low light conditions and around golden hour when you wish to achieve a longer exposure but not one that’s several minutes long.

6-stop ND 5 seconds

6-stop ND filters require exposure to be calculated, either by counting stops or using an exposure calculator app. This filter is best used when a 3-stop ND doesn’t extend exposure time enough, but a 10-stop filter makes exposure times unnecessarily long.

10-stop ND 1 minute

Waterfall To achieve a 13-second exposure to blur the water in this stream, a 3-stop ND filter was perfect. Using a stronger density would create a longer exposure, but for no additional visual benefit www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

10-stop NDs were the first ‘extreme’ ND filter to be released and provide the ability to shoot extremely long exposures in low light conditions, or even exposures that are 30 seconds or longer in bright and sunny conditions.

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Technique LONG EXPOSURES

How to useextremeNDs

Learn how to correctly calculate exposure when using high-density ND filters that throw the standard rules of exposure out of the window EXTREME NDs, Big Stoppers and Little Stoppers are all names you’re likely to have heard of, and in a nutshell, these simply refer to ND filters that reduce light entering lenses by more than 4 stops. ND filters in this category can’t be used like lower-strength NDs where you simply attach them to the lens and shoot as normal; these filters require you to calculate exposure based on what the ‘standard’ exposure should be, then shoot in Bulb mode and manually time exposures if they’re longer than 30 seconds.

Unfortunately, most cameras have a maximum shutter speed/exposure time of 30 seconds, which is often too short when using extreme NDs. Owners of higher-end Fujifilm cameras such as the X-T4, GFX100S

and X100V can set exposure times up to 60 minutes in duration so you don’t have to shoot in Blub mode.

For everyone else though, Bulb mode is the key to long-exposure success.

On a technical level, a long exposure is essentially any shutter speed that’s too slow for the camera to be handheld without causing camera shake. However, in terms of aesthetics in landscape photography, it’s often not until shutter speeds are around one second that photographers consider exposures to be long exposures.

Exposures up to 30 seconds using extreme NDs can be dealt with by the camera, but beyond this we have to manually time exposures and hold the shutter open in Blub mode, so let’s take a look at how it’s done.

HOW TO CALCULATE CORRECT EXPOSURE TIMES

1Securely Attach ND grads 2 Identify ‘normal’ 3UseUse a calculator app attach your camera to your exposure a free exposure calculator such tripod to ensure that it can’t move Select aperture priority mode at f/11 during the exposure and compose the shot. At this stage, attach a filter holder and any ND grads required to maintain sky detail. Manually focus 1/3 of the distance into the scene beyond the foreground for a large depth of field and to lock focus.

with ISO 100 and apply any exposure compensation as required for a correct exposure. The shutter speed here was coming in at 1/4sec, but if it was much slower than this it would have been beneficial to increase ISO to 200 to halve the exposure time.

4 Shoot the long 5 Reattach filters exposure and shoot Set the camera to manual mode and Attach your chosen ND filter and then if the exposure is longer than 30 seconds, rotate the thumbwheel until Bulb is shown. Make sure aperture and ISO are the same as in step two, and you’ll need to use a shutter remote to release the shutter at the same time as starting the app timer.

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the graduated ND if you used one.

Release the shutter with the remote, at the same time as the app timer, and make sure it locks to hold the shutter open – depending on model.

Press the shutter button to end the bulb exposure when the timer ends.

as the LEE Stopper app or NiSi Filters app. Both allow you to select which filter density you’re using, and you simply need to input the standard exposure time for the app to then give you the exact exposure time required.

Both apps feature a timer.

A 10-stop ND filter transformed what would have been a ¼sec exposure into an exposure that was over 4 minutes in duration to smooth the water and blur the clouds in the scene www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

Fake the effect in Photoshop You can fake the look of ND filters by

shooting five to ten exposures of a subject with the camera on a tripod. You then need to sync the raw files in Lightroom before opening all the exposures as Layers in Photoshop. Next, go to Edit>Auto-Align Layers and leave the Projection set to Auto and hit OK. On the Layers panel left mouse click on the top Layer, hold down Shift and click on the bottom Layer so all are selected, then right mouse click on the Layers and select Convert to Smart Object. Once the Smart Object has processed, go to Layers>Smart Objects>Stack Mode>Median. Once the mode has been applied the image will look like a long exposure. Finally, flatten the image and crop the edges to remove space left after the image alignment.

‘You can fake the look of ND filters by shooting 5-10 exposures of a subject with the camera on a tripod’ www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

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Technique ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY

Duncan Wallace Duncan works in the IT

industry and has always been a keen amateur photographer since he received his first camera on his 21st birthday a good few years ago. He finds photography fits with the lifestyle he enjoys – walking, travel and nature. See more at Photoliser.com.

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Trailing stars Get a hot flask and go capture star trails with a little light painting, following Duncan Wallace’s easy guide

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

Star trails over Silchester Church, Silchester, Hampshire

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his Silchester Star Trails photo took a lot of planning and waiting for the perfect, clear, moon-free night as I needed at least two hours to take all 162 photos that make up the final image, some of which were light painted (paths and church windows) by using selective light painting. The photos were then stacked to create the final scene.

decide on was a location. At the time Christmas was coming up and the idea was to create an image of the church spire with Polaris aligned as close as possible to the spire and then capture the rotating star trails with as much colour as possible.

I walk around Silchester nearly every day with my dog, Bob, and had walked through the churchyard many times. As my main goal was the alignment of Polaris with the Choosing a location top of the church spire’s weathervane The first and most important thing I had to ‘golden fish’, the first thing I had to www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

Sony A7 III, 14mm, f/2.8, ISO 1600 Exposure time - 26 seconds/photo Interval between photos - 2 seconds Number of photos - 162

Kit list Sony A7 III, Samyang 2.8/14mm

Benro Travel Angel 2 Four Section Aluminium Twist Lock Tripod, Lume Cube 2.0 Neewer Vertical Battery Grip for Sony A7 III with 2.4 G Wireless Remote Control Head Torch with white and red light modes Small LED Torch Kiwifotos Dew Heater Strip with USB power bank (ready if needed) Vallerret Markhof Pro 2.0 Winter Photography Gloves, hat and warm clothing 59

Technique ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY

During lockdown I practised this technique in my own back garden

This image was created by stacking 350 images taken at 30sec/photo, f/2.8, ISO 800

know was the location of Polaris.

Luckily, these days you can find apps for your phone to help with almost anything. The one I use on my iPhone is called Night Sky. Using this app, you can enter a star name in the search bar, select it from the results and then select ‘Directions always above horizon’. Then simply move the phone and follow the arrow on the screen until the app shows the location of the star in the sky, in my case Polaris. This will pretty much be the same position day or night at any time during the year.

Once I knew the location of Polaris, I had to find a good spot to set up my camera, one that gave me both a good view of the

church and the open sky. I took a few test shots and from these, I got a rough idea of the best location.

Waiting for the right conditions

Deciding when to spend an evening out taking the photos is probably the hardest piece of the process as weather conditions and moon visibility change every day.

Finding the right conditions can take days, weeks or even months. To help plan an evening window of opportunity, another app I used is Clear Outside. This helped me see in advance which nights and times the sky might be clear enough to venture out.

Another thing I needed to know was how bright the moon might be. For star trails

the best time is when there is a new moon, because you need to avoid a full or bright moon. For this I use the Photopills app, which is one of the best free apps I’ve found for astrophotography. It also includes a virtual reality view for any given date, which is especially useful if you ever want to do Milky Way, Astro, Moon or Sun photography.

The Photopills YouTube channel is very helpful too, it has great video tutorials and documents free to download for all types of astrophotography photo shoots.

Subscribers receive regular invites to PhotoPills masterclasses covering techniques, and how to plan for upcoming astronomical events.

DUNCAN EXPLAINS HOW TO CAPTURE STAR TRAILS

Pick a location

Decide on a location and think about the composition. It’s a good idea to visit in the daytime and determine what you want to show in the final image. Take a few test shots to help work out where to position your tripod as it won’t be as easy in the dark.

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Locate Polaris When you visit, open Nightsky on your IOS

Setting up

Set up your tripod in your chosen spot and device and locate Polaris using Sky view. Sky mount the camera securely. Use an LED torch view presents you with a real-time simulation beam to help frame the image. Take the first of the sky as currently seen from your own photo using ISO-1600 as this generally location or other location of your choice. It is creates a photo with enough light without a 360° view and you can move it around by losing the stars or church detail. moving your device. www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

One of my first attempts at star trails while on holiday.

One of the things I learned here was to ensure I captured enough images to create the complete star trails

Duncan’s post-processing workflow

I checked Clear Outside for the weeks leading up to help find the next best clear night. Once I found what looked to be a good night, I then checked moon conditions using Photopills. I had my camera bag packed ready with all the equipment I needed as I knew I may only get one attempt.

Getting set up

On the night with the camera mounted, aligned, and framed I checked all the settings to make sure they were set correctly. I did a couple of test shots using different ISO settings, but generally found ISO1600 worked well. I tend to keep the ISO setting low because it captures more

colour in the star trail images. I have used ISO 800 in my garden during lockdown and with local light pollution had great success seeing much more colour than using higher ISOs. I could have taken all 162 photos like this but, after stacking, I would have just ended up with a dark outline of the church and the star trails above. To show more detail in the final photo I light painted key features and paths without overexposing or lighting unnecessarily.

Duncan has dedicated this feature to his dad, Gordon Wallace, who sadly passed away last year. It was Gordon who encouraged and developed Duncan’s interest in photography.

POST processing is where we combine the images and remove any objects or lights we don’t want in the final image as we often get satellites, plane trails, car lights, other people’s torches. There is an excellent tutorial on YouTube called Star Trails – Photoshop Tutorial by Peter Zelinka.

A link to the YouTube video can also be found on the blog at my website titled ‘How to create Star Trails like these over Silchester Church’.

For my final image I hid all the layers in Photoshop and then went through one at a time. If the layer had any kind of light, I gave it an appropriate title, e.g. Church Path Lit 1. This made it much easier to identify and hide or reveal all the different layers one at a time, or in combinations, to see how they looked when they were or were not visible with the star trail layers.

Once I settled on a combination of layers to use, I hid all the layers. For the unused layers with light, I went through them one at a time and masked any areas of light painting I didn’t want in the final image. I needed to make sure the layer could still be made visible, because the stars need to remain in the scene, since without them I would have little gaps between the star trails. To finish the post processing, I made all the layers visible and saved the final image.

Wireless remote control Light painting the churchyard Light painting the windows I use a multi-function battery grip with shutter Once the camera is shooting, you can start One advantage of using the Lume Cube over release button, 2.4G wireless remote control, which provides more battery capacity – effectively extending shooting time. The remote allows for setting delay time, exposure time, time interval and number of shots. Set the camera to shoot in Bulb mode.

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

light painting. I walked up the path with my Lume Cube slightly dimmed and was careful not to shine the light directly at the camera.

This process was repeated several times to give light to different areas. Excess light can be removed in the post processing.

an LED torch is the ability to increase or decrease the brightness of the light. The church windows were lit by holding the Lume Cube on maximum light for 5-10 seconds at various windows on the opposite side of the church.

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Puppies en pointe DANCERS AND DOGS

Combining the powerful poses of a ballet dancer with the unpredictability of a canine companion has resulted in a fantastic project, as Amy Davies finds

T

hey say working with animals is a recipe for disaster. Throw in attempting to capture how a canine interacts with the otherwise perfect timing of a dancer and you’ve got a very tricky task indeed. Dancers and Dogs, by the photographic duo Kelly Pratt and Ian Kreidich, has done just that though, to outstanding success.

What started as a random idea in 2017 has grown exponentially, and now has a very large and loyal social media following, a calendar, a book and even merchandising products.

Kelly was kind enough to take some

time out of her very busy schedule to tell me more about the story behind this intriguing, playful and heart-warming project.

Kelly and Ian were already dance photographers when Kelly got the idea for Dancers and Dogs. Thinking it would be fun to produce some images which combined the wide variety of dog breeds with the variety of shapes that her dancer friends were capable of creating, the duo tried out the concept with dancers from the St Louis Ballet, in their home city. After a behind-the-scenes video was released in 2018, the project went viral around the world

Below: Amber (Dancer) and Kimber (Dog, German Shepherd)

and really started to take off.

Some of the dogs you see in the shots belong to the dancers themselves, while others come from the community. Kelly and Ian are strict about which dogs get selected for the shoot, because they are keen to ensure that welfare standards are maintained to the highest degree.

Kelly explains, ‘The dogs have to meet certain requirements, such as perfect indoor manners, and they must be comfortable with strangers and new situations. They also have to be able to, at the very least, sit and www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

stay for at least five seconds. The dancers meanwhile have to be comfortable with dogs, and willing to try something new and abnormal for them.’

The duo’s passion for animal welfare has even seen them partner up with charity organisations. Kelly explains, ‘From the beginning, we wanted to find a way to feature adoptable animals. It is difficult, given the nature of the project, because there are lots of things which could be too much for an animal. We never want to scare www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

animals, so we’re always looking for Above: Ashley (Dancer) and Loki the most confident dogs for the (Dog, Collie) project. In 2018 we decided to partner with Stray Rescue of St Louis and St Louis Ballet for “Muttcracker”, where the dancers dress in their Nutcracker costumers and they pose with the dogs (and cats) from the shelter. This was a much simpler shoot than we otherwise do – there are no crazy dance moves, and it took place at the shelter to cut down on potential stress for the animals.

We are huge advocates for animal rescue – all our own pets are rescues,

and we wanted to spread the word about animals that have had a hard life and just need a good home.’

Each image in Dancers and Dogs is a result of a shoot which lasts roughly an hour. ‘We usually have at least five different poses or ideas picked out ahead of time for each dancer and dog duo, based on what both the dancer and the dog are good at. Some ideas work, and some don’t – that’s just the nature of working with animals,’ Kelly says.

‘After we’ve worked through those ideas, we then play 63

Jolie (Dancer) and Stitch (Dog, Mixed Breed) Michael (Dancer) and Sir Noble (Dog, Dalmation)

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around and experiment. Some of the best images have come out of candid moments or unexpected interactions.’

Since that first shoot in St Louis, Dancers and Dogs has travelled across the US to various cities, setting up shoot days to capture dozens of dancers and dozens of different dog breeds. On the occasions that the team travels, they will usually set up a four or five dancer and dog pairs in one day, making it quite a challenge to coordinate up to ten different schedules. Typically, the studio is set up with a wall of four Profoto lights, with octaboxes and diffused umbrellas. Since the dancers are often creating large movements, the light needs to cover a similarly large amount of space. The pair use Nikon DSLRs, typically with a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens.

‘One of the main reasons we use Profoto lights (both Profoto D2s and B1s) is because of their Freeze Mode, giving us the ability to freeze action,’ explains Kelly. ‘Capturing movement, particularly dance, is very much about timing and learning the exact moment you need to release the shutter to capture the www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

Destiny (Dancer) and Lucca (Dog, Bouvier des Flandres)

correct instant to show the dancer in the proper technique.’

As you might expect, there are several other challenges when it comes to working with unpredictable creatures. The dogs can be a little tricky too. ‘The dancers have a very difficult job,’ notes Kelly. ‘They need to connect their timing to something that has no idea what good timing is.

Everything in this project therefore pretty much revolves around the dogs, and what they are willing and able to do.’

It’s this spontaneity that often leads to the best and most exciting results, however. ‘Something memorable tends to happen on every shoot! The stars of our book cover, Kimberly (dancer) and Mikey (dog) – Mikey is actually deaf, so Kimberley communicates with him via hand signs. That’s fun to watch.

The most popular images tend to be the ones where the dancer and dog are clearly making a real connection with each other.’ Kelly also says the behind-the-scenes videos that they post online tend to do just as well as the finalised images, as people love to know how an image is created.

While many photographers may www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

Based in St Louis, Missouri, USA, Kelly Pratt Kreidich and Ian Kreidich are an award-winning husband and wife photographer team. The pair specialise in action and travel photography.

Read more about them at prattkreidich.com.

The book, Dancers and Dogs, can be bought from Amazon.com (subject to delivery charges from the US).

work with a team that includes make-up artists, directors, set designers and so on, it’s fairly unusual to find more than one person in charge of firing the shutter.

Rarer still to find husband and wife teams who are happy to spend their working life together, as well as their personal one. How it works depends on the project, as Kelly comments.

‘Sometimes one of us is more of the photographer of a shoot, and sometimes we both take turns shooting. It can actually be beneficial to have two photographers, since there are times when certain subjects are more comfortable with say a male vs a female, or perhaps one of our personalities gels more with the subject. Plus sometimes (though not all times!) two heads can be better than one when it comes to problem solving or catching things in the shots that need to be tweaked.’

Kelly reveals that the ultimate goal for the Dancers and Dogs project is simply to make people smile.

Indeed, once the project started to gain traction around 2018, and the pair started receiving daily emails from different publications wanting to feature their work, she says the

most rewarding part wasn’t the attention, but rather that it gave people a smile, often right at the moment when they needed one.

A project like this was obviously never going to escape the impact of Covid. It was pretty much impossible to carry on with it last year, since it is all about travelling and working indoors in studios.

Kelly is pleased to report, however, that now the vaccinations have started and people are more used to safety procedures, the shoots have once again started up. There are also plans to incorporate other types of dance into the project, and perhaps the biggest challenge yet – Dancers and Cats. ‘People have been asking us for Dancers and Cats almost since we went viral,’ confirms Kelly. ‘It is completely different from working with dogs, since many cats are not happy with new situations and people – but we’re trying it out. We have some trained cats to work with this year who are used to working on sets so we’ll see how it goes.’

You can keep up to date with how that progresses and see more images from the series at dancersanddogs. com, or at Instagram.com/ dancersanddogs.

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Amateur Photograp COMPETITION

Your chance to enter the UK’s most prestigious com

Round Six Movement

One of the biggest challenges in photography is capturing movement: whether that’s freezing the action unfolding in front of you with fast shutter speeds or flash, or creating an implied sense of movement with long exposures or camera panning. Whichever technique you choose to use, there is a whole host of potential subjects on offer.

We’d like to see your interpretation of movement, be it people on the go, sports, or trains, planes and automobiles.

Your guest judge Your guest judge for Round Six of APOY is

Ben Hall. Ben is one of Britain’s leading wildlife photographers. His images are often surprising, always striking and he strives to awaken us to the diversity of the natural world. Capturing a sense of movement is crucial to many of his images, many of which have earned him recognition in competitions such as the British Wildlife Photography Awards. To see more of his work, visit www.benhallphotography.com.

Plan your APOY 2021 year Below is a list of all this year’s rounds, including when they open, when they close and the dates the results will be announced in AP.

OPENS PHOTOCROWD 6 Feb 20 Feb 20 Mar 17 Apr 15 May 12 Jun 10 Jul 7 Aug 4 Sep 2 Oct

OPENS AP 13 Feb 13 Mar 10 Apr 8 May 5 Jun 3 Jul 31 Jul 28 Aug 25 Sep 23 Oct

CLOSES 1 Mar 19 Mar 16 Apr 14 May 11 Jun 9 Jul 6 Aug 3 Sep 1 Oct 29 Oct

RESULTS AP 10 Apr AP 8 May AP 5 Jun AP 3 Jul AP 31 Jul AP 28 Aug AP 25 Sep AP 23 Oct AP 20 Nov AP 18 Dec

YOUR FREE ENTRY CODE Enter the code below via Photocrowd to get one free entry to Round Six – Movement 68

APOY40229176

N I L RAY YA Z ©

THEME Black & white Natural world Home Landscapes Architecture Movement Portraits Travel Street Close-ups

Movement can be portrayed in many varied and imaginative ways, as the winning image from last year’s round demonstrates

To enter, visi

ALL ABOUT APOY 2021

The camera club award Do you belong to a camera club? You can accumulate points for your society when you enter APOY, and after all the ten rounds are complete, the one with the most points will win a voucher for £500 to spend at MPB. The club might want to spend it on gear for use by members, or even run its own in-house competition with the prize going to the most successful photographer. It’s entirely up to the winning group to decide.

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

her of the Year £11,000 petition for amateur photographers

In association with MPB

of MPB prizes to be won

PRIZES WORTH

£900

What you win Take your pick from MPB’s

huge catalogue of used gear

The winner of each APOY round scoops a £500 voucher to spend on anything at MPB. From top-end digital mediumformat camera bodies, to entry-level DSLRs, tele zooms and wideangle lenses, MPB is a one-stop shop for used kit. Of course, you can use your voucher towards your dream piece of kit, if it happens to cost over £500.

There are second- and third-placed prizes of £100 and £50 vouchers respectively, while the winner of the Youth category wins a £250 voucher.

For capturing action in video and stills, why not try a GoPro HERO9?

With 5K video that allows you to pull a 14.7MP still from video footage, it’s The Young POTY award great fun to use. Currently, MPB has This year, we are adding a Young Photographer of one in excellent condition for £304. the Year category to APOY, in order to encourage Sony’s Cyber-shot DSC-RX0 has 4K our up-and-coming snappers. Entrants should be UHD video and a 24mm-equivalent f/4 21 years old or younger by the competition’s final lens – all in a waterproof, crushproof closing date of 29 October 2021. All the and shockproof body. You can pick up categories are the same as for the main a like-new example at MPB for £294. competition – simply select the Young APOY On more conventional ground, a lens option on Photocrowd when you upload your like the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L II images. This category is free to enter; each USM, with its constant wide aperture, category winner receives a £250 voucher, and the is ideal for capturing movement. MPB overall winner receives a voucher for £500 to has several, ranging from £724-819. spend at MPB. Check out www.mpb.com.

t amateurphotographer.co.uk/apoy2021

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

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Reader Portfolio Spotlight on readers’ excellent images and how they captured them 1

March of the Ents 1 I am a big fan of

2

Lord of the Rings and I thought these trees appeared to be marching down the slope, much like the Ents’ march to Isengard in the movies.

Nikon D850, 24-70mm, 1/5sec at f/4, ISO 64

Gavin Duncan, UK

vin vin is a microbiologist alkirk. avourite subjects ve photographing trees y can often be quite chaotic, and bringing order to that chaos is very rewarding.

How did you get into photography?

When I travelled through Australia and New Zealand some years ago, I bought a DSLR, set it to auto, and started snapping. I wasn’t sure what I was doing, but loved the process.

What do you love about photography?

It’s an escape, I can forget about everyday stresses. I always come home from a photography trip feeling relaxed – almost like a factory reset.

First camera A Nikon D40 I bought in 2008.

Current kit Nikon D850, Nikon D810, Nikon 16-35mm f/4, Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8, Nikon 50mm f/1.8, Nikon 60mm f/2.8, Nikon 85mm f/1.8, Nikon 70-200mm f/4, Sigma Art 35mm f/1.4 and Sigma Art 135mm f/1.8.

Favourite lens My 24-70mm – it’s sharp corner to 70

corner at f/5.6. It’s been exposed to the elements time and again and still functions like new.

Favourite accessory Benro Mach tripod and geared head.

Dream purchase A Phase One XF IQ4.

What software do you use?

Adobe Camera Raw and Photoshop CC. Favourite photographers Mark Littlejohn produces amazing images – his split-toning techniques create a signature painterly quality.

Nick Brandt’s images are a powerful reminder that humans have overtaken many natural habitats of other mammals.

Favourite books The book series On this Earth, A Shadow Falls, Across the Ravaged Land

by Nick Brandt. Healing by Colin Bell.

Favourite tips Get out and take pictures. Pay attention to what works and what doesn’t, and figure out why. Try not to compare yourself to other photographers.

Tell us about your pictures I find myself navigating toward woodland photography because you seldom meet anyone else there. Their isolation really allows me to fall into a world of my own.

AWider Woodland View 2 I couldn’t decide

which tree I preferred, so created a panorama to include them all.

Nikon D800, 50mm, 1/125sec at f/5.6, ISO 500 3

A Well WalkedPath 3 I was drawn to the

strong triangle of the slope, the fallen trunk and the gentle spring greens. The morning mist aided that light and airy feel.

Nikon D850, 24-70mm, 1/6sec at f/5.6, ISO 64 www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

YOUR PICTURES IN PRINT Y L N O S T N E D I S E R U E D N A K U OT S E I L P P A E Z I R P : E T O N

The Reader Portfolio winner chosen wil receive a copy of SkylumLuminar AI, worth £79. See www.skylum.com Luminar is a fully featured photo editor for Mac and PC designed for photographers of all skill levels, blending pro-level tools

Submit your images

Please see the ‘PICTURES’ section on page 3 for details on how to submit. You could see your images here in a future issue!

with remarkable ease of use and an enjoyable experience. A new Library feature lets you organise, find and rate images easily, while over 100 editing features, plus a suite of fast AI-powered technologies under the hood, will make any image stand out.

4

Painterly Glow 4 This strong backlit scene looked very ethereal to me. The diffused light seemed to glow and created a lovely silhouette.

Nikon D850, 24-70mm, 1/8sec at f/4, ISO 64

The Long and Winding Road 5 This isn’t a foggy

scene, but a very wet one. Fine rain, when heavy enough, is just as good as fog, in my opinion.

Nikon D850, 70-200mm, 1/50sec at f/5.6, ISO 64

5

Testbench CAMERA TEST

At a glance

£1,999 body only £2,449 with EVF-11 viewfinder ● 61MP full-frame BSI CMOS ● ISO 6-102,400 ● Up to 10fps shooting ● 3.2in, 2.1m-dot touchscreen ● 4K 30p video

Sigma fp L Sigma’s small full-frame mirrorlesscamera gains a 61MP sensor at a remarkably tempting price.

Andy Westlake tries it out For and against

S E C I RP T E E R TS E T A M I X O R P PA E R A S E C I R P LL A

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Fantastic image quality for the price Relatively compact body Mostly clear and intuitive user interface Superb EVF-11 viewfinder gives huge, clear view Electronic shutter is prone to distortion No in-body image stabilisation Touchscreen is laggy and has limited functions No smartphone connectivity Abysmal battery life

Data file Sensor Output size Focal length mag Lens mount Shutter speeds Sensitivity Exposure modes Metering Exposure comp Continuous shooting Screen Viewfinder AF points Video External mic Memory card Power Battery life Dimensions Weight

W

hile Sigma is best known for its superb lenses, 61MP BSI-CMOS, 35.9 x 24mm the firm has long 9520x6328 had a sideline in making 1x cameras. In 2018 it formed the Leica L Shutter speeds 30-1/8000sec L-Mount Alliance alongside ISO 100-25,600 (standard), ISO Panasonic and Leica, and in 6-102,400 (extended) mid-2019 announced the 24MP PASM fp – the world’s smallest Evaluative, Spot, Centre Weighted full-frame mirrorless camera. This +/-5 EV in 0.3EV steps innovative design achieved its 10fps compact dimensions by leaving out a mechanical shutter, in-body 3.2in, 2.1m-dot touchscreen stabilisation, and an 3.68m-dot, 0.83x magnification image viewfinder, resulting in 49 hybrid phase/contrast detection electronic box-shaped body with a fixed 4K (3840 x 2160) up to 30fps; Full arear LCD. When I reviewed the fp HD (1920 x 1080) up to 120fps last year, I found it to be an 3.5mm stereo interesting concept, but with UHS-II SD; USB-C SSD significant limitations in terms of BP-51 Li-ion usability and handling.

240 Now we have a follow-up model, 112.6x69.9x45.3mm 427g including battery and card but perhaps not in the way many people were expecting. The fp L

Sigma provides some unusual JPEG colour processing modes – this is Powder Blue

Sigma fp L, Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG DN at 38mm, 1/250sec at f/8, ISO 100

isn’t a successor, but a companion model that places a 61MP sensor into exactly the same body. Remarkably, this comes at the same £1,999 body-only launch price as the fp.

When you consider that the only other way to get such a highresolution sensor is in the £3,200 Sony Alpha 7R IV, this looks like an absolute bargain.

Sigma has also addressed one of the main criticisms of the camera’s design by producing an optional EVF-11 electronic viewfinder that bolts onto the side. It adds £450 to the price when bought in a kit with the fp L and will also work with the original fp via firmware version 3.00. So the question is, do these developments make the fp L an appealing option for photographers after high resolution on a budget? www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

Features

Sigma has built the fp L around a 61MP full-frame back-illuminated sensor that boasts phase detection pixels for autofocus, which sounds very much like the superb chip Sony uses in the A7R IV. This delivers a sensitivity range of ISO 100-25,600 as standard, along with extended high settings up to 102,400. The firm also provides composite low ISO settings down to ISO 6, which are produced by combining multiple ISO 100 exposures.

As a result, moving subjects will appear with ghosting effects, rather than as a continuous blur.

Shutter speeds are available across a range of 30sec to 1/8000sec, but again there’s a catch. The shutter is purely electronic, with a flash sync speed of 1/15sec betraying a decidedly slow scan time while

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

the camera reads out rows of sensor pixels from top to bottom.

This means that the fp L will be prone to both distorting the shapes of moving subjects and banding under fluorescent light.

So while the camera is capable of shooting at up to 10 frames per second, it looks best suited to product or landscape work, rather than sports or action.

In step up from the original fp, autofocus now employs a hybrid system that uses phase detection for speed combined with contrast detection to fine-tune accuracy. The focus area can be positioned freely across most of the frame area, while a simplified 49-point arrangement is available for quick selection when using the physical controls. Both face and eye detection are onboard, along with subject tracking.

Files are recorded in Adobe’s standard DNG format, which means they should open in most software without requiring an update to support the camera.

However, it is important to understand that 61MP raws will place a real strain on your computer in terms of both processing power and storage.

Raw files can be converted to JPEGs in-camera after shooting, but with no Wi-Fi or Bluetooth for smartphone connectivity, there’s no quick way of sharing your images.

One interesting feature that Sigma has included to exploit the sensor’s resolution is a crop zoom mode, which is activated using a pinch gesture on the touchscreen. Crucially, this isn’t a JPEG-only option, with the camera also recording cropped DNG files at certain sizes. If

offers 1.5x zoom at 26MP, 2x zoom at 15MP, 2.5x zoom at 9.8MP, or 5x zoom at 2.5MP. When using Auto ISO, the camera is smart enough to adjust the minimum shutter speed to match the equivalent focal length.

Plenty of options for JPEG processing are available, and readily accessed using dedicated Color and Tone buttons.

Alongside the usual array of colour modes with names like Portrait, Vivid and Landscape, Sigma has provided some more interesting choices. New to the fp L is an array of duotone settings, along with a high-key Powder Blue to complement the existing Teal and Orange, Sunset Red and Forest Green modes.

These may not appeal much to raw shooters, but do provide an interesting means of creative experimentation.

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The camera works quite well with adapted manual-focus lenses

Sigma fp L, Tamron SP 90mm f/2.5 Macro, 1/40sec at f/11, ISO 100

Thanks to its L mount, the fp L can accept a wide range of lenses from Leica, Panasonic and Sigma. However, its petite form means that it’s best suited for use with relatively small optics. Sigma’s lovely i-series primes are perhaps the perfect match, with 24mm f/3.5, 35mm f/2, 45mm f/2.8, and 65mm f/2 options available, while the compact 28-70mm F2.8 DG DN C should also balance pretty well. However, I found it formed an awkward combination with the larger 24-70mm f/2.8.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that there are only a few L-mount lenses with optical stabilisation, so most of the time you have to put up with no image stabilisation at all. This is problematic, given that the high-resolution sensor will ruthlessly reveal any blur from hand-shake.

In terms of video, on paper the fp L has a similarly impressive spec to its 24MP stablemate. It’s capable of recording 4K video at 30fps and can output raw video in the 12-bit CinemaDNG format to an external recorder. There are plenty of sophisticated video tools onboard, with one neat trick being the ability to record directly to an external SSD plugged into its USB-C port. But that slow sensor readout time, and the 74

rolling shutter effect it brings, Overall, the control layout and counts against the new model in user interface works well. Two comparison to the original fp. large switches on top turn on the camera and select between stills Build and handling and video, with independent With its small rectangular body, settings and optimised interfaces the fp L presents a very different for each. A pair of electronic dials operational proposition to other on the top and back are used for full-frame mirrorless cameras. Its changing exposure settings, with die-cast aluminium body feels as the rear one controlling exposure solid as a brick, but unfortunately compensation in the P, A and S shares much the same handling modes. But if you prefer, their characteristics. But the whole functions can be swapped, which idea behind the design is that it’s allows the larger top dial to be modular, so you can add a choice used for exposure compensation of handgrips. The small HG-11 when shooting with lenses that works nicely with compact primes have physical aperture rings. The and adds £60 to the price, while rear dial also serves as a d-pad. with larger, heavier optics, the Other key settings are changed £100 HG-21 will probably be the using Sigma’s onscreen Quick better answer. Don’t even think of Set menu. Here you’ll find such shooting handheld without one or things as ISO, white balance, the other, though, as it’s a really metering and drive modes, along awkward experience. with image quality, aspect ratio You shouldn’t have to worry and fill light options. There’s no about working in inclement exposure mode dial; instead, this conditions, with the body is changed using a button at the boasting weather-sealing at 42 camera’s base. Six custom points. Despite its small size, the modes can be set up for specific various buttons and dials are all subjects and given recognisable decently large and well-spaced, names, along with two-letter meaning that the camera is quite abbreviations that are used to select them. usable when you’re wearing gloves. On the whole, the controls It’s possible to position the operate with satisfying precision, focus area simply by tapping the aside from ill-defined click-stops touchscreen, which also activates on the rear dial which can hinder options for changing the size of the AF point, switching between changing settings quickly.

49-point and free AF area positioning, end enabling face or eye detection. However, as with the fp, the touch response is disconcertingly laggy. Alternatively you can use the physical controls, by pressing the Down key, AEL and then the d-pad, but this is distinctly awkward.

Thankfully, Sigma has provided a menu option that allows the focus area to be moved directly using the d-pad. This is the best bet if you prefer to select the subject on a shot-by-shot basis,

Sigma’s new Duotone modes provide an interesting avenue for experimentation

Sigma fp L, Sigma 24mm F3.5 DG DN, 1/60sec at f/3.5, ISO 100

CAMERA TEST and is pretty much essential if you use the viewfinder. The drawback is that you lose access to Focus Mode and Focus Area settings from the Up and Down keys, but this can be addressed by putting them into the QS Menu. Alternatively, they can be reassigned to any of the three user-customisable buttons, namely Color, Tone or Mode.

Another useful addition compared to the original fp is the option to assign one of these buttons, or alternatively the AEL button, to stop down the lens for depth-offield preview.

Viewfinder and screen

Focal points

Sigma has re-used the exact same body design as its original 24MP fp

¼in threads

Along with the usual tripod thread on the baseplate, there’s another on each side.

They’re used for attaching the viewfinder, handgrip and even the removable strap lugs.

Heat dissipation Sigma’s Power BP-51 battery is

A large heat sink behind the LCD screen provides a means of preventing the camera from overheating during video recording.

identical to the Panasonic DMW-BLC12, so spares are easy to find, which is lucky as you’ll need them.

It’s charged via the camera’s USB-C port, but you have to remove the viewfinder first.

Connectors On the side you’ll find USB-C, microphone and micro-HDMI ports, alongside an interface for the add-on hot shoe. The mic socket also accepts the CR-41 cable release.

mm 3.54

Sigma has employed the same excellent rear screen as on the original fp. At 2.1 million dots it’s sharp and detailed, and bright enough to see clearly outdoors in daylight. It previews colour and exposure, and you can overlay useful information such as gridlines, an electronic level, a live histogram and a zebra pattern overexposure warning.

You even get the option of viewing a small waveform display when shooting stills, which provides much more detailed information about image brightness distribution across the frame than a simple histogram, and is usually seen in high-end video cameras. But as with the fp, the fixed rear screen forces you to hold the camera out in front of you to take pictures, which isn’t very stable.

Thankfully, a saving grace comes in the form of the new EVF-11 viewfinder, and I wouldn’t contemplate using the fp L without it. It bolts onto the side of the camera and plugs into the HDMI and USB-C sockets, while drawing power from the flash interface. The viewfinder housing is designed not to block the camera’s mic socket and adds a headphone socket for monitoring audio. It also has a USB-C port for connecting an SSD, but you can’t use the latter to charge the battery, and have to remove the EVF from the camera instead.

Also as the EVF attaches to the same place as the hot shoe, you can’t use it with a flash.

The viewfinder itself is sensational: its 3.69m-dot panel displays plenty of detail, while its 0.84x magnification surpasses almost anything else on the market for size. Yet it’s perfectly clear into the corners of the frame, with a long eye relief for glasses wearers. The EVF also tilts upwards 90 degrees, which is useful for low-angle shooting.

Unfortunately, though, the fp L is no longer remotely compact with the viewfinder fitted, but instead becomes both bulkier and more awkwardly shaped than its SLR-style peers. Another real irritation is the lack of an eye-sensor for switching back and forth with the camera’s LCD – instead you have to flick a switch on the side of the EVF every single time, which

Testbench

Weather-sealing There’s Storagea single UHS-II SD Processing Color and Tone

The fp L is designed to be dustproof and splash-proof, with seals arranged at 42 points around the camera body.

slot, but you can also record files to an SSD connected to the USB-C port on either the camera or EVF, which should be especially handy for videographers.

buttons on the back provide access to a broad range of in-camera imageprocessing effects.

mm 9.96 112.6 mm 75

rapidly gets annoying.

The control set-up works okay for changing the main exposure settings with the camera up to your eye, but it’s very easy to mix up the AEL and QS buttons. Getting at the various buttons along the base of the body is a real stretch, too.

Sigma’s approach for setting the focus point by touch doesn’t work very well with the EVF either, as you first have to tap the screen, and then drag the focus area around. Likewise, pinching to set crop zoom isn’t really an option.

Autofocus

Thanks to its on-sensor phase detection, the fp L focuses quickly and decisively, especially with static subjects. By default, the camera will select the focus area automatically, but often chooses to focus on the background, particularly if your subject is relatively small. So it’s usually better to switch to manual AF area selection instead, or use face- and eye-detection for portraits. The latter does a great job of recognising human subjects even when they’re small in the frame.

Sigma has also paid attention to making manual focus easy to use. When using a native lens, turning the manual focus ring activates a ‘picture-in-picture’ magnified view for accurate

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focusing. Focus peaking is also available, in a choice of colours, and the camera can display either a basic distance scale or the current focus distance. With a manual-focus lens, pressing the button in the centre of the rear dial or double-tapping the LCD toggles magnified view. As a result, the camera works well with either L-mount lenses that don’t have any electronics, or adapted manual lenses.

Performance

Set the power switch to On and the fp L takes a couple of seconds to fire up, which isn’t ideal if you’re trying to get a quick grab shot. But once it’s ready, the camera is quick and responsive to the physical controls. The only time it’ll really lock you out when shooting stills is with composite low ISO settings, which can take up to 20 seconds to process. So they’re definitely best reserved for slow, considered work.

With no mechanical shutter, the fp L can be completely silent while shooting. However, this first requires turning off various beeps and fake shutter sounds in the menu. To provide a visual cue of when you’ve taken a picture, the screen blacks-out briefly between frames.

Sigma’s metering is generally reliable, if anything erring towards underexposure to protect

highlights. Auto white balance works well, but with a certain tendency to drift to the cooler side of the spectrum. Sigma’s standard colour rendition is absolutely fine but doesn’t stand out from the pack in any way. As a result, the camera delivers perfectly acceptable JPEGs, but you’ll generally get much better results processing from raw.

As we’d expect, the sensor is capable of truly superb image quality, with exceptional levels of detail, low noise, and broad dynamic range. But two design aspects hinder getting the best out of the sensor in practice.

First is the lack of image stabilisation, which means that if you want pixel-sharp images handheld, you’ll need to use fast shutter speeds. Forget the 1/ focal length rule of thumb; with this 61MP sensor, you’re likely to need two stops faster, meaning 1/100sec with a 24mm lens, or 1/250sec with a 70mm, and so on. This inevitably means hiking the ISO more than with stabilised systems.

Meanwhile the electronic shutter’s slow readout time can be distinctly problematic in certain situations. Vehicles moving at any decent speed across the frame will appear to be leaning backwards, regardless of how fast a shutter speed you use, while backgrounds will

High-ISO image quality is very respectable, which is welcome given the lack of in-body stabilisation

Sigma fp L, Sigma 24mm F2.5 DG DN, 1/15sec at f/3.5, ISO 25,600

distort if you pan the camera.

If you take pictures under fluorescent lighting, you may well also see colour banding effects that are extremely difficult to suppress. Shoot handheld with an unstabilised telephoto and images can suffer from essentially uncorrectable random distortions, with vertical lines curving due to lateral camera shake. If you want to be sure of eliminating such distortions, you’ll need to use a tripod.

Another area where the fp L really struggles comes with regards to battery life. I only got about 150 frames per charge when using the viewfinder, even with more aggressive power-save settings than the defaults, Eco mode enabled in the menu, and frequently switching the camera off between shots. So users will definitely want to pick up a spare or three.

You can top up the battery during breaks in shooting, or indeed power the camera directly The sensor resolution gives plenty of scope for using a USB-C PD powerbank, but cropping. This is the 9.8MP, 2.5x crop zoom this requires removing the Sigma fp L, Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG DN Art at 70mm, 1/1600sec at f/2.8, ISO 100 viewfinder. www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

CAMERA TEST

Testbench

Verdict Recommended

ISO and noise Sensational image quality is the name of the game from the fp L’s 61MP sensor, at least in our controlled studio test. As expected, it resolves incredible levels of detail at low ISOs, with no visible noise.

Indeed luminance noise only really becomes obvious at ISO 1600, bringing a slight negative impact on detail rendition. However I’d still be entirely happy shooting at ISO 6400, with the top standard setting of ISO 25,600 quite acceptable for smaller output sizes when necessary The crops shown below are taken to get the shot. But I’d avoid the extended higher sensitivities. from the area outlined above in red

RAW ISO 100

RAW ISO 1600

RAW ISO 6400

RAW ISO 25,600

RAW ISO 51,200

RAW ISO 102,400

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

LIKE its 24MP stablemate, the Sigma fp L is a curious, quirky beast that’s difficult to compare to other cameras. It has one of the finest sensors of any full-frame model, which is capable of superb resolution, low noise and really impressive dynamic range, for a remarkably reasonable price. Paired with Sigma’s compact i-series primes, it delivers stunning image quality in an unusually compact package. Its welldesigned control set-up makes it a likeable camera to shoot with, while its unique modular design means you can add the viewfinder or grips as required.

However, while £1,999 for a 61MP full-frame camera sounds like a bargain, the price jumps past £2,500 once you’ve added the viewfinder and a grip. That’s still £700 less than the Sony A7R IV, but it’s more than either the 45.7MP Nikon Z 7 or the 42.4MP Sony A7R III. These may not match the fp L for outright resolution, but are much more practical and accomplished all-rounders. With their integrated EVFs, they’re less bulky and handle better for photographers who prefer an eye-level viewfinder, while also being more suited for use with larger lenses. Their in-body stabilisation makes it easier to get sharp images handheld, and they don’t suffer from rolling shutter distortion, either.

Ultimately, this leaves the fp L looking like an interesting experiment by Sigma that occupies a distinct niche in the market. Its foibles and limitations make it difficult to recommend as a generalpurpose choice for mainstream users, but for certain specialist purposes it has a unique appeal. Landscape and travel photographers looking for an ultra-light set-up that delivers exceptional image quality may well find themselves tempted.

FEATURES BUILD & HANDLING METERING AUTOFOCUS AWB & COLOUR DYNAMIC RANGE IMAGE QUALITY VIEWFINDER/LCD

8/10 8/10 7/10 8/10 7/10 9/10 9/10 8/10 77

LENS TEST

Nikon Nikkor Z 24mm f/1.8 S Angela Nicholson considers Nikon’s pro-level 24mm prime lens as an alternative to a zoom for landscape and interior photography

N

ikon currently has five f/1.8 prime lenses in its S-Line range for its Z-series mirrorless cameras. They cover focal lengths ranging from 20mm to 85mm, with the Nikkor Z 24mm f/1.8 S sitting at the wider end of the spectrum.

As Nikon also offers seven www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

zoom lenses that incorporate the 24mm focal length, some might wonder about the need for a 24mm prime lens. But with a maximum aperture of f/1.8, the Z 24mm f/1.8 S is faster than any of the zoom lenses. Also, at 450g, it’s 355g lighter than the Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S and 200g

lighter than the Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S, both of which are likely to appeal to experienced landscape and interior photographers. The clincher for many photographers could be that the Z 24mm f/1.8 S’s list price is less than half that of those two zoom lenses.

Testbench

This is a lens that combines a wideangle view with shallow depth of field

Nikon Z 7II, 1/400sec at f/1.8, ISO 100

Features

As the Z 24mm f/1.8 S is designed for use on Nikon’s mirrorless cameras it has the Z mount that was introduced with the Z 6 and Z 7 back in August 2018. And while its image circle covers a full-frame sensor, it can also be mounted on the APS-C (DX) format Nikon Z 50, on which it provides an equivalent focal length of 36mm. That’s an attractive focal length for street photography.

79

Thanks to its 9-bladed aperture, the lens gives attractive 18-point sunstars

Nikon Z 7II, 1/100sec at f/11, ISO 64

The lens is constructed from 12 elements arranged in 10 groups with 1 ED (extra low dispersion) element and 4 aspherical elements. It also has elements with Nikon’s Nano Crystal Coat which is made up of several layers of Nikon’s extra-low refractive index coating. It’s designed to reduce internal reflections across a wide range of wavelengths and thus significantly reduce flare and ghosting.

Autofocusing is taken care of by a stepping motor with a rear

internal mechanism, so the lens doesn’t change length nor the front element rotate during focusing. That’s especially important with a lens that’s likely to be used with polarising and graduated filters.

The closest focusing distance is 25cm from the focal plane, at which point the maximum reproduction ratio of 0.15x is achieved. This means that the lens gives plenty of scope for focusing on a foreground subject while the wide angle of view (84°

on a full-frame camera) enables a diameter of 78mm, the Z 24mm lot of background to be included f/1.8 S looks very similar to the Z 85mm f/1.8 S, which is 99mm within the frame. in length and 75mm in diameter.

Build and handling In fact, the resemblance is so Nikon is aiming the Z 24mm strong that if you have both f/1.8 S at experienced lenses you need to check the enthusiast and professional lens markings to ensure you’ve photographers and it’s built picked up the correct optic. accordingly. It boasts a gasket I used the Z 24mm f/1.8 S on around the metal mount plus the Nikon Z 7II and they make a seals around its moving parts to nice combination, with the keep moisture and dust at bay. camera’s deep grip helping to At 96.5mm in length from the make the lens feel nicely camera mount and with a balanced in your hands.

The central section of the Z The 25cm minimum focus enables 24mm f/1.8 S’s barrel is taken interesting wideangle close-ups up by the manual focus ring. As it Nikon Z 7II, 1/640sec at f/3.5, ISO 64 occupies more than a third of the length of the lens, you can be confident that your finger and thumb will locate the ring quickly when you’re holding the camera.

Nikon has struck a good balance with the focus ring, as it moves easily with pressure from one finger, without feeling too loose. That’s especially handy with Nikon S-Line lenses because the ring can be customised via the camera menu to adjust aperture, exposure compensation or sensitivity.

As the manual focusing is ‘by wire’, there are no hard end points to the ring’s rotation. www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

LENS TEST

Testbench

Verdict

Excellent levels of detail are resolved at normal working apertures

Nikon Z 7II, 1/320sec at f/8, ISO 100

However, when the ring is rotated in manual focus mode, a focus scale pops up promptly in the viewfinder or on the screen on the back of the camera and this makes it clear whether the ring is being rotated in the correct direction.

Compared with lenses like the Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S, the Z 24mm f/1.8 S is quite a simple affair, as there isn’t a mini screen built into the barrel nor a dedicated control ring nor a function button. There’s just a switch to flick between automatic and manual focusing and the focus ring.

Autofocus

Just as Nikon promises, the stepping motor delivers smooth, near-silent focusing that is precise and assured.

While you’re unlikely to hear the focusing system in action in normal outdoor conditions, there is a slight audible whir that may get picked up when shooting video in quiet locations.

Image quality

If you want the best image quality from the Z 24mm f/1.8 S then you need to close down the aperture to f/2.8 or f/4, but it’s also very good wide open.

Naturally, the impressive sharpness levels seen at the centre of the frame aren’t

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

‘The stepping motor delivers smooth, near silent focusing that is precise and assured’ maintained all the way into the corners, but they still look good in real-world shooting scenarios.

Nikon Z-series cameras embed correction profiles for S-Line lenses into the raw files to compensate for issues such as vignetting, chromatic aberration, curvilinear distortion and diffraction. However, you can turn off the Diffraction compensation and Auto distortion control, or set the level of Vignette control in the camera’s menu.

Even with the Vignette control set to ‘Normal’, corner shading can be noticeable in some images shot at f/1.8. It’s a smooth, gradual darkening towards the corners that I don’t find objectionable, but it can be reduced by using the ‘High’ setting. Alternatively, closing down to f/2.0 brightens the corners and by f/2.8 vignetting is hardly noticeable.

If the Auto distortion control is turned off, there’s very slight barrel distortion, but it’s only when you switch quickly to an image with the distortion control turned on that you notice it. It’s the change that you see rather than the distortion, but once you’ve seen the change, you can make out the slight bending of

straight lines towards the edges of the frame. But it is very slight.

As usual with a lens test, I spent quite a bit of time photographing backlit tree branches to check for chromatic aberration and I’m happy to say there’s nothing to worry about on that score with the Z 24mm f/1.8 S. Being ultra-picky, I found a few instances of slim white halos that look like the impact of the colour being removed from chromatic aberration. But they’re only just visible when the images are 100% on screen, so they’re not at all problematic.

It’s easy to achieve extensive depth of field with a 24mm lens.

On the Z7 II, the hyperfocal distance at f/11 is 1.72m and at that point, the depth of field extends from 0.92m to infinity.

That means you rarely need to close down to the f/16 minimum, so you can avoid the worst of the effects of diffraction, which is fairly minimal anyway.

Nevertheless, if you shoot at f/1.8, it is possible to separate your subject from the background.

The Z 24mm f/1.8 S blurs out-of-focus areas very pleasantly and point highlights are round without harsh edges or any obvious aberrations.

NIKON introduced the Z mount to give its lens designers more scope to produce fast, highquality lenses and they really seem to be reaping the rewards.

Like Nikon’s other S-Line optics, the Nikkor Z 24mm f/1.8 S is an excellent performer and while there’s plenty of depth of field to be had with the lens stopped down, the wider apertures enable selective focusing with the subject still being impressively sharp against an attractively blurred background.

Although the Z 24mm f/1.8 S’s barrel seems quite long for a 24mm lens, it doesn’t feel out of place on a full-frame Nikon Z camera and the weight is a pleasant step down from that of a 24-70mm f/2.8. It’s also an uncomplicated lens to use, just relying on the AF/MF switch and a manual focus ring with the stabilisation left to the camera.

The 24mm focal length also gives a nice ‘wider than standard’ view without the exaggerated perspective of shorter lenses.

It adds up to a very attractive lens for landscape, street and interior photography, and makes a great choice of lens when you’re exploring a location on foot. The ability to focus down to 25cm from the focal plane also enables you to get close to subjects while the wide angle gives context.

With a lens as good as the Nikkor Z 24mm f/1.8 S, you might not miss the zoom of a zoom lens.

Data file

Price £1,049 Filter diameter 72mm Lens elements 12 Groups 10 Diaphragm blades 9 Aperture f/1.8-f/16

Min focus 25cm Length 96.5mm Diameter 78mm Weight 450g Lens mount Nikon Z Included accessories Lens caps, HB-88 Lens Hood, CL-C1 Lens Case

GOLD 81

Testbench ACCESSORIES

3 Legged Thing Alan 2.0 and Docz2 monopod and stand kit Andy Westlake tests a sturdy monopod for photo and video work

Connector

A standard 1/4in thread allows connection to a camera or telephoto lens, while a sprung, push-down 3/8in outer sleeve accepts ball or tilt heads.

S E C I RP T E E R TS E T A M I X O R P PA E R A S E C I R P L L A

● £169.99 ● www.3leggedthing.com MONOPODS are an invaluable form of support 2-part kit for sports and action photographers who The stabiliser stand can regularly shoot with large, weighty telephoto be easily removed and lenses, and can also be extremely useful for replaced by a rubber foot, those who shoot video on the move. In recent allowing the monopod to years, we’ve seen a trend towards stabilising be used on its own. them further by the addition of a small tripod foot. This good-sized five-section carbon-fibre example from 3 Legged Thing gains a number of improvements compared to the previous version. It’s available for £130 on its own, but here we’re looking at a £170 kit that also includes the Docz2 foot.

In typical 3 Legged Thing fashion, this is a robust, hefty piece of kit. It sports the firm’s usual large twist leg-section locks, Large locks which are really quick and easy both to undo 3 Legged Thing’s and tighten-up again firmly, even when you’re signature chunky leg locks wearing gloves. In a clever design touch, they make this monopod quick can’t unscrew completely by accident, but can to set and adjust in still be easily taken apart for cleaning if height. required. Also of note is the large rubberised Rubber handgrip that provides an exceptionally positive grip hold. Surprisingly, no wrist strap is supplied in the This boasts a textured box, but three slots protruding from the camera surfaced along with platform allow one to be attached if you’d like. sculpted channels, Also at the top, the connector uses a neat dual-thread promising secure grip design. There’s a standard 1/8in screw for directly in wet conditions. attaching a camera or lens, that’s surrounded by a sprung, retracting 3/8in sleeve for an add-on head. The firm offers a range of ball-and-socket ‘Airheds’, but one thing missing from its lineup is a simple tilting head.

It’s at the base, though, where this kit really stands At a glance apart. Unscrew the monopod’s simple rubber foot and attach the Docz2 base, and you get a significant boost in ● Monopod and stabiliser kit stability that easily justifies the 500g extra weight. The ● 5-section carbon-fibre leg three small legs fold upwards for increased portability, ● Maximum height 156cm while another rubberised foot at the base means you ● Folded length 50cm can use the monopod without necessarily having to fold them out. A ball joint between the tripod stand and the ● Weight 1.11kg monopod provides useful flexibility and, in a minor stroke of genius, its tension can be adjusted for different loads by twisting that foot. The joint can also be locked in the TABLE TRIPOD vertical position by spinning down a metallic-orange disc.

Verdict

I tested the Alan 2.0 /Docz2 combo using a full-frame mirrorless camera with a 100-400mm lens and found it to be more than up to the job. If you’d like a stable support for large lenses or video when you can’t use a tripod, it would be a fine choice.

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GOLD

In principle, the Docz2 stand can also be used as a mini tripod. It only really works on flat surfaces, you can’t easily get at the tension control and you’ll need an L-bracket to turn the camera to portrait format, but it’s still a useful option to have at your disposal. www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

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Ask the Experts Tech Talk

Looking for a new camera or accessory and need some advice? We’re here to help. Contact us at ap.ed@kelsey.co.ukor on Twitter at@AP_Magazineand #AskAP

Do portable backdrops for group shots exist?

Q

I’ve started offering family portraits locally, but it’s often tricky to find clean-looking backdrops at the locations I arrive at. Ideally, I’d love to use studio paper rolls, but I think I might struggle to quickly set them up on my own, and to transport rolls in my car that are big enough for groups of people. Are there any portable alternatives? Bonus points if they’re under £200!

Taylor Milward Get those bonus points ready Taylor, there is indeed! It sounds as though something like Lastolite’s Plain Collapsible Background could be ideal for you, especially in its 1.8x2.75m variant. Popping up from a bag that’s less than a third of its final size in a second, it provides a reversible black/ white backdrop manufactured from crease-resistant fabric that’s easily large enough for full-length individual portraits or 3/4 length group shots of four to five subjects. Each of its edges has loops and a handle so that it can be hung or supported in any desired orientation easily, while packing it all back down again into its bag takes seconds. A triple re-enforced stitch line ensures steel rims won’t be popping out of the rim tape, and it boasts a lifetime warranty. Oh, and it’s only £189!

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Where can I get a quality photo book?

Q

After three decades of building up an archive of travel photos, I’ve spent the last travel-free year at home digitising my old shots and re-editing them along with some of my newer favourites. I’d now really like to produce myself a high-quality photo book, but have been disappointed with some that I’ve made in the past. Who would you recommend as a printer for an affordable, but still premium-finish photo book?

Stephen Rockford

Our experts suggest

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Lastolite backdrop: easy to use 84

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reating your own photo books is now easier than ever, and something that was once time-consuming, complex and expensive is now easily achievable. Here are three companies that we would recommend considering, all of which raise the bar when it comes to their print quality, but still don’t charge the earth to produce your creation. All of them provide a range of methods for you to create your project, as well as a variety of papers and cover materials to realise it.

● Layflat Binding as standard ● Direct upload or browser-based book creation ● www.saal-digital.co.uk

name in the print industry, WhiteWall’s photo books don’t drop the ball. As standard the paper stock used for softcover books is a pleasing Silk Matte, but there are also options for premium Matte and Gloss papers, as well as an uncoated stock. Hardcover, linen and leather bounds are available, while the cheapest softcover option still provides the choice between a glossy and softtouch finish feel. Browserbased creation means books with professional layouts are simple and intuitive to design.

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Alongside the standard paper stock, there are lustre and matte options as well as Mohawk ProPhoto Pearl and Superfine Eggshell papers to choose from. Further premium options include a lay-flat design and several hardcover options.

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Buyin Guide

297 lenses listed & rated

Our comprehensive listing of key specifications for DS Lens mounts Each manufacturer has its own

DSLR Lenses

lens mount and most aren’t compatible with one another. For example, a Canon DSLR can’t use Nikon lenses, although you can use independent brands if you get them with the right mount.

Interchangeable lenses come in a huge array of types for shooting different kinds of subjects

IN GENERAL, the easiest way to expand the kinds of pictures you can take is by buying different types of lenses. For example, telephoto lenses let you zoom in on distant subjects, while macro lenses enable close-ups of small objects.

Large-aperture lenses allow you to isolate subjects against blurred backgrounds, or shoot in low light without having to raise the ISO too high.

Meanwhile, all-in-one superzooms cover a wide range of subjects, but usually with rather lower optical quality.

Built-in focus motor Most lenses now incorporate an internal motor to drive the autofocus, although some are still driven from the camera body. DSLR lenses often use ultrasonictype motors for fast focusing, but some now have video-friendly stepper motors as widely used in mirrorless systems.

Filter thread A thread at the front of

the camera will have a diameter, in mm, which will allow you to attach a variety of filters or adapters to the lens.

OUR GUIDE TO THE SUFFIXES USED BY LENS MANUFACTURERS

AF Nikon AF lenses driven from camera AF-S Nikon lenses with Silent Wave Motor AF-P Nikon lenses with stepper motors AL Pentax lenses with aspheric elements APD Fujifilm lenses with apodisation elements APO Sigma Apochromatic lenses ASPH Aspherical elements AW Pentax all-weather lenses CS Samyang lenses for APS-C cropped sensors D Nikon lenses that communicate distance info DA Pentax lenses optimised for APS-C-sized sensors DC Nikon defocus-control portrait lenses

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DC Sigma’s lenses for APS-C digital DG Sigma’s designation for full-frame lenses Di Tamron lenses for full-frame sensors Di-II Tamron lenses designed for APS-C DSLRs Di-III Tamron lenses for mirrorless cameras DN Sigma’s lenses for mirrorless cameras DO Canon diffractive optical element lenses DT Sony lenses for APS-C-sized sensors DX Nikon’s lenses for DX-format digital DS Canon’s Defocus Smoothing technology E Nikon lenses with electronic apertures E Sony lenses for APS-C mirrorless

ED Extra-low Dispersion elements EF Canon’s lenses for full-frame DSLRs EF-S Canon’s lenses for APS-C DSLRs EF-M Canon’s lenses for APS-C mirrorless EX Sigma’s ‘Excellent’range FA Pentax full-frame lenses FE Sony lenses for full-frame mirrorless G Nikon lenses without an aperture ring HSM Sigma’s Hypersonic Motor IS Canon’s Image-Stabilised lenses L Canon’s ‘Luxury’ range of high-end lenses LD Low-Dispersion glass

LM Fujifilm Linear Motor MP-E Canon’s high-magnification macro lens OIS Optical Image Stabilisation OS Sigma’s Optically Stabilised lenses PC-E Nikon tilt-and-shift lenses PF Nikon Phase Fresnel optics PZD Tamron Piezo Drive focus motor RF Canon full-frame mirrorless lenses S Nikon’s premium lenses for mirrorless SAM Sony Smooth Autofocus Motor SDM Pentax’s Sonic Direct Drive Motor SMC Pentax Super Multi Coating

Maximum aperture Wider apertures mean you can use faster, motion-stopping shutter speeds.

SP Tamron’s Super Performance range SSM Sony Supersonic Motor lenses STF Sony and Laowa Smooth Trans Focus STM Canon lenses with stepper motor TS-E Canon Tilt-and-Shift lens UMC Ultra Multi Coated USM Canon lenses with an Ultrasonic Motor USD Tamron Ultrasonic Drive motor VC Tamron’s Vibration Compensation VR Nikon’s Vibration Reduction feature WR Weather Resistant Z Nikon’s lenses for mirrorless cameras

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RRP SCORE

EF 8-15mm f/4 L USM EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM EF 11-24mm f/4 L USM EF 14mm f/2.8 L II USM EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L III USM EF 16-35mm f/4 L IS USM TS-E 17mm f/4 L EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM EF-S 18-55mm f/4-5.6 IS STM EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS EF 24mm f/1.4 L II USM EF 24mm f/2.8 IS USM EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM TS-E 24mm f/3.5 L II EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L II USM EF 24-70mm f/4 L IS USM EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS II USM EF 24-105mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM EF 28mm f/2.8 IS USM EF 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 L IS USM EF-S 35mm f/2.8 Macro IS STM EF 35mm f/2 IS USM EF 35mm f/1.4 L II USM EF 40mm f/2.8 STM TS-E 45mm f/2.8 EF 50mm f/1.2 L USM EF 50mm f/1.4 USM EF 50mm f/1.8 STM TS-E 50mm f/2.8L Macro EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L USM EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS III USM EF 70-200mm f/4 L USM EF 70-200mm f/4L IS II USM EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 IS II USM EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 L IS USM EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III EF 85mm f/1.2 L II USM EF 85mm f/1.4L IS USM EF 85mm f/1.8 USM TS-E 90mm f/2.8 TS-E 90mm f/2.8L Macro EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM EF 100mm f/2.8 L Macro IS USM EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS II USM EF 135mm f/2 L USM TS-E 135mm f/4L Macro EF 180mm f/3.5 L Macro USM EF 200mm f/2.8 L II USM EF 300mm f/4 L IS USM EF 400mm f/5.6 L USM

£1499 £299 £990 £2799 £2810 £2150 £1199 £2920 £940 £795 £220 £478 £500 £740 £2010 £750 £165 £2550 £2300 £1499 £1129 £479 £730 £3290 £399 £799 £1799 £230 £1200 £1910 £450 £130 £2500 £265 £540 £1250 £1540 £2150 £790 £1300 £499 £1600 £300 £2640 £1570 £470 £1670 £2500 £650 £1060 £1999 £1360 £2500 £1870 £960 £1740 £1660

Y R AV YA M S E C I R P T E E R T S , S P R R E R A S E C I R P L L A

LAOWA DSLR

12mm f/2.8 Zero D 15mm f/4 1:1 Macro 15mm f/4.5 Zero-D Shift 24mm F14 2x Macro Probe 25mm f/2.8 Ultra Macro 2.5x - 5x 60mm f/2.8 2X Ultra Macro 100mm f/2.8 2:1 Ultra Macro APO 105mm f/2 (T3.2) STF

£899 £449 £1249 £1599 £399 £319 £469 £649

4★ 4★ 5★ 4.5★ 4★ 4★ 4★ 4★ 4★ 4★ 5★ 4★ 3.5★ 3.5★ 5★ 5★ 5★ 4★

4.5★ 5★ 4★ 5★ 5★ 4★ 5★ 4.5★

SUMMARY Impressive-looking fisheye zoom lens from Canon A superb ultra-wideangle that’s a must-have for anyone shooting landscapes and cityscapes A good performer, with solid MTF curves and minimal chromatic aberration Long-awaited by Canon full-frame users, this is the world’s widest-angle rectilinear zoom lens Impressive resolution at f/8 but less so wide open Revamped wideangle zoom includes new optics in a weather-sealed lens barrel Versatile and with a useful IS system, this is a very good ultra-wideangle zoom for full-frame cameras Tilt-and-shift optic with independent tilt-and-shift rotation and redesigned coatings Designed to match the needs of demanding professionals – and does so with ease Very capable lens with three-stop image stabilisation, Super Spectra coating and a circular aperture Latest standard zoom for Canon’s APS-C EOS DSLRs, with compact design and updated optics Uses stepper motor for silent and fast autofocus that’s also well suited to video work Versatile zoom with new Nano USM focus technology and optional power zoom adapter Automatic panning detection (for image stabilisation) and a useful 11x zoom range Subwavelength structure coating, together with UD and aspherical elements Small wideangle optic with image stabilisation Bargain price, tiny carry-everywhere size and a highly competent imaging performance Tilt-and-shift optic with independent tilt-and-shift rotation and redesigned coatings Professional-quality standard zoom lens with a fast aperture L-series zoom said to be compact, portable and aimed at both professionals and amateurs Reworked workhorse zoom for full-frame cameras uses an all-new optical design A versatile standard zoom lens that’s an ideal route into full-frame photography Lightweight and inexpensive lens, with a single aspherical element L-series optic with expansive range, image stabilisation and a circular aperture Features an innovative built-in dual-LED light for close-up shooting First 35mm prime from Canon to feature an optical stabilisation system An outstanding addition to the L-series line-up A portable and versatile compact pancake lens. A fast maximum aperture enables low-light shooting Tilt-and-shift lens designed for studio product photography Very wide maximum aperture and Super Spectra coatings, and a circular aperture Brilliant performer, with a highly consistent set of MTF curves. AF motor is a tad noisy, though Lightest EF lens in the range, with wide maximum aperture and a Micro Motor One of a trio of tilt-and-shift macro lenses, this replaces the TS-E 45mm f/2.8 A compact telephoto lens featuring smooth, quiet STM focusing when shooting movies Great build and optical quality, with fast, accurate and near-silent focusing Macro lens designed to achieve a magnification greater than 1x without accessories Non-stabilised L-series optic, with rear focusing and four UD elements Updates Canon’s excellent pro workhorse zoom with water-repellent fluorine coatings A cheaper L-series alternative to the f/2.8 versions available Upgraded premium telephoto zoom promises five stops of image stabilisation Mid-range telephoto zoom offers really good optics and fast, silent autofocus An L-series lens with a highly durable outer shell Essentially the same lens as the 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III USM but with no USM A well-crafted lens, with fast and quiet AF with good vignetting and distortion control Sublime, highly desirable portrait lens combines large aperture and optical image stabilisation Non-rotating front ring thanks to rear-focusing system, as well as USM Said to be the world’s first 35mm-format telephoto lens with tilt-and-shift movements One of a trio of tilt-and-shift macro lenses, this replaces the TS-E 90mm f/2.8 A solid performer, but weak at f/2.8 (which is potentially good for portraits) Stunning MTF figures from this pro-grade macro optic L-series construction and optics, including fluorite and Super UD elements L-series construction with two UD elements and wide maximum aperture One of a trio of tilt-and-shift macro lenses, with 1:2 magnification L-series macro lens with inner focusing system and USM technology Two UD elements and a rear-focusing system in this L-series optic Two-stop image stabilisation with separate mode for panning moving subjects Super UD and UD elements, as well as a detachable tripod mount and built-in hood

Ultra-wideangle lens for full-frame DSLRs that exhibits minimal distortion 4★ Unusual wideangle lens that offers 1:1 Macro together with vertical shift movements on APS-C cameras 4★ The world’s widest-angle shift lens offers +/-11mm movement in any direction Unique specialist macro lens with submersible front barrel and built-in LED lights Unusual lens designed solely for ultra-close-up shooting, with magnification from 2.5x to 5x 3.5★ With 2:1 Macro, an all-in-one option for normal portrait photography as well as ultra-macro Full-frame macro lens with twice-life-size magnification and apochromatic design 4★ Designed for full-frame DSLRS, and features an apodisation element that renders lovely bokeh

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)G( T H G I E W

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CANON DSLR

)MM( H T G N E L

) M M ( RE T E M A I D ) M M( D A E R H T R E T L I F ) M C ( S U C O F NIM EM A R F LLUF AMGIS XATNEP NOKIN SDRIHT RUOF NONAC A H P L A YNOS NOI T A S I LIBATS EGAMI

DSLR Lenses

DIMENSIONS • 15 22 24 • 28 • 20 • 28 • 28 • 25 • 28 35 25 39 39 45 • 25 • 20 16 • 21 • 38 • 38 • 45 • 40 • 30 • 70 13 • 24 • 28 30 • 40 • 45 • 45 • 35 • 27 110 20 • 24 • 150 • 120 • 120 • 100 • 120 • 120 • 150 • 95 • 85 • 85 • 50 • 39 • 31 • 30 • 98 • 90 • 49 • 48 • 150 • 150 • 350

n/a 67 77 n/a n/a 82 77 77 77 77 58 67 67 72 77 58 52 82 82 77 77 77 52 77 49 67 72 52 72 72 58 49 77 58 52 58 77 77 67 72 67 67 58 72 77 58 58 77 58 67 77 72 82 72 72 77 77

78.5 74.6 83.5 108 80 89.5 82.6 88.9 83.5 83.5 66.5 76.6 77.4 78.6 83.5 68.4 68.2 88.5 88.5 83.4 83.5 83.4 67.4 92 69.2 62.6 80.4 68.2 81 85.8 73.8 69.2 86.9 70 73 81 84.6 88.8 76 80 80 89 71 91.5 88.6 75 73.6 86.9 79 77.7 94 82.5 88.5 82.5 83.2 90 90

83 72 89.8 132 94 127.5 112.8 106.9 96.8 110.6 61.8 96 96 102 86.9 55.7 22.8 106.9 113 93 118 104 42.5 184 55.8 77.9 104.4 22.8 90.1 65.5 50.5 39.3 114.9 111.2 69.8 98 193.6 199 172 176 145.5 143 122 84.0 105.4 71.5 88 116.5 119 123 193 112 139.1 186.6 136.2 221 256.5

540 240 385 1180 645 790 615 820 500 645 215 480 515 595 650 280 125 780 805 600 795 525 185 1670 190 335 760 130 645 580 290 130 945 375 335 710 1310 1480 705 780 710 1050 480 1025 950 425 565 915 600 625 1640 750 1110 1090 765 1190 1250

• • • • • • • •

77 77 n/a n/a n/a 62 67 67

74.8 83.8 79 38 65 95 125 98.9

82.8 64.7 103 408 82 70 72 76

609 410 597 474 400 503 638 745

18 12 20 47 17.3 18.5 24.7 90

We’ve tried our hardest to ensure that the information in this guide is as complete and accurate as possible. However, some errors will inevitably have crept in along the way: if you spot one, please let us know by emailing ap.ed@kelsey.co.uk. Unfortunately we don’t have space to list every single product on the market, so we don’t include the most expensive speciality items. Before making a purchase we advise you to check prices, along with any crucial specifications or requirements, with either a reputable retailer or the manufacturer’s website. www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

87

BUYING GUIDE

RRP SCORE

8-15mm f/3.5-4.5 E ED Fisheye AF-S 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6 G VR AF-P DX 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 G ED AF-S DX 10.5mm f/2.8 G ED DX Fisheye 12-24mm f/4 G ED AF-S DX 14mm f/2.8 D ED AF 14-24mm f/2.8 G ED AF-S 16mm f/2.8 D AF Fisheye 16-35mm f/4 G ED AF-S VR 16-80mm f/2.8-4E ED VR AF-S DX 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED VR AF-S DX 17-55mm f/2.8 G ED-IF AF-S DX 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5 G ED AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 G AF-P DX 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 G VR AF-P DX 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED VR AF-S DX 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G IF-ED VR II AF-S VR DX 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 G ED VR 19mm f/4 E ED PC 20mm f/1.8 G ED AF-S 20mm f/2.8 D AF 24mm f/2.8 D AF 24mm f/1.4 G ED AF-S 24mm f/1.8 G ED AF-S 24mm f/3.5 D ED PC-E 24-70mm f/2.8 G ED AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8 E ED VR 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5 G ED VR 24-120mm f/4 G ED AF-S VR 28mm f/1.4 E ED AF-S 28mm f/1.8 G ED AF-S 28mm f/2.8 D AF 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED AF-S VR 35mm f/1.8 G AF-S DX 35mm f/1.8 G ED AF-S 35mm f/2 D AF 35mm f/1.4 G ED AF-S 40mm f/2.8 G AF-S DX Micro 45mm PC-E f/2.8 D ED Micro 50mm f/1.4 D AF 50mm f/1.4 G AF-S 50mm f/1.8 D AF 50mm f/1.8 G AF-S 58mm f/1.4 G AF-S 60mm f/2.8 D AF Micro 60mm f/2.8 G ED AF-S Micro 70-200mm f/2.8 E FL ED VR AF-S 70-200mm f/4 G ED VR AF-S 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 E ED VR AF-P 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3 G AF-P DX 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3 G VR AF-P DX 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 G ED VR AF-S 85mm f/3.5 G ED AF-S DX VR

£1299 £330 £834 £678 £1044 £1554 £1670 £762 £1072 £869 £574 £1356 £669 £149 £199 £579 £762 £849 £3300 £679 £584 £427 £1990 £629 £1774 £1565 £1849 £520 £1072 £2080 £619 £282 £889 £208 £479 £324 £1735 £250 £1393 £292 £376 £135 £200 £1599 £405 £500 £2650 £1180 £750 £300 £350 £1899 £522

SUMMARY

MOUNT

Y R AV YA M S E C I R P T E E R T S , S P R R E R A S E C I R P L L A

Fisheye zoom for full-frame DSLRs that gives a circular view at 8mm and full-frame coverage at 15mm 3.5★ Inexpensive wide zoom for DX DSLRs has effective image stabilisation but rather average optics 4★ MTF performance is good from wide open to f/11, only breaking down past f/22 DX format fisheye lens with Nikon’s Close-Range Correction system and ED glass 4★ This venerable optic may be a little weak at f/4, but otherwise it’s a good performer 5★ A really nice lens that handles well and offers excellent image quality 5★ A remarkable piece of kit, producing sharp images with little chromatic aberration Full-frame fisheye lens with Close-Range Correction system and 25cm focus distance 5★ A fantastic lens that deserves to be taken seriously, with very little CA throughout 4★ This new standard zoom for DX-format users is designed as a travel lens for APS-C DSLRs 4★ Boasting Nikon’s second-generation VR II technology and Super Integrated Coating 4★ A higher-quality standard zoom for DX-format DSLRs 5★ Wideangle zoom with instant manual-focus override for full-frame DSLRs A compact, lightweight DX-format zoom that’s an ideal walk-around lens A compact, lightweight DX-format zoom lens with Vibration Reduction A compact and lightweight DX-format zoom, this lens is a great all-rounder 4.5★ Four-stop VR II system, two ED and three aspherical elements in this DX superzoom lens New DX-format 16.7x zoom with super-telephoto reach – a compact walk-around lens Super-wideangle tilt-and-shift lens for architecture and landscape photography A fast FX-format prime lens that’s compact and lightweight Compact wideangle lens with Nikon’s Close-Range Correction system Compact wide lens with Close-Range Correction system 5★ Nothing short of stunning. Aside from its high price, there is very little to dislike about this optic Fast FX-format lens that aims to appeal to landscape, interior, architecture and street photographers Perspective Control lens with Nano Crystal Coating and electronic control over aperture 5★ An excellent set of MTF curves that show outstanding consistency, easily justifying the price of this lens 5★ Nikon’s latest pro-spec standard zoom looks like its best lens yet 5★ FX-format standard zoom with Auto Tripod detection and VR 5★ Constant maximum aperture of f/4 and the addition of VR makes this a superb lens Boasts a dust- and drip-resistant build for reliable shooting in challenging weather conditions 5★ If you crave a wide aperture and prefer a single focal length then this Nikon prime delivers Compact wideangle lens with a minimum focusing distance of 25cm 4.5★ Technical testing shows this zoom to be, as Nikon claims, the ‘ideal walkabout lens’ 5★ Designed for DX-format DSLRs, a great standard prime lens Fast FX-format prime lens with bright f/1.8 aperture. Versatile and lightweight 3★ At wide-aperture settings this optic achieves respectable resolution, which decreases with aperture 5★ A Nano Crystal-coated lens designed for the FX range 5★ A budget-priced macro lens that delivers the goods on multiple fronts Perspective Control (PC-E) standard lens used in specialised fields such as studio and architecture 5★ Entry-level prime puts in a fine performance while offering backwards compatibility with AI cameras 5★ Internal focusing and superior AF drive makes this a good alternative to the D-series 50mm f/1.4 Compact, lightweight, affordable prime, will stop down to f/22 5★ A cut-price standard lens for FX shooters or a short telephoto on DX-format DSLRs 4★ FX-format full-frame premium prime lens with large f/1.4 aperture 5★ Nikon’s most compact Micro lens, with Close Range Correction (CRC) system Micro lens with 1:1 reproduction ratio, as well as a Silent Wave Motor and Super ED glass Latest update to Nikon’s pro workhorse fast telephoto zoom brings electronic aperture control 5★ Latest 70-200mm offers third-generation VR and weight savings over its more expensive f/2.8 cousin Nikon’s first full-frame lens to feature a stepper motor for autofocus Budget telephoto zoom with stepper motor for AF and space-saving collapsible design Adds extremely useful optical stabilisation to Nikon’s budget compact telephoto 5★ Successor to the 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED VR, focusing is excellent at tracking fast-moving subjects DX-format Micro lens with a 1:1 reproduction ratio, VR II system and ED glass

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NIKON DSLR

)MM( H T G N E L

) M M ( RE T E M A I D ) M M( D A E R H T R E T L I F ) M C ( S U C O F NIM EM A R F LLUF AMGIS XATNEP NOKIN SDRIHT RUOF NONAC A H P L A YNOS NOI T A S I LIBATS EGAMI

DSLR Lenses

DIMENSIONS • 16 22 24 14 30 • 20 • 28 • 25 • 28 35 38 36 • 28 25 25 45 50 48 • 25 • 20 • 25 • 30 • 25 23 • 21 • 38 • 38 38 • 45 • 28 • 25 • 25 • 50 30 • 25 • 25 • 30 20 • 25 • 45 • 45 • 45 • 45 • 58 • 22 • 18 • 110 • 1000 • 1200 110 110 • 175 28

n/a 72 77 n/a 77 n/a n/a n/a 77 72 67 77 77 55 55 67 72 67 n/a 77 62 52 77 72 77 77 82 72 77 77 67 52 77 52 58 52 67 52 77 52 58 52 58 72 62 62 77 67 67 58 58 77 52

77.5 77 82.5 63 82.5 87 98 63 82.5 80 72 85.5 83 64.5 64.5 78 77 78.5 89 82.5 69 64.5 83 77.5 82.5 83 88 78 84 83 73 65 83 70 72 64.5 83 68.5 82.5 64.5 73.5 63 72 85 70 73 88.5 78 80.5 72 72 95.5 73

83 73 87 62.5 90 86.5 131.5 57 125 85.5 85 110.5 95 62.5 62.5 97 96.5 99 124 80.5 42.5 46 88.5 83 108 133 154.5 82 103 100.5 80 44.5 114 52.5 71.5 43.5 89.5 64.5 112 42.5 54 39 52.5 70 74.5 89 202.5 178.5 146 125 125 203 98.5

485 230 460 300 485 670 970 290 685 480 485 755 385 195 205 490 560 550 885 335 270 270 620 355 730 900 1070 465 710 645 330 205 800 200 305 205 600 235 740 230 280 160 185 385 440 425 1430 850 680 400 415 1570 355

ou’ll find hundreds of lenses ange of uses, for a variety of budgets.

lm • Nikon • Olympus ang • Sigma x • Voigtlander • Zeiss

88

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

SPONSORED BY

£1532 £470 £1299 £2049 £782 £980 £1232 £1179 £1230

DA 10-17mm f/3.5-4.5 HD Fisheye ED DA* 11-18mmF2.8 ED DC AW HD DA 12-24mm f/4 smc ED AL IF DA 15mm f/4 smc ED AL Limited FA 15-30mm f/2.8 ED SM WR HD DA* 16-50mm f/2.8 smc ED AL IF SDM DA 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6 ED DC WR DA 17-70mm f/4 smc AL IF SDM DA 18-50mm f/4-5.6 DC WR RE DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 smc AL WR DA 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 DA ED DC WR DA 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 smc ED SDM DA 20-40mm f/2.8-4 ED Limited DC WR DA 21mm f/3.2 smc AL Limited FA 24-70mm f/2.8 ED SDM WR FA 28-105mm f/3.5-5.6 ED DC HD FA 31mm f/1.8 smc AL Limited HD-FA 31mm f/1.8 Limited FA 35mm f/2 HD DA 35mm f/2.8 smc Macro DA 35mm f/2.4 smc DS AL DA 40mm f/2.8 smc Limited FA 43mm f/1.9 smc Limited HD-FA 43mm f/1.9 Limited FA* 50mm f/1.4 SDM AW HD FA 50mm f/1.4 smc DA 50mm f/1.8 smc DA D-FA 50mm f/2.8 smc Macro DA* 50-135mm f/2.8 smc ED IF SDM DA 50-200mm f/4-5.6 smc ED WR DA* 55mm f/1.4 smc SDM DA 55-300mm f/4.5-6.3 ED PLM WR RE DA 55-300mm f/4-5.8 ED WR DA 60-250mm f/4 smc ED IF SDM DA 70mm f/2.4 smc AL Limited D-FA* 70-200mm f/2.8 ED DC AW D-FA 70-210mm F4 ED SDM WR FA 77mm f/1.8 smc Limited HD-FA 77mm f/1.8 Limited D FA* 85mm f/1.4 SDM AW D-FA 100mm f/2.8 Macro WR FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 ED DC AW DA* 200mm f/2.8 smc ED IF SDM DA* 300mm f/4 smc ED IF SDM

£499 £1399 £1050 £820 £1500 £950 £600 £630 £230 £229 £600 £699 £829 £600 £1149 £549 £1149 £1100 £399 £640 £180 £450 £729 £650 £1200 £399 £249 £550 £1200 £210 £800 £400 £399 £1450 £600 £1850 £1199 £1050 £800 £1999 £680 £2000 £1000 £1300

PENTAX DSLR

Nik

f/1.4G

£389.00

SPREAD THE COST Pay £11.78 month for 36 months.

Deposit 10%, 12.9% APR.

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

SUMMARY

5★ Fast mid-tele lens with an internal focusing system and rounded diaphragm 5★ Rear-focusing system and distance window in this medium telephoto lens Perspective Control (PC-E) telephoto, designed to be ideal for portraits and product photography A 105mm FX-format prime lens with bright f/1.4 aperture, ideal for portraiture 4.5★ A very sharp lens, with swift and quiet focusing and consistent MFT results A portrait lens with defocus control Defocus-Image Control and a rounded diaphragm in this telephoto optic A super-telephoto zoom lens compatible with Nikon FX-format DSLR cameras 5★ Light, compact AF-S full-frame telephoto lens with ED glass elements

3.5★

3.5★

4.5★ 5★

4★ 4★ 4.5★ 4.5★

5★ 4.5★

Updated fisheye zoom lens gains refreshed cosmetic design, new optical coatings and removable hood Premium fast ultra-wideangle zoom, includes all-weather construction and innovative focus clamp Two aspherical elements, ELD glass and a constant aperture of f/4 in this wide zoom Limited-edition lens with hybrid aspherical and extra-low-dispersion elements Weather-resistant ultra-wideangle zoom with fast maximum aperture and fixed petal-type hood A nice balance and robust feel, but poor sharpness at f/2.8 (which significantly improves from f/4 onwards) Weather-resistant, this zoom features a round-shaped diaphragm to produce beautiful bokeh Featuring Pentax’s Supersonic Direct-drive (SDM) focusing system Super-thin standard zoom that’s weather-resistant and features a round-shaped diaphragm A weather-resistant construction and an aspherical element, as well as SP coating A weather-resistant mid-range zoom lens 15x superzoom for company’s K-mount DSLRs featuring two extra-low-dispersion (ED) elements With state-of-the-art HD coating, a completely round-shaped diaphragm, and weather resistant This limited-edition optic offers a floating element for extra-close focusing Full-frame-compatible premium standard zoom – includes a HD coating to minimise flare and ghosting Standard zoom lens for the K-1 full-frame DSLR that’s much more affordable than the 24-70mm f/2.8 Premium aluminium-bodied wideangle prime boasts full-frame compatibility and an aperture ring Updated version of classic fast wideangle prime with new HD and fluorine coatings Latest version of venerable Pentax fast prime features a multi-layer HD coating Despite slight edge softness, this lens performs excellently and is a pleasure to use A budget-priced prime lens for beginners Pancake lens with SMC coating and Quick Shift focusing system Classic full-frame fast prime with perfect focal length for everyday use Revised standard prime for full-frame cameras gains improved coatings for higher contrast Premium fast prime with dustproof, weather-resistant design and electromagnetic aperture Compact fast prime with film-era double-Gauss optics and traditional aperture ring Affordable short telephoto lens ideal for portraits Macro lens capable of 1:1 reproduction and with a Quick Shift focus mechanism Constant f/2.8 aperture; well suited to portraiture and mid-range action subjects Weather-resistant construction, Quick Shift focus system and an SP coating Despite questions about the particular sample tested, this lens scores highly Compact weather resistant telephoto zoom has video-friendly fast and silent autofocus motor Weatherproof HD telephoto lens featuring quick shift focusing system With a constant f/4 aperture and an ultrasonic motor for speedy focusing Medium telephoto lens with an aluminium construction and a Super Protect coating Fast telephoto zoom in Pentax’s high-performance Star (*) series developed for best image rendition Compact telephoto zoom with constant f/4 maximum aperture and weather-resistant construction With Pentax’s Fixed Rear Element Extension focusing system for ‘sharp, crisp images’ Renewed version of short telephoto portrait prime that features a traditional aperture ring Upcoming large-aperture short telephoto prime promises premium optics and weather-sealing Street price makes this something of a bargain for a true macro offering full-frame coverage Super-telephoto lens with weather resistance, designed to produce extra-sharp, high-contrast images SDM focusing system on the inside, and dirtproof and splashproof on the outside This tele optic promises ultrasonic focus and high image quality thanks to ED glass

Nikon 24-70mm

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85mm f/1.4 G AF-S 85mm f/1.8 G AF-S 85mm f/2.8D PC-E Micro 105mm f/1.4 E ED AF-S 105mm f/2.8 G AF-S VR II Micro 105mm f/2 D AF DC 135mm f/2 D AF DC 200-500mm f/5.6 E ED VR AF-S 300mm f/4 E PF ED VR AF-S

)MM( H T G N E L

LENS

) M M ( RE T E M A I D ) M M( D A E R H T R E T L I F ) M C ( S U C O F NIM EM A R F LLUF AMGIS XATNEP NOKIN SDRIHT RUOF NONAC A H P L A YNOS NOI T A S I LIBATS EGAMI

DSLR Lenses

DIMENSIONS

85 80 39 100 31 90 110 220 140

77 67 77 82 62 72 72 95 77

86.5 80 83.5 94.5 83 79 79 108 89

84 73 107 106 116 111 120 267.5 147.5

595 350 635 985 720 640 815 2300 755

14 30 30 18 28 30 35 28 30 25 40 49 28 20 38 50 30 30 30 14 30 40 45 45 40 45 45 19 100 n/a 45 95 140 110 70 120 95 70 70 85 30 200 120 140

n/a 82 77 49 n/a 77 72 67 58 52 62 62 55 49 82 62 58 58 49 49 49 49 49 49 72 49 52 49 67 49 58 58 58 67 49 77 67 49 49 82 49 86 77 77

70 90 83.5 39.5 98.5 98.5 78 75 71 68.5 73 76 68.5 63 109.5 73 68.5 69 64 46.5 63 63 64 64 80 63.5 38.5 60 76.5 69 70.5 76.5 71 167.5 63 91.5 78.5 48 48 95 65 241.5 83 83

67.5 100 87.5 63 143.5 84 94 93.5 41 67.5 76 89 71 25 88.5 86.5 65 65 44.5 63 45 15 27 27 106 38 63 67.5 136 79.5 66 89 111.5 82 26 203 175 64 64 123.5 80.5 95 134 184

317 704 430 212 1040 600 488 485 158 230 405 453 283 140 787 440 345 341 193 215 124 90 155 155 910 220 122 265 765 285 375 442 466 1040 130 1755 819 270 270 1255 340 2000 825 1070

f/2.8G ED

£1,359.00

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Deposit 10%, 12.9% APR.

89

BUYING GUIDE

RRP SCORE

8mm f/3.5 UMC Fisheye CS II 10mm f/3.5 XP MF 10mm f/2.8 ED AS NCS CS 12mm f/2.8 ED AS NCS Fisheye 14mm f/2.4 XP MF AF 14mm f/2.8 14mm f/2.8 ED UMC 14mm f/2.8 MF Mk II 16mm f/2.0 ED AS UMC CS 20mm f/1.8 ED AS UMC 24mm f/1.4 AS UMC 24mm f/3.5 ED AS UMS TS 35mm f/1.2 XP MF 35mm f/1.4 AS UMC 50mm f/1.2 XP MF 50mm f/1.4 AS UMC 85mm f/1.2 XP MF AF 85mm f/1.4 85mm f/1.4 IF MC 85mm f/1.4 MF Mk II 100mm f/2.8 ED UMC Macro 135mm f/2 ED UMC

£274 £950 £429 £430 £899 £649 £363 £439 £389 £430 £499 £949 £719 £369 £639 £299 £899 £599 £239 £389 £389 £399

8mm f/3.5 EX DG 8-16mm f/4.5-5.6 DC HSM 10-20mm f/3.5 EX DC HSM 12-24mm f/4 DG HSM | A 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM | A 14-24mm f/2.8 DG HSM | A 15mm f/2.8 EX DG 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM 17-70mm f/2.8-4 DC Macro OS HSM 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 DC Macro OS HSM 20mm f/1.4 DG HSM | A 24mm f/1.4 DG HSM | A 24-35mm f/2 DG HSM | A 24-70mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM | A 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM | A 28mm f/1.4 DG HSM | A 30mm f/1.4 DC HSM | A 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM | A 40mm f/1.4 DG HSM | A 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM | A 50-100mm f/1.8 DC HSM | A 60-600mm f/4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM | S 70mm f/2.8 DG Macro | A 70-200mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM | S 85mm f/1.4 DG HSM | A 100-400mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM | C 105mm f/1.4 DG HSM | A 105mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM Macro 120-300mm f/2.8 DG HSM | S 135mm f/1.8 DG HSM | A 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM | C 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM | S

£799 £800 £650 £1649 £1679 £1399 £629 £689 £449 £799 £449 £499 £799 £799 £949 £1399 £849 £1099 £360 £799 £1100 £849 £829 £1899 £499 £1349 £1199 £799 £1499 £649 £3599 £1399 £1199 £1599

The world’s only 8mm lens equipped with autofocus also boasts SLD glass 4★ Excellent performance at 8mm, which sadly drops at the 16mm end 5★ An absolute gem of a lens that deserves a place on every photographer’s wish list 5★ Premium full-frame wideangle zoom designed to have minimal distortion in its wideangle imagery World’s first f/1.8 ultra-wideangle prime lens for full-frame DSLRs 5★ Pro-specification fast ultra-wide prime for full-frame DSLRs includes weather-sealed construction 4★ This fisheye optic puts in a very solid performance – not to be dismissed as a gimmick!

FLD and aspherical elements, a constant f/2.8 aperture and Optical Stabilisation Compact redesign of this well-received lens launches the ‘Contemporary’ range 5★ Said to be the world’s first constant f/1.8 zoom; DoF equivalent of constant f/2.7 on full frame 4★ Excellent resolution and consistent performance, but control over CA could be a little better Compact and portable high ratio zoom lens offering enhanced features to make it the ideal all-in-one lens 5★ An outstanding wideangle fixed-focal-length lens 5★ The latest addition to Sigma’s ‘Art’ line of high-quality fast primes 5★ The world’s first large-aperture full-frame zoom offering a wide aperture of f/2 throughout the zoom range 5★ Latest premium fast standard zoom for full frame includes optical image stabilisation 4.5★ Serious full-frame alternative to own-brand lenses at a lower price, with no compromises in the build 4.5★ High-quality, weathersealed fast wideangle prime for full-frame DSLRs Unique fast prime for APS-C DSLRs that gives 45mm equivalent ‘normal’ angle of view 5★ Superb large-aperture prime; first lens in company’s ‘Art’ series 5★ Large and heavy prime promising natural-looking perspective and top-quality optics 5★ This lens has a unique design that pays off in truly excellent image quality 5★ This APS-C-format lens aims to cover the focal lengths of three prime lenses in one Weathersealed 10x zoom encompasses huge range from standard to super-telephoto The first macro lens in Sigma’s Art line-up features an extending-barrel focus-by-wire design 5★ Superb large-aperture telephoto zoom shows high sharpness and minimal chromatic aberration 5★ Optically stunning fast short telephoto prime is the ultimate portrait lens for DSLR users 4.5★ Relatively lightweight telezoom comes with weather-sealing and choice of push-pull or twist zoom 4.5★ Sigma’s ‘bokeh monster’ super-fast portrait lens is weathersealed and comes with a tripod foot 4.5★ An optically stabilised macro lens, this super-sharp lens is one of our favourites First lens in company’s ‘Sports’ series; switch enables adjustment of both focus speed and focus limiter 5★ Super-fast portrait prime designed to provide sufficient resolution for 50MP DSLRs Budget ‘Contemporary’ version of Sigma’s long-range telephoto zoom is smaller and lighter This portable, high-performance telephoto zoom from Sigma’s Sports line is dust and splashproof

£609 £709 £1999 £569 £709 £159 £429 £559

3★ A solid overall performance that simply fails to be outstanding in any way Fisheye lens with a close focusing distance of 20cm and a 180° angle of view 4.5★ High-end Zeiss wideangle zoom lens ideal for full-frame Alpha DSLRs and SLTs 4★ Bright short-range telephoto lens 4.5★ Carl Zeiss standard zoom lens Basic kit zoom for Sony’s Apha mount SLT cameras A versatile zoom with Direct Manual Focus 3.5★ Good overall, but performance dips at longer focal lengths

SIGMA DSLR

Y R AV YA M S E C I R P T E E R T S , S P R R E R A S E C I R P L L A

SONY DSLR

11-18mm f/4.5-5.6 DT 16mm f/2.8 Fisheye 16-35mm f/2.8 ZA SSM II T* 16-50mm f/2.8 SSM 16-80mm f/3.5-4.5 ZA T* 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 DT SAM II 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 DT SAM 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 DT

90

4.5★

3★ 4.5★ 3★

SUMMARY

MOUNT

Wideangle fisheye lens designed for digital reflex cameras with APS-C sensors World’s widest-angle rectilinear lens promises 130° field of view with minimal distortion Features a nano crystal anti-reflection coating system and embedded lens hood Fisheye ultra wideangle prime lens for full-frame DSLRs High-end ultra-wideangle prime with premium optics and large maximum aperture Samyang’s first AF SLR lens features very decent image quality and weather-sealed construction Ultra-wideangle manual-focus lens; bulb-like front element means no filters can be used Updated manual focus prime with weather-sealing and de-clickable aperture ring Fast wideangle lens for digital reflex cameras fitted with APS-C sensors Large-aperture manual focus wideangle lens for full-frame DSLRs Fast ultra-wideangle manual-focus lens comprising 13 elements arranged in 12 groups Tilt-and-shift wideangle lens for a fraction of the price of Canon and Nikon’s offerings Ultra-large aperture, manual focus prime with premium optics While manual focus only, this prime impressed us in real-world use, making it something of a bargain Large aperture manual-focus prime promises 50MP resolution Manual-focus fast standard prime for full-frame DSLRs High-end manual focus lens sports an impressively fast maximum aperture Autofocus fast short telephoto portrait lens for use on Canon or Nikon full-frame DSLRs Short fast telephoto prime, manual focus, aimed at portrait photographers Evolved large-aperture manual focus telephoto is weather-sealed and the aperture can be de-clicked Full-frame compatible, the Samyang 100mm is a true Macro lens offering 1:1 magnification Manual focus portrait prime has fast aperture for subject isolation and background blur

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)G( T H G I E W

LENS

SAMYANG DSLR

)MM( H T G N E L

) M M ( RE T E M A I D ) M M( D A E R H T R E T L I F ) M C ( S U C O F NIM EM A R F LLUF AMGIS XATNEP NOKIN SDRIHT RUOF NONAC A H P L A YNOS NOI T A S I LIBATS EGAMI

DSLR Lenses

DIMENSIONS 30 • 26 24 • 20 • 28 • 20 • 28 • 28 20 • 20 • 25 • 20 • 34 • 30 • 45 • 45 • 80 • 90 • 100 • 110 • 30 • 80

n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 77 77 82 86 77 86 77 86 77 72 72 67 77

75 95 86 77.3 95 90.5 87 87 89.4 83 95 86 93 83 93 74.7 93 88 78 78 72.5 82

77.8 98.1 77 70.2 109.4 95.6 94 96.3 83 113.2 116 110.5 117.4 111 117.4 81.6 98.4 72 72.2 72.2 123.1 122

417 731 580 500 791 485 552 641 583 520 680 680 1106 660 1200 575 1050g 485 513 541 720 830

• 13 n/a 24 72 24 82 • 24 n/a • 27 n/a • 26 n/a • 15 n/a 28 77 22 72 28 72 45 45 39 72 • 27.6 n/a • 25 77 • 28 82 • 37 82 • 45 82 • 28 77 30 62 • 30 67 • 40 82 • 40 77 37.4 82 • 60 105 • 26 49 • 120 82 • 85 86 • 160 67 • 100 105 • 31.2 62 • 150 105 • 87.5 82 • 280 95 • 260 105

73.5 75 87.3 101 95.4 96.4 73.5 83.5 79 78 79 79 90.7 85 87.6 88 89 82.8 63.3 77 87.8 85.4 93.5 120.4 71 94.2 95 86.4 115.9 78 124 91.4 105 121

68.6 105.7 88.2 132 126 135.1 65 92 82 121 100 101.5 129.8 90.2 122.7 107.6 109 107.1 74.2 94 131 100 170.7 268.9 106 202.9 126 182.3 131.5 126.4 291 114.9 260.1 290.2

400 555 520 1150 1170 1150 370 565 470 810 610 585 950 665 940 1020 885 865 435 665 1200 815 1490 2700 515 1805 1130 1160 1645 725 3390 1130 1930 2860

25 77 • 20 n/a • 28 77 100 72 35 62 30 55 45 62 45 62

83 80.5 360 75 66.5 400 83 114 900 81 88 577 72 83 445 72 69 222 76 86 398 75 86 440

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SUMMARY

MOUNT

£559 £1119 £1899 £709 £179 £1369 £179 £159 £369 £1300 £529 £219 £309 £2799 £869 £1799 £1369 £219 £659 £1429 £1119

3.5★ Wideangle prime lens with rear focusing mechanism and focus range limiter An impressively bright wideangle Carl Zeiss lens 5★ Carl Zeiss mid-range zoom lens with superb optics ideal for full-frame Alpha DSLRs A constant f/2.8 aperture and a Smooth Autofocus Motor (SAM) in this standard zoom 4★ Macro lens designed for digital with 1:1 magnification and Smooth Autofocus Motor With an equivalent focal length of 52.5mm, a wide aperture and aspherical glass Budget-price indoor portrait lens 4.5★ A very useful lens that performs well and carries a rock-bottom price tag 5★ While this lens performs well overall, performance at f/1.4 could be better 4★ Carl Zeiss design said to be ideal for quality-critical portraiture and low-light shooting A macro lens with a floating lens element Designed for cropped-sensor cameras, with a Smooth Autofocus Motor Compact, lightweight telephoto zoom offering smooth, silent operation High-performance G Series telephoto zoom lens 3.5★ G-series lens with ED elements, Super Sonic wave Motor and a circular aperture Redesign of original features a new LSI drive circuit and promises faster autofocus Fixed-focal-length lens aimed at indoor portraiture A light, low-price portraiture lens Macro lens with circular aperture, double floating element and wide aperture A bright, Carl Zeiss portrait telephoto lens Telephoto lens fitted with apodisation element to give attractive defocus effects

10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 Di II VC HLD 15-30mm f/2.8 SP Di VC USD G2 16-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD Macro 17-35mm f/2.8-4 Di OSD 17-50mm f/2.8 SP AF XR Di II VC LD Asph IF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 AF Di II VC 18-400mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC HLD 24-70mm f/2.8 SP Di VC USD G2 28-75mm f/2.8 SP AF XR Di LD Asph IF Macro 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD 35mm f/1.4 SP Di USD 35mm f/1.8 SP Di VC USD 35-150mm F2.8-4 Di VC OSD 70-200mm f/2.8 SP Di VC USD G2 70-210mm f/4 Di VC USD 70-300mm f/4-5.6 SP VC USD 70-300mm f/4-5.6 AF Di LD Macro 85mm f/1.8 SP Di VC USD 90mm f/2.8 SP AF Di Macro 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 VC USD 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD 150-600mm f/5-6.3 SP Di VC USD G2 150-600mm f/5-6.3 SP VC USD

£580 £1279 £600 £629 £541 £169 £650 £1249 £460 £529 £930 £580 £799 £1350 £699 £300 £170 £749 £470 £579 £789 £1340 £1150

4.5★ Wideangle zoom of APS-C with dust and splashproofing and optical stabilisation Second-generation image-stabilised fast wide zoom includes weather-sealing and faster AF 4★ Versatile mega-zoom, a very good all-in-one solution, as long as you won’t need to enlarge to A2 size 4★ Most compact and lightest full-frame ultra-wideangle zoom in its class 4.5★ Very strong performance at longer focal lengths but weaker at the other end 4★ Lightweight all-in-one lens for APS-C DSLRs with Vibration Compensation 4★ The longest-ranging telephoto zoom yet made turns in a surprisingly decent performance Upgraded fast zoom with improved image stabilisation and moisture-resistant construction Standard zoom with constant f/2.8 aperture and minimum focusing distance of 33cm A new, full-frame, high-power zoom incorporating PZD (Piezo Drive) Premium large-aperture prime with moisture-resistant construction, billed as Tamron’s best-ever lens 4.5★ Moderately wide prime combines ultrasonic focusing, image stabilisation and a fast aperture Unusual image-stabilised full-frame zoom designed for portraits, with large maximum aperture 5★ Excellent telephoto zoom with updated autofocus and image stabilisation plus sealed construction 4.5★ Lightweight telezoom promises high optical performance, image stabilisation and weather-sealing 4★ Ultrasonic Silent Drive (USD) technology for focusing and Vibration Compensation 3.5★ Low-dispersion glass and compatible with both full-frame and cropped-sensor DSLRs 5★ The first full-frame 85mm f/1.8 lens with image stabilisation, that’s also moisture resistant 4★ A very nice macro lens that is capable of producing some fine images Redesign of the 90mm f/2.8 SP AF Di Macro; comes with vibration compensation 5★ Relatively compact and lightweight telephoto zoom with moisture-resistant construction Updated version of Tamron’s popular long telezoom 4★ Longest focal length of any affordable enthusiast zoom on the market and produces excellent results

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ATX-i 11-16mm f/2.8 CF AT-X 11-20mm f/2.8 PRO DX AT-X 12-28mm f/4 PRO DX AT-X 14-20mm f/2 PRO DX Opera 16-28mm f/2.8 FF Opera 50mm f/1.4 FF AT-X 100mm f/2.8 AF PRO D Macro

£449 Gains a new waterproof top coating for the front element and updated cosmetic design £499 4★ Compact, ultra-wideangle lens with a fast maximum aperture and decent optical performance £529 Replacement for 12-24mm f/4 wideangle zoom; for Nikon DX DSLRs £849 Wideangle zoom with super-fast, super-bright, constant f/2 aperture for shooting in very low light £699 4★ This large-aperture wide zoom for full-frame DSLRs is an updated version of the AT-X 16-28mm f/2.8 £900 Premium fast prime designed for high-resolution DSLRs, with dust and weather-resistant construction £360 4★ Some weaknesses wide open, but reasonable MTF curves make this a decent optic

15mm f/2.8 Milvus 18mm f/2.8 Milvus 21mm f/2.8 Milvus 25mm f/1.4 Milvus 35mm f/1.4 Milvus 35mm f/2 Milvus 50mm f/1.4 Planar T* 50mm f/1.4 Milvus 50mm f/2 Milvus Macro 85mm f/1.4 Planar T* 85mm f/1.4 Milvus 100mm f/2 Milvus Macro 135mm f/2 Milvus

£2329 This super-wideangle lens has an angle of view of 110° and uses an advanced retrofocus design £1999 Compact super-wideangle lens with premium optics including a floating focus system for close-ups £1299 Premium wideangle lens with complex optics designed to be free of distortion £1999 5★ Optically excellent, large-aperture manual focus wideangle lens with weather-sealed construction £1699 Large aperture, premium-quality manual-focus prime with weather-sealed construction £829 Compact, moderate wideangle manual focus prime £559 Classic double-Gauss design manual focus standard prime for full-frame SLRs £949 5★ An exceptionally good lens offering sharpness, detail, clean edges and a great user experience £949 Manual-focus macro lens with half-life-size magnification and stunning optics £989 Classic portrait prime designed to give smooth, rounded bokeh effects £1379 5★ Fast 85mm manual-focus prime lens that’s perfect for portraiture £1299 A manual-focus macro lens with absolutely superb optics and half-life-size reproduction £1899 Telephoto lens with a large aperture and smooth bokeh, ideal for medium-distance portrait photography

TAMRON DSLR

TOKINA DSLR

ZEISS DSLR

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

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• • • •

DIMENSIONS

72 72 77 67 49 55 55 49 55 72 55 55 62 77 62 77 72 55 55 77 80

78 78 83 77.5 70 69 70 70 65.5 81 71.5 71.5 77 87 82.5 95 81.5 70 75 84 80

53.5 76 111 94 45 76 52 45 43 71.5 60 85 116.5 196.5 135.5 196 72.5 52 98.5 115 99

285 555 955 565 150 510 170 170 220 518 295 305 460 1340 760 1500 560 175 505 1004 730

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

24 77 • 28 n/a 39 67 28 77 29 72 49 62 45 72 • 38 82 • 33 67 • 49 67 • 30 72 • 20 67 • 45 77 • 95 77 • 95 67 • 150 62 • 95 62 • 80 67 • 29 55 • 30 58 • 150 67 • 220 95 • 270 95

83.6 98.4 99.5 83.6 79.6 75 79 88.4 73 75 80.9 80.4 84 88 76 81.5 76.6 85 71.5 115 199 108.4 105.6

84.6 145 75 90 94.5 96.6 123.9 111 92 99.5 104.8 80.8 126.8 193.8 176.5 142.7 116.5 91 97 76.4 86.2 260.2 257.8

440 1110 540 460 570 400 710 905 510 540 815 480 796 1500 860 765 435 700 405 550 1135 2010 1951

• • • • • • •

• • • • • • •

30 28 25 28 • 28 • 40 • 30

77 82 77 82 n/a 72 55

84 89 84 89 89 80 73

89 92 90 106 133.5 107.5 95.1

555 560 600 725 940 950 540

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

95 77 82 82 72 58 58 67 67 72 77 67 77

102.3 90 95.5 95.2 84.8 77 71 82.5 81 78 90 80.5 129

100.2 93 95 123 124.8 83 71 94 75.3 88 113 104 132

947 721 851 1225 1174 702 380 922 730 670 1280 843 1123

• • • • • • • • • • • •

25 19 34 38 12 30 23 34 45 45 20 95 140 120 120 150 85 60 35 72 87

)G( T H G I E W

RRP SCORE

20mm f/2.8 24mm f/2 ZA SSM T* 24-70mm f/2.8 ZA SSM II T* 28-75mm f/2.8 SAM 30mm f/2.8 DT SAM Macro 35mm f/1.4 G 35mm f/1.8 DT SAM 50mm f/1.8 DT SAM 50mm f/1.4 50mm f/1.4 ZA SSM 50mm f/2.8 Macro 55-200mm f/4-5.6 DT SAM 55-300mm f/4.5–5.6 DT SAM 70-200mm f/2.8 G SSM II 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G SSM 70-400mm f/4-5.6 G SSM II 85mm f/1.4 ZA Planar T* 85mm f/2.8 SAM 100mm f/2.8 Macro 135mm f/1.8 ZA Sonnar T* 135mm f/2.8 STF

)MM( H T G N E L

LENS

) M M ( RE T E M A I D ) M M( D A E R H T R E T L I F ) M C ( S U C O F NIM EM A R F LLUF AMGIS XATNEP NOKIN SDRIHT RUOF NONAC A H P L A YNOS NOI T A S I LIBATS EGAMI

DSLR Lenses

25 25 22 25 30 30 45 45 24 100 80 88 80

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The a7C is the smallest and lightest full-frame digital interchangeable-lens camera with optical in-body image stabilisation. Breakthroughs in mechanical packaging and structural design have brought no-compromise full-frame camera performance that’s made for powerfully simple still and movie content creation.

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MVG220FF

MB PL-RL-S55

Gimbal

Our Price

£389.00

SAVE 15% on a Manfrotto Gimboom with this Gimbal!

£629.00

LUMIX GH5 II

20.3 MEGA Free your creativity PIXELS

Roller Bag

Our Price

£289.00

See in store or online for even more Roller Bags!

All prices include VAT. See website for our store opening times.

All products are UK stock. E&OE. Please mention “Amateur Photographer” when placing an order.

Prices correct at time of going to press; Prices subject to change; check website for latest prices.

I.S

£2,099.00

COMING SOON! See website to learn more

4K

3.0”

From streaming and delivery-ready shooting to uncompressed log recording suitable for advanced post-production. A hybrid mirrorless camera that meets the needs of all creators.

Panasonic LUMIX GH6

NEW!

Available from £1,499 Expected late June 2021.

See website to learn more!

FREE 25mm lens & spare battery! See web to learn more.

FREE INSTORE / VIRTUAL 1-2-1 SESSIONS

with a technical expert from Panasonic UK

£100 cash back

*Price after £100 cashback from Olympus. Ends 15.08.21

Tamron 150-500mm

£1,399.00

In development!

Learn more & register your interest to be first in the know at parkcameras.com

L

Various dates / times available

See www.parkcameras.com/events to learn more

61

MEGA PIXELS

10 fps

3.1”

The new SIGMA fp L is equipped with a full-frame Bayer sensor with approximately 61 megapixels, making it one of the highest resolution full-frame bodies ever built.

4K Body Only £1,999.00

NOW IN STOCK! NEW! See website to learn more.

Epson SureColor SC-P900

The SC-P900 manages to combine form with function, to great effect. The accuracy and quality of the output is further enhanced by the deepest blacks and an expanded blue colour gamut.

Find out more at parkcameras.com Keep up-to-date with all the latest new products and news with Park Cameras!

COMING SOON! at £1,087.00

01954 252352 Digital Photography

CANON EOS 7D BODY COMPLETE LOW ACC 1875.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT BOXED £375.00 CANON EOS 40D COMPLETE WITH ALL ACCESSORIES.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT-BOXED £125.00 FUJI X-A2 WITH FUJI 16-50 OIS MK 2 LENS COMPLETE.. . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT BOXED £295.00 FUJI TCL-X100 TELECONVERTER FOR X100/100S etc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT BOXED £195.00 NIKON D7500 BODY KIT ONLY 297 ACTUATTIONS.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT BOXED £699.00 NIKON MB-D18 BATTERY GRIP for D850 + BL5 COVER.. . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT BOXED £295.00 NIKON D4S BODY WITH BATT AND CHARGER.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT-- £1,495.00 NIKON D3000 WITH BATT AND CHARGER.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT £125.00 NIKON D200 BODY WITH BATTERY,CHARGER+MB-D200.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT- £225.00 NIKON SB900 SPEEDLITE.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT-BOXED £145.00 NIKON SC28 TTL REMOTE CORD.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT BOXED £65.00 NIKON ML-3 REMOTE CONTROL SET.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT-- BOXED £145.00 NEEWER SPEEDLITE 750 MK II FOR NIKON.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT BOXED £55.00 OLYMPUS 45mm f1.8 M ZUIKO DIGITAL M 4/3rds + HOOD.. . . . . . . . . . MINT BOXED £225.00 PANASONIC GF2 BODY COMPLETE WITH ALL ACCESS.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT BOXED £145.00 SIGMA 30mm F2.8 DN MICRO 4/3RDS.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT BOXED £115.00 METZ 44A/F1 FLASH UNIT FOR SONY DLSR.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT BOXED £75.00

Canon Autofocus, Digital Lenses, Canon FD

CANON 50mm f1.8 MK II.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT- £65.00 CANON 85mm f1.2 USM “L” MK II LATEST MODEL.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT BOXED £1,045.00 CANON 100mm f2.8 MACRO USM IMAGE STABILIZER.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT BOXED £699.00 CANON 300mm f4 USM IMAGE STABILIZER LENS.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT BOXED £695.00 CANON EF-S 10 - 22mm f3.5/4.5 USM.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT CASED £245.00 CANON 24 - 105mm f4 “L” USM IMAGE STABILIZER.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT CASED £395.00 CANON 70 - 200mm f4 USM “L” IMAGE STABILIZER.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT CASED £599.00 CANON 70 - 200mm f4 USM “L” IMAGE STABILIZER.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT BOXED £645.00 CANON 10 - 22mm f3.5/4.5 USM.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EXC++ £295.00 CANON 17 - 55mm f2.8 EFS IS USM WITH HOOD.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT £445.00 CANON 18 - 55mm f3.3/5.6 STM VIBRATION REDUCTION.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT £149.00 CANON 28 - 135mm f3.5/5.6 USM IMAGE STAB.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT + HOOD £165.00 CANON 70 - 300mm f4.5/5.6 USM IMAGE STABILIZER.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT £269.00 KENCO DG CANON FIT TUBE SET 12,20,36MM.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT BOXED £99.00 CANON 580EX MK II SPEEDLITE.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT-CASED £169.00 CANON 580 EX SPEEDLITE.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EXC++CASED £99.00 CANON 580 EX SPEEDLITE.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT-CASED £149.00 CANON 550 EX SPEEDLITE.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT-BOXED £89.00 CANON 550 EX SPEEDLITE.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EXC++CASED £65.00 KENCO DG CANON FIT TUBE SET 12,20,36MM.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT- £99.00 KENCO TELEPLUS PRO 300 DGX 1.4 TELECONVERTER.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT CASED £99.00 CANON EF 1.4x EXTENDER.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT BOXED £215.00 SIGMA EX 1.4 TELECONVERTER.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT £75.00 SIGMA 14mm f2.8 EX HSM ASPHERIC.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT CASED £365.00 TAMRON 70 - 300mm f4/5.6 SP Di VC ULTRASONIC.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT+HOOD £225.00 TOKINA 12 - 24mm F4 IF DX ASPH AT-X PRO + HOOD.. . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT BOXED £299.00

Contax ‘G’ Compacts & SLR & Ricoh

CONTAX TLA 140 FLASH FOR G1/G2.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT CASED £65.00 YASHICA ML CONTAX FIT 28mm f2.8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT £99.00 CONTAX 50mm f1.4 PLANAR MM SUPERB SHARP LENS.. . . . . . . . . . . . MINT BOXED £275.00 CONTAX 50mm f1.4 PLANAR MM SUPERB SHARP LENS.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT £255.00 CONTAX 50mm f1.7 AE LENS.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT £95.00 CONTAX 135mm f2.8 SONNAR WITH FILTER.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT £175.00 YASHICA 135mm f2.8 CONTAX FIT.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT- £95.00 YASHICA 200mm f4 CONTAX FIT.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT- £90.00 CONTAX MAGNIFIER F2.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT BOXED £49.00 CONTAX TLA 30 WITH DIFFUSSER.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT CASED £69.00 CONTAX TLA 280 FLASH.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT- £59.00 CONTAX TLA 280 FLASH UNIT.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT BOXED £75.00 CONTAX TLA 360 FLASH.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT-CASED £65.00 CONTAX GD1 DATABACK FOR CONTAX T3.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT-BOXED £69.00

LEICA“M”,“R”,&SCREW&RANGEFINDER

LEICA M2 CHROME BODY (REALLY NICE).. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT- £1,175.00 LE A MR METER M NT-B XED 17

LEICA 50mm f2 SUMMICRON RIGID SER No 15933XX.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT- £975.00 LEICA 90mm f2.8 TELE ELMAR + HOOD.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT- £395.00 LEICA 5cm f3.5 COLLAPSIBLE ELMAR.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT- £225.00 LEICA 90mm f2 SUMMICRON PRE ASP SER No35234XX.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT- £945.00 LEICA 90mm f4 ELMAR C FOR CLE / CL LEICA M.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT- £275.00 LEICA 90mm f4 ELMAR M MOUNT.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT- £165.00 LEICA 135mm f2.8 ELMARIT M 11829 WITH CASE.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT BOXED £375.00 LEICA 135mm f4.5 HEKTOR.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EXC+ £75.00 LEICA 90mm FINDER.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT £99.00 VOIGTLANDER BESSA T WINDER.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT BOXED £149.00 LEICA 5cm f2 SUMMAR SCREW.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT- £175.00 LEICA 90mm f4 ELMAR BLACK SCREW.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EXC++ £145.00 LEICA 135mm f2.8 ELMARIT M WITH SPECS.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ECX+++ £299.00 LEICA 135mm f4.5 HEKTOR + HOOD M MOUNT.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EXC++ £99.00 LEICA 135mmf4.5 HEKTOR IN KEEPER.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EXC+++ £199.00 LEICA 135mm f4.5 HEKTOR + HOOD SCREW.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EXC++ £99.00 LEICA SF20 FLASH FOR M6 etc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT BOXED £89.00 LEICA 14472 GRIP FOR M8/M9 etc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT BOXED £125.00 LEICA FONOR BLACK RANGEFINDER.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT-CASED £175.00 LEICA R7 CHROME BODY.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT- £365.00 LEICAFLEX BODY CHROME.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT- £195.00 LEICA CURTAGON 35mm f4.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT-BOXED £395.00 LEICA 28 - 70mm f3.5/4.5 VARIO ELMAR R ROM.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT- £475.00 LEICA 50mm f2 SUMMICRON 2 CAM.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EXC+++ £299.00 LEICA 90mm f2.8 ELMARIT 2 CAM.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT- £299.00 LEICA 560mm f6.8 TELYT LENS WITH CASE AND.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .EXC+++ £399.00

Binoculars

SWAROVSKI 10x40 SL HABICHT+STRAP AND COVERS.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT- £465.00

Medium & Lar e Format

BRONICA ETRSi COMPLETE, BODY,75mm LENS, WLF.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT BOXED £425.00 HASSELBLA X PAN LEATHER EVER READY CASE.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT- £195.00 HASSELBLAD 28mm f4 HC FOR H SYSTEM.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT BOXED £1,075.00 HASSELBLAD 120mm f4 MACRO HC FOR H SYSTEM.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EXC++ £1,095.00 HASSELBLAD 150mm f4 SONNAR T* BLACK.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EXC++ £195.00 HASSELBLAD 150mm f4 SONNAR CF.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT-BOXED £395.00 HASSELBLAD 150mm f4 SONNAR SILVER.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EXC++ £175.00 HASSELBLAD 250mm f5.6 SONNAR SILVER.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EXC+ £179.00 HASSELBLAD HTS 1.5X TILT AND SHIFT ADAPTOR.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT BOXED £1,995.00 HASSELBLAD GIL GPS UNIT FOR H SYSTEM.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT BOXED £399.00 HASSELBLAD PM90 PRISM FINDER.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT- £275.00 HASSELBLAD PME3 METERED PRISM FINDER.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT- £275.00 HASSELBLAD VFC-6 METERED PRISM.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT BOXED £175.00 HASSELBLAD A12 BACK CHROME.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT- £129.00 BRONICA ETRS PRISM,FDR,BACK & 75mm EII LENS.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EXC++ £325.00 BRONICA ETRS WL/FINDER, BACK & 75mm EII LENS.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EXC++ £295.00 BRONICA AUTO EXTENTION TUBE E-14.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT BOXED £45.00 BRONICA POLAROID BACK FOR ETRSI, ETRS ETC.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT BOXED £59.00 BRONICA PLAIN PRISM FOR ETRS/ETRSI.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT £75.00 BRONICA PLAIN PRISM FOR ETRS/ETRSI.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EXC++ £59.00 BRONICA ROTARY PRISM FINDER FOR ETRS, ETRSI ETC.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT- £75.00 BRONICA MOTOR WINDER E.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EXC+++ £89.00 BRONICA 40mm f4 MC LENS FOR ETRS/ETRSi.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT £179.00 BRONICA 50mm f2.8 PE FOR ETRS/ETRSi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT £199.00 BRONICA SPEED GRIP FOR ETRSW/ETRSi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT- £49.00 BRONICA 150mm F3.5 ZENZANON S.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT- £165.00 BRONICA PLAIN PRISM FOR SQAi/SQA.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT- £99.00 BRONICA 65mm F4 ZENZANON PS FOR SQ.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT-CASED £145.00 BRONICA 110mm F4 PS ZENZANON MACRO FOR SQ.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT-CASED £365.00 BRONICA 150mm F4 PS ZENZANON FOR SQ.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT-CASED £145.00 BRONICA 180mm f4.5 PS LENS & CASE.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT-BOXED £199.00 BRONICA SPEED GRIP FOR SQA/SQAI.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT- £69.00 BRONICA FILMBACK SQ-i220 FOR SQA/SQAi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT BOXED £79.00 METZ 45 CL4 FLASH WITH SCA 386 FOR BRONICA.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT BOXED £150.00 MAMIYA 645 SUPER WITH AE PRISM 80mm COMPLETE.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT £365.00 MAMIYA M 4 MPLETE WITH mm f2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT- 2 .

MAMIYA 80 m f1.9 SEKO C FOR 645 etc.. . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . ... . . MINT £299.0 MAMIYA 150mm f3.5 SEKOR C FOR 645 SUPER etc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT £145.0 MAMIYA 150mm F4.5 “G” WITH HOO FOR MAMIYA 6.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT £295.0 MAMIYA 180mm F4.5 SEKOR Z W FOR RZ.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT £199.0 MAMIYA 250mm F4.5 NS FOR RZ.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT- £195.0 MAMIYA 210mm F4 SEKOR C FOR 645.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT CASED £195.0 MAMIYA 180mm F4.5 SEKOR OR RB.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT £169.0 MAMIYA 220 BACK OR RZ 67.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT £95.0 PENTAX 200mm 4 FOR PENTAX 67 + FI T R AND HOOD.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT £199.0 PENTAX 55mm F4 SMC FOR 6X7.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT £175.0 PENTAX 55mm F2.8 FOR PENTAX 645.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT BOXED £199.0 ROL EIFL X SCHNEIDER 150MM F4.6 MAKRO FOR 6008.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT- £575.0 YASHICA 124G TELEPHOTO AUX ENS SET.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT- £69.0

NikonAuto-Focus&Digital, LensesAccessories

NIKON F5 BODY.... ... . . . . . ... . . . . .... . . . . ... . . . . .... . . . . ... . . . . . ... . MINT £465.0 NIKON F 00 PRO BODY WITH MB15 GRIP.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT £275.0 NIKON 10.5 f2.8 “G” I ED A DX FISHEYE.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT BOXED £325.0 NIKON 28mm f2.8 A/F D”.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT BOXED £225.0 NIKON 35mm f2 A/F “D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT BOXED £245.0 NIKON 50mm f1.4 A/F “D”.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT BOXED £195.0 NIKON 50mm f1.4 “G” AFS.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT BOXED £265.0 IKON 50mm f14 “G” AFS.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT BOXED £215.0 IKON 50mm f18 A/F “D”.. . .... . . . . ... . . . . ... . . . . . ... . . . . .... . . . . ... . . MINT £89.0 IKON 85mm f18 A/F D.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EXC++ £215.0 IKON 300mm f4E PF ED VR AF-S LENS ATEST.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT BOXED £1,195.0 IKON 10 24 mm f3.5/4.5 G” D DX AF S.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT £399.0 IKON 12 - 24 m f4 G” DX I -ED AF-S.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT BOXED £395.0 IKON 12 - 24 m f4 G” DX I -ED AF-S.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MI T-CASED £365.0 IKON 16 - 35 m f4 “G” AF-S ED VR ATEST VERSI N . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT BOXED £675.0 IKON 24 - 85 m f2.8/4 A/ “D” WITH HOOD.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT £225.0 IKON 16 - 80 m f2.8-4EAF-S VR ED DX + HOOD.. . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . MINT CASED £545.0 IKON 16 85 m f3.5/5.6 G ED A S VR.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M NT BOXED £199.0 IKON 24 120mm f4 “G” ED AF S VR LATEST MODE . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT CASED £499.0 IKON 24 - 120mm f4 “G” ED AF S VR LATEST MODE . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT BOXED £595.0 IKON 35 - 70 m f3.3/4.5 A/F ENS.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EXC++ £49.0 IKON 70 200mm f2.8E AF-S F ED VR LATEST.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT BOXED £1,399.0 IKON A -S TELECONVERTER TC- 4E III.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT £395.0 SIGMA 1.4x TC-1401 T ECONVERTER.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT CASED £189.0 IKON DR 6 RIGHT ANG F NDER.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT BOXED £145.0 IKON TC 17E II T ECONVERTER.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT BOXED £175.0 IKON TC20E I 2X AF S TELECONVERTER.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M NT-BOXED £175.0 IKON DR4 R GHT ANGLE FIND R.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT BOXED £89.0 ENKO PRO 300 2X TELEPLUS CONV RTER N/AFS.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT- £75.0 SIGMA 300 800m f5.6 X APO HSM.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XC++CASED £2,499.0 SIGMA 300 800m f5.6 X DG APO HSM.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT CASED £2,999.0 TOK NA - 16mm f 2.8 AT-X PRO DX W TH HOOD.. . . .... . . . . ... . . . MINT HOOD £245.0 TOK NA 35mm f2.8 ATX PRO DX MACRO 1: LATEST.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT BOXED £245.0

Nikon Manual Focus

NIKON F3 BODY.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .EXC+ £245.00 NIKON FM2n BLACK BODY.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XC++ £325.00 NIKON FM2n CHROM BODY.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .EXC+++ £245.00 NIKON FM2 CHROME BODY.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XC++ £199.00 NIKON FE CHROME BODY.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XC++ £ 25.00 NIKON FE CHROME BODY.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT- £145.00 NIKON FM BLACK WITH M -16 BACK.. . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EXC+++ £169.00 NIKON FM BLACK.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XC++ £145.00 NIKON FE2 BLACK BODY.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EXC++ BOXED £225.00 NIKON F2 A B ACK BODY.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EXC+++ £245.00 NIKON F2 A BODY FU LY WORKING.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .EXC+ £199.00 NIKON F2 BODY FULLY WORKING.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XC+ £169.00 NIKON F2 PHOTOMIC BODY CHROME.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XC++ £275.00 NIKON F2 PHOTOMIC BODY CHROME.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .EXC+ £199.00 NIKON F PHOTOM C T WITH 50mm f2 NIKON LENS.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XC++ £250.00 NIKKORMAT FT CHROME WITH 35mm f2.8 S LENS.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EXC++ CASED £145.00 NIKKORMAT FT HROME ... . . . . ... . . . . . ... . . . . . ... . . . . ... . . . . . ... . . . .EXC+++ £75.00 NIKKORMAT FT2 BLACK WITH 50mm f2 S.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EXC++ CASED £165.00 NIKON 24mm F2.8 AIS SUPERB SHARP LENS.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M T-- £199.00 NIKON 28mm f2.8 AI.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT £165.00 NIKON 45mm F2.8 GN NIK OR.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT- £199.00 NIKON 50mm f1.2 AIS.. . ... . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . .MINT £395.00 NIKON 50mm f1.4 Ai.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT- £195.00 NIKON 50mm f1.8 AIS SHA P LENS.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT £89.00 NIKON 35 70mm F3.3/45 ZOOM NIKKOR MACRO AIS.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT- £169.00 NIKON 35 105mm F3.5/4.5 AIS ZOOM MACRO.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XC++ £119.00 NIKON MD4 MOTOR DRIVE FOR F3/F3HP.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT £ 45.00 NIKON MD4 MOTOR DRIVE FOR F3/F3HP.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT BOXED £165.00 NIKON MD4 MOTOR D IVE FOR F3/F3HP.. . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EXC+++ £99.00 NIKON MD12 MOTOR DRIVE FOR FM2n/ E2/ E/ M/FM3.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT £145.00 NIKON SB 16 LASH FOR F3/FM2/FM3/F /FE2.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT-CASED £115.00 NIKON SB 16 LASH FOR F3.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XC++ £65.00

Olympus Manual

O YMPUS OM4 BLACK BODY.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XC++ £225.00 O YMPUS OM2 SP.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XC++ £129.00 O YMPUS 28mm f2.8 ZUIKO.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT £75.00 O YMPUS 38mm f2.8 ZUIKO MACR LENS.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT-CASED £299.00 O YMPUS 50mm f1.8 ZUIKO LENS . . . . . . ... . . . . . ... . . . . ... . . . . . ... . . . . . .MINT £55.00 O YMPUS 50mm f1.8 ZU KO LENS.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT £65.00 O YMPUS 80mm f4 ZU KO MACRO LENS.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT-CASED £175.00 O YMPUS 135mm f3.5 ZUIKO LENS.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT CASED £69.00 O YMPUS 200mm f4 Z IKO LE S.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT £75.00 O YMPUS 2x TELECONV RTER.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MINT CASED £35.00 O YMPUS 65 116 TELESCOPIC AUTO TUBE.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT £95.00 O YMPUS VAR -MAGNIFINDER.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINT CASED £49.00 O YMPUS T32 LASH UNIT.. . . . ... . . . . . ... . . . . .... . . . . ... . . . . .... . MINT CASED £35.00 LOTS OF OLYMPUS ACC SSORIES TOO MANY TO LIST FOR MACRO, FLASH PHONE PLEASE R NG FOR DETAILS AND PRICES ALL IN MINT OR CLOSE CONDITION PHONE

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Final Analysis

Photo Critique

W

hen I go into my old black & white darkroom, now used for storage, I see reminders of when it was used on The Photographers Place workshops by the likes of Fay Godwin, John Blakemore, and from the USA, by Paul Caponigro and Aaron Siskind. I also see boxes of photographic paper that have been unopened for well over a decade.

They belong to documentary photographer Kate Bellis, the darkroom’s last user, who came to live quite near me in Derbyshire in 1997. When the workshops finished in 1996 and I moved into colour, I did not need a wet darkroom, so she asked if she could use it as she didn’t have one of her own. We did a deal, and she became a good friend. Over the next months she showed me her wonderful prints of hill farmers as they came out of the wash, which I immediately knew would be a great example of a photo essay for my book, Approaching Photography.

Kate spent her childhood on a small farm in Devon, but at the age of 17 she decided to leave this isolated rural environment and study photography at Nottingham Trent University. In 1992 after getting her degree she won an Observer Young Photojournalist of the Year award. This gave her the chance to travel across China and into Tibet, and the work made on the trip was later published in the Independent on Sunday magazine. She travelled widely with her Leica camera, from Ireland to India, Uganda

Paul Hill considers… Chadwick’s farm kitchen, Abney, Derbyshire Peak District, 1998

to Kurdistan. Subsequent articles and commissions often dealt with people and cultures that were in some way under threat, and with the strong relationship to the land around them.

She and her partner, Karim ‘Kaz’ Vahed, settled down when Kaz – he is a renowned zoologist, who appeared recently on Nature Table (Radio 4) with Sue Perkins – got a job at Derby University.

Photographic work was hard to come by for Kate, so she used her equestrian skills learned on the Devon farm to look after horses at livery. She of course continued her photography, but it had to be on her doorstep. Her subject – the hill farmers who lived in the Peak District – was near to her heart,

and has continued to be so. But her persistence paid off when in 2004 she was commissioned by Visual Arts in Rural Communities to do a project entitled Gathering in which she worked alongside Northumberland hill farmers and their families with acclaimed sculptor Sally Matthews. It brought praise from Prince Charles, who visited the exhibition, and she was interviewed on BBC’s Woman’s Hour. The exhibition subsequently toured the UK and became a book.

Her hard work was beginning to pay off and her photos of rural life were published in national and international newspapers and magazines, including The Guardian, The Times, Independent on Sunday

and American Photo Review.

She stopped using my darkroom when everything went digital and her son Gabriel was born. In the past few years she has thrown her photographic energies into Hill (no relation), another successful collaboration with artists. The hill rises to the north of Wirksworth, Derbyshire, where she lives and is, by coincidence, farmed by my son-in-law. Her latest venture, Earthbound (earthbound project.co.uk), is another exciting countrysidebased artist project.

I must ask her if she knows about those boxes of photographic paper she left in my darkroom.

Kate’s work can be seen at www.katebellis.com

Among many achievements, Paul Hil has written two books on photography, was director of the Creative Photography course at Trent Polytechnic and has been exhibited numerous times.

He was the first photographer to receive an MBE for services to photography and the first professor of photographic practice in a British university. hillonphotography.co.uk.

98

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