Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2018 i Australian Photography

Above are two images shot in the same location at Sydney’s Observatory hill. The image on the left was taken by regular AP contributor Drew Hopper, and the one on the right was taken by me. We both used full frame camera bodies, and the same lenses with a 24-70mm focal length. Both images were shot at dusk, although I believe the image on the right was taken a little later in the year than the one on the left. Drew took his image in 2011, and mine was taken in 2016, so it’s fair to say this part of Sydney hasn’t changed all that much recently. So two images with just about the same composition, that are both sharp where they need to be. But which is the better…

I was living on Norfolk Island in 1980 as the island’s photographer, shooting everything from weddings to local newspaper shoots, and trying to make out I knew what I was doing. One night at around 10pm, I dropped off a roll of film in the studio to be processed from the day’s shoots. In the darkroom I spotted one of my negatives. I had watched the boss process film and print a couple of times before – so I thought what the hell – and gave it a go. I will never forget placing the negative into the holder, focusing, exposing for a few seconds and then placing the paper into the first tray – amazing! A little while later, I had several B&W prints drying. In the early 1990’s,…

Virtually since the advent of photography, images have been capitalised and monetised in a variety of ways. With the aim of serving demand for fresh imagery, and an idea of quantity over quality, stock libraries and agencies were quick to emerge, with the likes of Getty and Corbis setting the benchmark for decades. But in recent years a number of smaller fish have joined the pond and quickly grown in popularity. Couple this with the age of visual media, and today the sheer number of stock images is more immense than ever. Yet however tempting it may for amateurs and semi-professionals to jump onboard the stock photography train, a glance at the numbers involved certainly doesn’t paint a picture of a lucrative practice. So is it worth the time for…

Wildlife photography is about revealing something to the viewer that they have never seen - behavior, a display ritual, habitat, even something as simple as the sheer size of a creature. To do it succesfully involves capturing these moments and understanding your gear to ensure you show them as best you can. Do these two things, and you’ll be well on your way to capturing exciting images. Let’s get started. 1 BE PATIENT AND QUIET Wildlife photography is a waiting and watching game. Animals have their own schedule and if you quietly wait, you’ll soon see that things have a way of unfolding in their own time. That bird that was just sitting quietly may suddenly start frantically bathing, or a sleeping lion may wake and start hunting for dinner.…

My first foray into photography came when I was about 12. My family had emigrated to Australia and while living at the hostel I took images of those newly arriving. They would send these home, and in exchange give me stamps from their home countries. Although it's fair to say I was more into stamp collecting than photography, it did peak my interest. It wasn’t until my late teens when I bought a second hand Yashica TL that my interest really took off. It was manual everything of course, but worse, the light meter didn’t work, so there was plenty of guess work along the way. I found I could judge light to fall within a ballpark region of exposure, but my frustration grew as I had no guidance, none…

NISI ANNOUNCE SQUARE FILTER KIT FOR SMARTPHONES NISI have announced a new square filter kit for smartphones - the Proseries P1. The P1 Kit includes a phone clip, GND8 (0.9) 3 Stop Graduated Filter, polarizer, pouch, and holder. NiSi says its clip is compatible with all smartphone models and can be used on rear or front facing mobile cameras. The filter holder is built from the same aluminium used in NiSi’s popular V5 Pro system and can be rotated 360 degrees to change between portrait and landscape orientation. The two included filters are made of optical quality glass. The Medium GND Filter helps to darken specific areas of an image, such as bright skies, while allowing for a normal, unaffected exposure in the other regions of the image. The medium…

“WHILE SHOOTING MORE TRADITIONALLY COMPOSED LANDSCAPES, CONSIDER MAINTAINING INTEREST THROUGH THE FOREGROUND, MID-GROUND AND INTO THE BACKGROUND” Photographing nature can be a very rewarding and fulfilling experience. A creative outlet that depends on you escaping the confines of the city and getting out and about in the natural elements. But it is also challenging. The location you are wanting to get to may be difficult to get to, or being in the right location when the elements line up may take numerous attempts. These are all things we have little control over. However when all of the elements do align, one thing that cannot be overlooked is the importance of a strong composition. Knowing how to place subjects within your frame is critical to making a great photograph. I would…

Every year APSCON (the annual conference of the Australian Photographic Society) is organised in Australia. In 2018 the conference, which will be held from the 11th to 16th September, is at the Gold Coast. In 2017 I attended APSCON in Forster/Tuncurry to be part of the amateur photographic community and to view imagery that may be innovative and new, and possibly help me determine my future directions in photography. After attending fifteen or more lectures six months ago, I now find myself reflecting and asking, ‘What images did I see that were memorable?’ And ‘what were those images that have remained in my mind that I will keep remembering as “wow” photographs?’ We are bombarded by photographic images every day. They go into our mind, perhaps for a few seconds,…

SPONSORED BY TAMRON Always looking for inspiring architecture I stumbled upon this building whilst we were travelling in the US last month. The building was lit with this incredible red glow and the formation of the waves of metal and the ominous presence of the building really made me feel overwhelmed and overstimulated, but also appreciate how the building sat within its environment. The security guard would spend time on his two way radio walking the perimeter under the enormous belly of the building and I do remember being envious of him for being allowed to experience such grandeur every night. I wanted to emphasise the fluidity and movement of the building but to also be in awe of its beauty and power. By doing that I created this image…

ARCHITECTURE THIS MONTH'S WINNER JUDI THIES Two red chairs EDITOR’S COMMENT: There’s echoes of famed designer Dieter Rams in this strikingly simple composition by Judi Thies, proving that the smaller interior details can tell a more interesting story than the obvious external ones. Taken at the Regency Park TAFE in Adelaide, the resulting image is nicely balanced; the repeating vertical lines of that yellow wood panelling help our eyes to settle on the stars of the show, the bold red chairs in the bottom right. Well done. TECHNICAL DETAILS Olympus EM-1 Mark II, 12-100mm lens..6s@ f11, ISO 200. Thanks to the team at Blonde Robot, Judi Thies has won a brilliant Peak Design Everyday Sling 10L camera bag valued at $269.95. The ultimate low-profile, quick-access day bag for gear minimalists,…

Pubs have always been a robust forum for sharing ideas and in the 1980s the Provincial Hotel in Cashel Street, Christchurch was no exception. Every Thursday, studio and news photographers would meet at the Provincial for a beer after work and often the talk would turn to photography. One evening the discussion turned to the topic of creativity and I mentioned that I occasionally watched pop-videos on TV for creative inspiration. Being the youngest in the group I was quickly ridiculed by a few of the photographers, but the next day I was rather surprised when my mentor and boss, Richard Poole mentioned over coffee that he too watched music videos for inspiration. Pop music might not have impressed everybody, but the videos that accompanied them in the ’80s often…

I must admit I don’t often bring an ice-axe with me when I take my camera out, but I do often take my bike helmet, and amazingly, Nya Evo’s new FJORD action pack has holders for both. They’re just two of the clever features of this do-it-all outdoor camera bag that is overflowing with smart, well-made touches. Based in Hong Kong, Nya Evo is the brainchild of three photography enthusiasts who sought to create a durable pack for transporting camera gear outdoors with a negligible environmental footprint. The team began developing prototypes in 2016 before launching the backpack-style Fjord 36, which we were sent for review, on Kickstarter. As a mark of its popularity, crowdfunding raised an impressive $37,000, smashing the $25,000 goal. The Fjord 36 is available in four…

THIS MONT'S WINNER TIMELESS Michael Smee wrote: “This is a photograph of my grand-daughter, Mae, in my garden. It was an overcast afternoon and this a fairly shady situation, so there was not a lot of available light. This was a rare moment, as my grand-daughter is usually smiling and moving. I did some adjustments in Lightroom, including the addition of a dark vignette, to give the image more atmosphere.” I really like this image, and the monochromatic touch adds a slightly sinister feel to all that shade, those eyes like black holes and the child’s intense expression. It is also extremely sharp and well-exposed, so there is a lot to look at in the details in the leaves and the child’s hair and dress. The choice of mono gives…