Innehållsförteckning för No. 507 från Photography Week

Welcome to the world’s No.1 weekly digital photography magazine. If you’re already a reader, thanks for your continued support and involvement; if you’re new to Photography Week, you’ve come to the right place! In addition to expert advice, brilliant tips and step-by-step tutorials, every issue features interactive galleries of brilliant photos, how-to videos on essential shooting and editing techniques, and in-depth reviews of the latest camera kit. But that’s not the whole story. Photography Week is more than a magazine – it’s a community of like-minded people who are passionate about photography. To get involved, just follow any of the links below and share your shots and comments. JOIN THE PHOTOGRAPHY WEEK COMMUNITY AND START SHARING! FACEBOOK http://bit.ly/39py9lg TWITTER http://bit.ly/2vGadLP FLICKR http://bit.ly/2VIgsJO We’re more than just a magazine – read…

Gear is important for whatever genre of photography floats your boat, and here we’ll take a look at the minimum requirement of camera kit we recommend when starting out in wildlife photography, plus some cheap accessories, and some upgrades you can make. Can you achieve fantastic results with entry-level kit? Absolutely, but it’s worth noting that a more advanced camera with a faster burst rate will make it easier to capture a specific moment when an animal is moving quickly, while professional telephoto lenses are likely to have better image stabilisation, faster autofocus systems, and wider apertures that make it easier to blur the background. If you’re on a super-tight budget, pick the minimum requirements now and invest accordingly; over time, you’ll be able to work out which items of…

Long days and consistently clearer weather make summer the best time of year to visit a seabird ‘city’. Colourful and charismatic puffins, also called the clowns of the sea, migrate to the UK between late April and August, but June and July are generally considered the best time to see them. Sites in the UK include Skomer Island in Wales and Bempton Cliffs in Flamborough, England. These seabird cities also offer a huge range of other interesting birds, such as razorbills, gannets and Manx shearwaters. Birds are generally quite small animals, and puffins are only about 30cm tall, so a long lens is recommended. You can try using a teleconverter or a crop-sensor camera body for extra reach, or consider renting a professional telephoto lens for your trip.…

While some animals, such as hedgehogs, go into hibernation to wait out the colder months, other animals, like squirrels, become far less active and sleep a lot longer, which can make getting good wildlife shots a bit trickier. However, many animals have to persevere, and continue to hunt in order to survive through the harsh conditions that winter brings. The saying ‘no pain, no gain’ is fitting for winter wildlife shots, as you really need bags of motivation and endurance. You may be sat in the cold for long periods of time waiting for an animal to appear and for the perfect moment to happen in front of your eyes, but it’s these challenges that make it even more special when you are able to come away with an amazing…

1 SET UP YOUR CAMERA Go into your camera’s Manual mode to take full control of the three exposure variables that can be adjusted. The aperture is an assemblage of blades inside the lens that can be opened or closed to let in more or less light, and we want to open this all the way – a value of f/5.6 is good, while f/2.8 is even better if your lens opens that far. This lets in loads of light for faster exposures and helps blur the background too. Set the ISO to 800 and the shutter speed to 1/400 sec, and take a test shot. If the exposure is too bright then drop the ISO a little or increase the shutter speed; if it’s too dark then you’ll need…

In addition to its main competition, International Garden Photographer of the Year runs several standalone photo contests throughout the year, with photographers encouraged to focus on specific themes and subjects, and IGPOTY has just announced the winners of its 2022 Beautiful Blenheim competition. The contest celebrates the spectacular gardens of Blenheim Palace, a country house in Oxfordshire, UK. The 2,000-acre gardens were designed by the 18th century landscape architect Capability Brown. First prize went to Cereta Drewett for her image Bulrushes and Poplars in Rhythm, (above, top-right) which shows a view of the estate’s Queen Pool, framed by bulrushes in the foreground and a line of poplar trees on the far bank, under a dramatic sky, Click the link to see more winning and commended images from the competition at…

www.rotolight.com £515/$599 The Rotolight Neo 3 builds on the success of the preceding Neo 2, adding a raft of impressive new features. Both models deliver flash output as well as constant lighting, but the Neo 3 delivers a full range of colour in both modes, with full RGBWW options. It comes in various configurations and kits, and accessories will vary according to which you choose. The Rotolight Neo 3 also adds an integrated Elinchrom Skyport RF receiver, enabling wireless flash triggering if you have, or purchase, the companion Elinchrom/Rotolight HSS Transmitter. As its name suggests, the hotshoe-mounting trigger comes in dedicated options for different makes of cameras and enables high-speed sync, with shutter speeds of up to 1/8000th of a second. It also comes complete with a hotshoe adaptor so…

Fujifilm has announced the Fujifilm X-H2S, the company’s next-gen X-series mirrorless camera, and the most powerful camera it’s ever made, with the headline spec being its blisteringly fast 40fps maximum burst speed. The X-H2S is the first camera to pair Fujifilm’s new stacked, back-illuminated 26.16MP X-Trans CMOS 5 HS sensor with its new X-Processor 5. Together, these unlock some highly impressive new photo and video powers. On paper the X-H2S is one of the most powerful cameras in its weight class, and that class includes the new Canon EOS R7. That 40fps burst rate is available when you’re using the camera’s electronic shutter, and is with full autofocus and autoexposure. The X-H2S can shoot uncompressed raw files for over three seconds at those speeds before its buffer starts to fill…

CREATIVE CAMERA from around £400 Look for a camera body with a decent resolution so that you can crop in a little if needed, and one with a fast burst rate for a better chance of capturing the perfect moment. Cameras with cropped sensors, like APS-C or MFT, can be beneficial for wildlife, as images will appear more zoomed in. Also look for 4K video, and Wi-Fi so you can set up the camera remotely. TELEPHOTO LENS from around £300 Telephoto lenses have a focal length of over 50mm, which is similar to what the human eye can see. A variety of long lenses are available, such as 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3 zoom optics, or prime lenses with a fixed focal length, like a 300mm f/2.8. Premium telephotos have extra features and wider…

While a fast shutter speed is needed to catch pin-sharp birds in flight, you can have great fun with slower shutter speeds, too, as this will help you capture a bit of motion in the bird’s wings. This is especially helpful on overcast days when light levels are low. Set the ISO to 100, and close the aperture until you get a shutter speed of around 1/20 sec. Keep practising, as you’ll never get two shots the same, and refine the shutter speed until you get the perfect amount of blur.…

To help you blend into your surroundings you can get camera and lens covers which add both camouflage a little protection. This is particularly useful for white lenses like some of those made by Canon and Sony. Check out covers from LensCoat, which come in different colours to help you blend into different scenarios such as Forest Green, Snow and Digital Camo. If you plan to be in one area for a long time and wait for the wildlife to come closer to you then a hide like those from Wildlife Watching Supplies might be worth considering. These are great to set up on location, or even at home in your garden close to a bird feeder.…

1 UNDERSTAND METERING MODES Modern cameras come with different metering modes that determine the settings needed for a ‘correct’ exposure. This works in semi-automatic modes like Aperture Priority, with some metering modes, like Evaluative or Matrix, assessing most of the frame before calculating the exposure, while modes like Spot work on a much smaller portion of the frame. Snow can easily throw off metering modes, so be sure that you shoot raw files to capture more exposure info, or add some exposure compensation (see next step). 2 KEEP YOUR SNOW SNOW-WHITE If snow is coming out too bright you can add some negative exposure compensation. This works in semi-automatic modes like Aperture Priority, and allows you to force an underexposed shot. The exposure compensation button usually has a plus and…

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30 MINS Gobos, or go-between objects, are dedicated accessories that are designed to fit on your flashgun to modify the shape of the light falling on your subject. There are a plethora of designs to choose from, but you don’t have fork out cash to create attractive lighting effects – you can use everyday objects that you may have around the house, like the crocheted blanket we’re using here. The trick to using any kind of modifier to create patterns is to keep it close to your subject – hard light, from small, undiffused light sources, will produce the best results. If you’re shooting with window light, or doing this project outside, you’ll need to make sure you choose a clear day with direct sunlight, as clouds will soften the…

N-PHOTO N-Photo is a monthly magazine for Nikon photographers, and is packed with technique and Photoshop video lessons every month. http://bit.ly/3atHLfO https://apple.co/2TNE26T PHOTOPLUS PhotoPlus is a monthly magazine for Canon photographers that features expert advice, tips and video tutorials on all things Canon. http://bit.ly/30FoOlQ https://apple.co/2vaIdzw DIGITAL CAMERA WORLD A monthly magazine that aims to improve your photography with an inspirational mix of amazing images and how-to articles. http://bit.ly/2RER7g6 https://apple.co/2RBrZqG DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHER The monthly kitbag essential for enthusiast and pro photographers, packed with tutorials, exclusive interviews and the latest reviews. https://bit.ly/3lH4ucX https://apple.co/2SJf6ff…

Wildlife photography is an incredibly rewarding genre that allows you to get out into the great outdoors with your camera and take fantastic images of the animals you love. While some species can be trickier to photograph than others, in this feature we’ve set out some expert tips and tricks that will make it easier to take amazing shots of wild animals in the UK all year round (the skills covered here can be applied wherever you are, even if the wildlife differs), from rabbits and hares in the spring, seabirds in the summer, deer fighting for dominance in autumn’s rutting season, or even snow-covered British red squirrels and foxes in the middle of the winter. Finding a location where you can see the animals you wish to photograph is…

FLASHGUN from around £49 Flashguns can be fantastic for capturing wildlife in low light and shooting nocturnal animals. They’re also brilliant when set up off-camera and pointed at an area you know wildlife will visit, like a bird feeder. BEAN BAG from around £20 A bean bag with a camouflaged design is a handy accessory that you can store in your car boot to help you keep long lenses steady when shooting in a wildlife hide or low to the ground. TELECONVERTERS from around £250 Teleconverters fit between your camera body and lens to give you extra zoom reach. A 1.4x converter will magnify your lens by 1.4x, so a 300mm lens will become 420mm, while a 2x converter will take it 600mm. Note that the extra glass will degrade…

1 USE A TRIPOD WITH A GIMBAL HEAD A tripod is great for taking the weight of unwieldy telephoto lenses, and makes it easier to pan and track fast-moving animals. A gimbal head can be a great addition to your kit bag, as these allow you to smoothly pan your lens on the tripod much more effectively than the more common 3-way and ball tripod heads. I use a Benro GH2 gimbal head, making sure to mount the quick-release plate to the tripod collar foot to balance the lens and camera evenly. 2 REFINE YOUR FOCUSING Many enthusiast and pro-level cameras let you refine the autofocus, making it more effective at locking onto the specific subject you’re trying to photograph, so dive into your camera menu to see if you…

1 PERFECT POSITIONING Where you’re positioned in the morning in relation to the sun will have a huge effect on the lighting in your images, as your subject will be front-lit if the sun is positioned behind you, side-lit if the sun is coming in at a 90-degree angle, and backlit if the sun is directly in front of you. Backlighting wild animals works brilliantly well in the golden hour when the sun is very low in the hour after sunrise or before sunset, as it produces magical golden tones and rim lighting. 2 SHOOT RAW Getting a perfect exposure can be tricky when you’re shooting in the golden hour, as the contrast can be very strong. You should shoot in the raw file format so that your camera captures…

Flowers are starting to bloom and the days are getting longer, which makes spring the perfect time to get out with your camera. There’s an abundance of wildlife to shoot during this time of year if you know where to look. We particularly like photographing rabbits and hares during spring, as fields and meadows will still have tall grass that doesn’t get cut back until later in the year. This makes it easier to stay hidden to take photos, and adds heaps of colour to your foreground and background, which would just be a brown mush in shots taken in a desolate, muddy field. Silent and quiet shooting modes are hugely helpful for capturing these very skittish animals. Your best bet is to go to a location where you know…

GuruShots is billed as the world’s leading photo game. It’s an online photography platform conceived to give global exposure to people who love taking photographs. GuruShots members start out as Newbies and compete with other photographers to win challenges, increase their ranking on the site and eventually progress to coveted ‘Guru’ status. Challenges are voted on by Gurus and the wider GuruShots community, and there’s a fresh competition brief – such as this Meaningful Minimalism challenge – every day. Challenge winners receive prizes from GuruShots’ sponsors, including Lowepro, Kodak and Lensbaby. https://bit.ly/3MVL0Q6 https://bit.ly/3MVL0Q6 https://bit.ly/3MVL0Q6 https://bit.ly/3MVL0Q6…

The Displace filter is one of Photoshop’s more unusual and specialised tools. It enables you to distort the pixels in one image based on the brightness values of another, after you’ve turned that second image into a displacement map by converting it to black and white. When you apply the filter, pixels in the first image are shifted up or down, and left or right, depending on the values you enter in the filter’s dialog. This enables you to create some really interesting 3D effects, and in this video tutorial we’ll use the filter, along with layer blending modes, to combine an image of a mask with an image of a tree to create the effect of a tree with a face – you can use the filter on your…