Table of contents for October 2016 in Digital Camera Magazine

Being outside and in touch with the elements is one of the many reasons I love photography - especially at this time of year. Things start to get visually interesting as the transition from summer to autumn takes hold. To ensure you are inspired and well-prepared to get the best from your outdoor photography, we’ve put together a bumper bonanza of an issue, jam-packed with killer tips and techniques and I advice on the best kit for the job - plus loads of inspirational images from some of the world’s fnest photographers, including Art Wolfe and Jonathan Chritchley. No doubt you’ll have noticed that this issue comes with a free pack of 30 wildlife tips cards. Look for them at the end of this magazine digital edition. Enjoy! Ben Brain…

1 GET TOOLE D UP Six essential bits of kit for shooting landscapes and wildlife 2 KEEPING DRY Invest in some quality waterproofs for both yourself and your gear PHOTOGRAPHING outdoors will inevitably mean you’ll have to face all weathers, stand on soggy ground for hours or wade through knee high wet grass so you need to ensure you can keep yourself dry (and warm). There are myriad waterproofs that’ll do the job, but go for something that’s both lightweight and breathable. Make sure it packs down small so you can store it easily in your bag. Waterproof boots are a must to maintain dry feet – if the rain doesn’t get you, then the dew will. A camera bag with a built-in waterproof cover is an ideal way to…

Flummoxed by f-stops? in a muddle over macro? Send your question to digitalcamera@futurenet.com and let us provide you with a solution Free yourself My mirrorless camera won’t shoot when free-lensing. Is there a way round this? Dave Trott A It depends on which model you have – but in a lot of cases, yes, it’s easy to switch the camera so that it allows you to fire the shutter with the lens detached from the body. Look through your menus for Shoot Without Lens: if you have this, just enable it and away you go! Free-lensing is a technique where you remove the lens from the camera body and hold it just slightly away from the aperture in the camera’s body. It’s fun, but it does have potential risks such…

For absolutely ages, Canon was the only company to offer a really high-end APS-C format SLR that was designed to appeal to dedicated enthusiast photographers, or to pros who wanted a lighter body with a smaller sensor to give their lenses extra reach. That’s changed recently, however, with the introduction of the Nikon D500, which means that the Canon 7D Mark II now has a direct competitor. Our mission here is to see how they compare… Features Although the 7D Mark II dates from September 2014, it has a very similar pixel count to the recently launched D500; we’re talking 20.2 million versus 20.9 million respectively. The D500 doesn’t have an optical low-pass filter, which could give it a slight edge for detail resolution, albeit at enhanced risk of moire…

SOFTWARE Lightroom CC/6 GET IT FROM www.adobe.com Get Start fi les from www.bit.ly/dc182files Sean McCormack Photographer and writer Sean McCormack is an experienced photographer and writer based in Galway. He is the author of The Indispensable Guide to Lightroom CC. seanmcfoto.com We’re bombarded with images on a constant basis, from TV ads to magazines and billboard advertising. Even in public bathrooms, you have posters looking down at you. These images are feeding us with the visions of a perfect world, marketed to us by companies that are hoping we’ll buy into their message. Advertising has raised the expectation of how our photos should look, especially when it comes to portraits. We all know these images are retouched, so it’s no surprise your subjects would ask for a little of this…

SOFTWARE Photoshop CC GET IT FROM www.adobe.com GET START FILES FROM www.bit.ly/dc182files JAMES PATERSON Editor, Practical Photoshop With a decade as a working writer and photographer behind him, James knows which Photoshop and Lightroom tools and techniques matter the most to you. The Filter Gallery Explore a vast array of creative options PHOTOSHOP’S Filter Gallery houses a large selection of filter effects. To access it, go to Filter > Filter Gallery. (It’ll be greyed out if your image is 16-bit: if so, go to Image > Mode > 8-Bit.) The filters are divided into categories. Many of the effects use your foreground and background colours as a base, so before applying the filter, experiment with different colour combinations like the green/blue here, or press D to reset the colours for simple…

Step-by-step Make a montage 1 Perfect skin Cyborgs don’t get pimples, so the frst step is to retouch the skin. iour fle ‘cyborg_before.jpg’ then grab the Spot Healing Brush from the Tools Panel. Use the ] and [ bracket keys to resize the brush tip. Get in close and paint over blemishes to remove them. 2 Piercing eyes — Next, we’ll give her some piercing robotic eyes, so go to the Layers Panel, click on the Create Adjustment Layer icon and then select Curves. Drag up on the curve to lighten the image then make a second point in the shadows and drag down to add some shadows to your image. 3 Add a Mask Now we’ll mask the Curves Adjustment so it only applies to the eyes. Make sure that…

THE BIG INTERVIEW ART WOLFE The photographer who combines artistic and journalistic skills OUTDOOR INTERVIEW JONATHAN CHRITCHLEY The master of black-and-white outdoor photography OUTDOOR EXPERT MARK OOR MBLIN Tips and tricks to shooting wildlife and the outdoors OUTDOOR INSPIRATION YOSHINORI MIZUTANI Get inspired by this alternative Japanese wildlife photographer WILDLIFE INSPIRATION DAVID TIPLING Professional bird photographer David showcases his work WORK EXPERIENCE LIZZIE SHEPHERD Landscape, nature and travel photographer shares her secrets QUESTION MASTER ANDREW JAMES You ask, he answers! Help with all your technical queries DARKROOM ARTIST JAMES ABBOTT James makes a stretching panoramic view in Photoshop…

DAVID TIPLING Responding to changing market conditions is crucial, says this bird photo veteran DAVID TIPLING David has been interested in birds and wildlife since he was eight. He is now one of the most widely published wildlife photographers in the world. HE has worked with numerous well-known book publishers, including Harper Collins, New Holland Publishers, Random House, Duncan Baird, Penguin, Dorling Kindersley and Mitchell Beazley to name just a few. He has also collaborated with some of the UK’s leading nature writers, including Jonathan Elphick and Mark Cocker. TV appearances have included the BBC’s Springwatch and The One Show and he has made Living Coast, a Heritage Lottery funded film for the Norfolk Wildlife Trust. Tipling is a regular judge for photography competitions, notably British Birds Bird Photographer of…

www.benroeu.com Benro GoPlus Classic TG P27C & IB2 head £309 + £94 This new no-compromise design makes a big impression. With an IB2 ball head attached, it’ll top out at an imposing 178cm and pack down to a still-unwieldy 73.5cm. That’s due to the use of threesection legs, which should be more rigid than four-section designs, even if portability does take a hit. Factor the extra-large diameter carbon tubing, capable of supporting a whopping 12kg, and you get a solid-feeling set-up here. A monopod conversion feature enhances the GoPlus’ appeal, as does the versatile Quick Flip centre column, which easily pivots to almost any angle. Benro also throws in interchangeable spiked feet, while the optional IB2 head impresses with its large, frictionadjustable ball and sound ergonomics. www.gitzo.com Gitzo Mountaineer Series…

Software Photoshop CC with Camera Raw 9.6 Get it from www.adobe.com Get Start files from www.bit.ly/dc182files JAMES PATERSON Editor, Practical Photoshop With a decade as a working writer and photographer behind him, James knows exactly which Photoshop and Lightroom tools and techniques matter the most to you. STEP BY STEP CORRECT EXTREME DISTORTION Control horizontals and verticals with Guided Upright 1 CORRECT FISHEYE DISTORTION Navigate to the provided transform_before image in Adobe Bridge: right-click it and choose Open In Camera Raw. Now you need to click Lens Correction in the panel to the right and then tick Enable Profile Corrections and Remove Chromatic Aberration. Next, click on the Transform Tool in the toolbar. 2 USE GUIDED UPRIGHT Click and drag a line along a straight vertical within the image. Turn…

Wildlife and nature photographer www.benhallphotography.com Which photographers (living or dead) would you like to have round for dinner? Jim Brandenburg and Frans Lantin, two of my biggest inspirations. What’s your favourite place? It’s a tough choice between Patagonia and the Galapagos Islands. I’ll go with Patagonia, for the amazing diversity of its wildlife and landscapes. What’s on your memory card now? Some stonechats and moorland landscapes from a recent shoot in the Peak District. What’s top of your bucket list? I’ve always felt drawn to rainforests: I find the sheer abundance of life captivating. I would love to explore and photograph some of the wildest and most remote areas of Papua New Guinea and the Congo. Tell us a secret about your photography you haven’t told anyone before. I nearly…

Capture stunning images of the natural world with the help of these quick reference photo cards. Each card focuses on a different species, photography technique or fieldcraft skill, with step by-step tips to improve your pictures. Share your photos at www.facebook.com/digitalcameraworld URBAN WILDLIFE How to photograph animals in built-up areas • Get your eye in at your local park, as the animals you encounter will be more approachable. • Rather than zooming in to isolate the animal, show it in context with the man-made environment. • Build up a list of local contacts -from wildlife groups to night security guards - so you can source suitable locations. FIELDCRAFT TIP: Don’t wear deodorant when photographing foxes, and approach them with the wind in your face so that your scent is carried…

Blow your clients away with URSA Mini 4.6K, the only camera that lets you shoot with the true digital film quality of a high end Hollywood feature film! You get a handheld. Super 35 digital film camera that works with your existing Canon DSLR lenses, has a 4.6K Image sensor with 15 stops of dynamic range. URSA Mini 4.6K records video as camera RAW and ProRes so you can edit, color correct and deliver results that a re far superior and look better than anything you can shoot on a DSLR! Dramatically better than DSLR Video URSA Mini features a custom 4.GK digital film sensor that shoots up to 60 frames per second with 15 stops of super wide dynamic range! That means your Images will retain shadow and highlight…

J O N ATHAN CHRITCHLEY A star speaker at the Digital Splash Show in October, this top fine-art photographer and teacher reflects on his outdoor photography approach with Geoff Harris ABOUT JONATHAN Jonathan Chritchley’s work is seen in exhibitions, galleries, magazines and books worldwide. His clients include Ralph Lauren, Hilton International, Fortuny and P&O. Jonathan is the founder and owner of Capture Earth and Ocean Capture, two companies specialising in luxury photography workshops and tours. He was named one of the Top 100 Photographers of All Time by The Sunday Times. His first book, Silver, was published in 2014. T HE tasteful and beautifully composed outdoor images of Jonathan Chritchley have a perennial appeal. He is a big draw at this year’s Digital Splash show, and is living proof that…

SOFTWARE Photoshop or Lightroom CC GET IT FROM www.adobe.com GET START FILES FROM www.bit.ly/dc182files JAMES ABBOTT Photographer and journalist James is a professional photographer and journalist. He’s an advanced Photoshop user and has created hundreds of tutorials to help others improve their skills. jamesaphoto.co.uk Human vision is panoramic, so confining landscape photography to the dimensions dictated by your camera will never capture the scene in front of you in quite the way you see it. By taking a series of shots that overlap, you’ll be capturing an ultra-wide scene that’s more faithful to the way you saw it while you were there. But is there a better way? Sure, you could always crop a standard image down to a panoramic format, but there are two good reasons not to do…