Table of contents for Spring 2021 in Digital Camera Magazine

Firstly, thanks to all our readers who supported Spring Shoots, The Photography Show and The Video Show virtual festival. I hope you found the talks, clinics and product demos useful – and inspirational. After what feels like a long winter of quarantine, spring has finally sprung. And while lockdown restrictions are still in place for many, staying local doesn’t mean missing out on photographing the glories of the new season – that’s the theme of this month’s feature (p62). There’s inspiration aplenty elsewhere in the issue, courtesy of Photo Active (p16) and Stay at Home (p43), while Hotshots (p84) showcases the year’s best science photos. Landscape photography fans are in clover this month: turn to Camera College (p74) for a scenics masterclass, and read the inside story of Jeremy Walker’s…

65 MINUTES OF VIDEO COOL BLENDING MODE EFFECTS www.bit.ly/dc241blend Download 65 minutes of video training for Photoshop, Lightroom and Affinity Photo. FILE & VIDEO www.digitalcameraworld.com/dc241 CLASSIC STREET STYLE www.bit.ly/dc241street FREQUENCY SEPARATION www.bit.ly/dc241frequency COLOUR AND TONE www.bit.ly/dc241tone SUNSET SCENES www.bit.ly/dc241sunset WATER REFLECTION EFFECTS ww.bit.ly/dc241water PERFECT PANORAMAS www.bit.ly/dc241pano BLENDING MODE BASICS www.bit.ly/dc241blendbasics…

After picking up a camera in 2019, I quickly began to fall in love with photographing wildlife – especially on trips away, where you could capture some incredible animals. We’ve now spent most of the last year in rolling national lockdowns, so I’ve continued to hone my skills while out in the local area on my daily walks, and I’ve discovered a new love for the animals around my area. While I wish I was out shooting cheetahs in the wild, the skittishness of a local squirrel makes for an equally challenging subject to capture. I’ll admit that some of them weren’t as friendly at first, and if you carry nuts in Bournemouth’s gardens, it’s guaranteed that a squirrel will pickpocket you. However, with my trusty Sony Alpha 7 and…

For the past five years, I have been working within the grounds of a family-owned estate in the heart of the South Downs National Park, specialising in photographing the roe deer that call it home. I must have watched these solitary deer for thousands of hours, learning their behaviour and mastering my approach in photographing them. The peak season for photographing roe deer is between May and September, before and their annual rut. During this time, I help people learn the art of photographing this elusive species and spend far too much time hiding in ditches, creeping through fields of wheat and barley and always trying to keep downwind. The most important lesson, of all those I have learned, is to let the deer come to me after I make…

In more normal times, I’m a wedding and events photographer – but in the spirit of lockdown business-pivoting, I’ve been taking on more product shoots to expand my portfolio and stop my camera from seizing up. Lifestyle shoots with static products sound straightforward, but it can be trickier than you’d think to start getting some cracking images. My clients send the products to my door and I can work away alongside home-schooling and everything else that needs to be done to keep my family and myself safe (and sane). It’s the perfect project for these wobbly times. You can apply this directly to food or still-life photography too. I’m fortunate to have a home studio, which has allowed me to continue with a steady flow of Covid-safe photography work. Most…

Whether it’s a teapot, a toothbrush, an iron or a table lamp, we interact with dozens of household items every day. Their design is often underappreciated or overlooked, but lockdown has given us the time and space to view household items in a very different light – or in no light at all, as we’ll see. Silhouettes are created when the background is brighter than a darker foreground subject; a silhouette emphasises the outline and shape of the object in question. Take your daily exercise at sunrise or sunset, and you will see this effect in the natural world, when the outline of trees or buildings are emphasised by the rising or setting light from the sun. In this project I’ll show you how to create silhouettes, then combine them…

Cyanotype printing is a process that was popular in the 19th century. This type of printing can easily be achieved at home, by using a negative or imprinting a sheet of UV-sensitive paper with an object. You can use natural light to expose the negative or paper, or instead use a UV bulb that can be sourced inexpensively. Cyanotype printing involves a fair amount of trial and error – but once you are familiar with the process and have worked out the right timings, you will soon be able to produce your own distinctive and original cyanotype prints. This project will walk you through the process of creating a cyanotype print with an all-in-one kit (although you could also buy the components individually). WHAT YOU’LL NEED TOP KIT Cyanotype…

With winter on the wane and solid signs of spring colour in the air, we’re seemingly all set to get out there and capture the coming season with gusto! But with the cold, hard reality of lockdowns restricting our ability to get out and shoot in the way we’re used to, it can be tricky to form any plans to move our photography back into pride of place. With this in mind, we’ve devised a series of springtime projects you can do close to home, so you’ll never be short of a creative technique when you have a spare hour or two. What’s more, we’ve intertwined these creative ideas with a bunch of practical tips and advice, so you can refine your skills and give your kit a spring-clean at…

Whether it’s the frantic activity of garden birds getting ready for nesting or the sudden appearance of young rabbits on the most urban-looking roadside verges, you don’t have to look far for animal action. Local nature reserves often have hides where you can sit in wait with your telephoto lens for interesting subjects to capture. If you’re of a more active persuasion, the comings and going of wildfowl on a nearby lake can provide numerous photo opportunities. Animals are relatively predictable in their habits. Where there is food, that’s where you’ll find them most often. Setting up close to a feeding station is usually the best way to bring them close enough for photos. Project 1 Swan vista Iconic and majestic, the white swan is one of the most spectacular…

Part travel, part fine art and part documentary, landscape photography is an addictive mix of a few different photographic genres. And with all the hours of waiting around until those heart-pumping moments when the sun breaks and you frenetically burn through frames, it’s fair to say that it has a hint of sports photography, too. That being said, there are some techniques that are always useful, whatever your preferred approach is. The first step to better landscapes is to avoid using your camera’s Landscape mode, as this gives you only limited options during the picture-taking process. For full creative control, you should switch to Aperture Priority or Manual, both of which allow you to choose the aperture setting. The aperture size is important in landscape photography, as it plays a…

Although ND grads aren’t as essential as they were in the days of film, they are useful to have in your bag if you’re a photographer who enjoys getting everything right in-camera. Two other filters that are definitely worth packing are a strong ND filter, for creatively blurring clouds and waves in daylight; and a polariser for cutting through glare on water and leaves, and boosting contrast in between a blue sky and white clouds. Both are available as circular filters that screw onto the lens, or as square slot-in filters with a filter holder. The latter system can be more convenient, as it’s easier to swap filters and you’re less likely to see vignetting in the image when filters are stacked.…

When you’re shooting white water against dark rocks or using a strong ND filter, there’s a risk of burning detail out of the highlights. To make it easier to judge overexposure, activate your camera’s highlight alert function, which makes hotspots blink on the rear screen, and in the EVF of a mirrorless camera.…

15 WATER REFLECTION EFFECTS digitalcameraworld.com/dc241 FILE & VIDEO www.digitalcameraworld.com/dc241 If you want to give an image a brand-new look, this cool technique may be right up your street! It effectively ‘floods’ the foreground of any scene with a computer-generated water reflection effect, giving a perspective as though the scene is photographed from a low angle on a body of water. All you have to do is choose the baseline of the source picture, and this becomes the ‘waterline’ in the new, flooded image. Take care to choose a horizontal line that could actually be a waterline – and for a convincing result, avoid anything breaking this line that would stand out as inappropriate when reflected. The technique will work on all kinds of images, from still-life shots and full-length portraits…

WATCH THE VIDEO! FILE & VIDEO www.digitalcameraworld.com/dc24 Some images are incredibly easy to take – just point and shoot – while others can take years of preparation. But regardless of how much time goes into creating an image, the aim is always to capture the scene as successfully as possible, so that you have the best possible starting point for your editing. With any image, it’s always best to get the raw file as close to perfect in-camera as possible, but this simply means that any subsequent editing adjustments don’t need to push the file too far one way or another. The harder you push an image in processing, the more likely you are to begin to experience image degradation. With this idea in mind, the techniques we’ll be covering…

This landscape photo has a common exposure issue where the land is too dark and the sky is slightly too bright in some areas. However, the tonal range can be manipulated to bring both areas under control and reveal the shapes of the landscape. We’re going to do the bulk of the work with Lightroom’s Graduated Filter Tool, first dropping one ‘upside down’ on the horizon line so it affects the land 1. You can press the letter O to see the mask and make sure it’s over the bottom half of the image. We can then take the Shadows slider to +50 to bring back the detail we need. Now we can pop another Grad over the sky area 2, so it affects the area from the top of…

The 28-70mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary lens for Sony FE and L-mount cameras is 40% lighter than Sigma’s 24-70mm f/2.8 DG DN Art optic, and should be an especially good match for smaller cameras. The new lens strikes a balance between performance and portability, with an optical design based on the Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 DG DN | Art lens, but with a much smaller body – this is achieved with a slight reduction in zoom range at the ‘wide’ end, from 24mm to 28mm. The lens uses thermally stable composite material to reduce weight, and has Super Multi-Layer Coating and Nano Porous Coating, with a water- and oil-repellent coating on the front element. www.sigma-imaging-uk.com; £899/$759 Go to www.digitalcameraworld.com for the latest news, reviews & techniques…

Dual-channel Wireless Go II launched by Rode Now with one receiver and two transmitters, the latest version of Wireless Go can record two sound sources at the same time. It can attach to computers via USB-C, making it ideal for doublehanded video calls and interviewing. www.rode.com; £279/$299 Limited-edition colours for Polaroid Now Three new colourways make this instant camera even more fun – choose between pink, mint and a classic black-and-white finish. Polaroid Now models offer a 60-day battery life and a friendly but functional design. www.polaroid.com; £120/$100 Paws for thought with a copy of Magnum Dogs With contributions from the likes of Eve Arnold and Harry Gruyaert among its 180 images of pooches from around the planet, this really could be the ultimate collection of canine photography. thamesandhudson.com; £17/$25…

Time could be running out for throwaway culture if the iconic accessories maker has its way. The carbon-fibre Légende travel tripod features four-part leg sections and an Arca Swiss-compatible aluminium ball head, and its parts are “100% replaceable” – with 70% of them being user-replaceable. The Légende will slide into the side pocket of a Légende backpack, which has a 14-litre volume, weighs 1.69kg and is made from 65% recycled materials and “eco-friendly” leather. Pre-order from Indiegogo and get the Légende tripod and backpack for a Super Early Bird Deal price of $699. www.indiegogo.com/projects/gitzo-legende-tripod-and-backpack#/…

www.fujifilm.co.uk Medium-format cameras are more accessible than they’ve ever been, yet they remain a fairly niche area of the market. Any medium-format optic is going to be large compared with the latest crop of APS-C mirrorless lenses or even full-frame models, due to the larger image circle. This Fujinon standard zoom fits this description – it is not a small lens by any means. However, it’s still surprisingly light when you pick it up. No construction compromises have been made, though, and it is incredibly solid, being perfectly balanced on a Fujifilm GFX 50R body. The barrel does extend when zoomed, but focusing is internal. It essentially handles like any recent Fujinon X-series lens. All of the controls are comfortable to operate, with just enough resistance. The front filter thread…

www.canon.co.uk The price tag is enough to make you do a double-take. £1,299/$1,099 for a flashgun? That’s more than twice the price of Canon’s very capable Speedlite 600EX II-RT, and almost as much as a Canon EOS RP complete with Canon RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM kit zoom lens. So Canon’s new Speedlite EL-1 should be something pretty special if it’s to deserve a place as one of the best flashguns, and indeed it is. We’re just not sure if it’s special enough. A headline feature of the EL-1 is that it doesn’t run on the usual set of four AA cells. Instead, it has a rechargeable lithium-ion battery with the promise of greater stamina and quicker recycling speeds. But we’ve seen this before in the likes of the cheaper…

www.canon.co.uk Going one up on the Pixma TS6350/6320 five-ink printer, this model adds a dye-based ink in ‘photo blue’ flavour. The idea is to extend the colour space as well as enabling smoother graduations in the likes of blue skies within photo prints. The printer itself is available in black, white or racy red, going by the UK model numbers of TS8350, TS8351 and TS8352 respectively. Other enhancements over its more budget-friendly sibling include a 4.3-inch colour touchscreen and an SD/HC/XC memory card slot for standalone photo printing. Performance The print quality in terms of colour rendition, tonal range and retention of fine detail is excellent. There’s plenty of vibrancy on tap to do full justice to rich landscape colours, while skin tones look very natural. Even so, the level…

www.canon.co.uk Canon’s Pixma Pro-100S has long been our favourite A3+/13-inch pro-grade printer for creating photo prints on glossy paper. Running on eight dye-based inks, including black, grey and light grey, it delivered sumptuously smooth glossy prints with immaculate colour rendition and very good tonal expression for blackand-white photographic images. A new and improved range of inks aims for greater colour space, superior vibrancy and deeper reds, blues and blacks. There’s also a new three-inch colour LCD screen and compatibility with Canon’s excellent Professional Print & Layout software, as well as wide-ranging fine-art media from the likes of Canson and Hahnemühle. Performance Print speeds are very quick and, as is often the case these days, the difference in print quality between standard and highest quality modes can look fairly negligible. Even…

Tom Stoddart Photojournalist In a career spanning half a century, Tom has shot many of the defining moments of recent times. His new book turns a lens on extraordinary women. Page 10 Chantel King Beauty & fashion photographer Chantel has worked at every level of the photo industry since starting out as an assistant. She reveals how she approaches a fashion assignment, on page 22 Diana Bovoloni Visual artist & photographer Brescia-based Diana shoots mesmerising images using light painting techniques to great effect. She takes us behind the scenes of a shoot on page 32 Jon Devo Photographer and writer Remote photography was a niche pursuit – then Covid hit. Photographer and keen follower of tech Jon gives us a primer on remote working. Page 116 Gulnara Samoilova Street photographer…

HOW TO GET YOUR DIGITAL GIFTS STEP 1 ENTER THIS URL www.digitalcameraworld.com/dc241 Enter the URL above into the destination bar of your internet browser – we’re using Google Chrome, but other browsers work in a similar way. Please do not enter it in any search field or search bar (see the examples above). This will take you to a page on our website. STEP 2 START YOUR DOWNLOAD Just click the highlighted link Here you’ll find all the files, videos and resources to accompany this issue of Digital Camera. Scroll to just underneath the image and click on Download the disc for Digital Camera 241 and your download will start. It should only take a few minutes on most broadband connections. STEP 3 ACCESS YOUR FILES Open the.zip In your…

Julie lives in North Yorkshire and these photos were taken just outside Catterick. She enjoys photographing many different subjects, including the countryside, waterfalls, insects and flowers, as well as her pets. For these shots, Julie rested against a fence post for stability to avoid camera shake on her phone, as the images were shot at 1/60 sec. She chose a low ISO and a wide-open aperture to let in as much light as possible and to avoid grain. Phones can be great for point-and-shoot images when you don’t have your regular camera with you, and are good for research in case you want to head back to a location. www.facebook.com/groups/starlinginfo 1 Super shapes Murmurations constantly change, so it is a good idea to take as many photographs as you can,…

My interest in photography began while I was serving in the Royal Navy, where I completed a short course in intelligence photography. Since leaving, I have shown an interest in landscape photography, chasing sunsets to capture vibrant colours and the beauty of our surroundings. I love to spend time capturing scenes on the coast of Suffolk. My passion for landscape photography grew when I learned there were many beautiful locations around my local area to capture – and when Covid restrictions ease, I will be excited to travel to new locations. The thrill of exploring new locations to capture a photo, getting outside and being part of nature is why I love landscapes. Creating stunning long-exposure landscape images takes time and understanding, but it’s a simple technique once mastered, using…

Subscribe to Digital Camera for a year and get this brilliant bag to store your camera gear Editor, Digital Camera Great features of the Lowepro Tahoe BP 150 camera backpack Fits a DSLR or a mirrorless camera with medium zoom lens attached (for example, 18-135mm) There’s also enough room for a second lens (up to 50mm), a flash and accessories Front compartment for a small laptop or tablet (W 24 x D 2 x H 27cm) W 26 x D 13 x H 36cm inside, W 28 x D 22 x H 40cm outside Top reasons to subscribe now! ✔ Great savings Subscribe for 12 months and get your 13 issues delivered to your door, your digital device, or both! Just choose between the three options below ✔ Lowepro Tahoe…

1 ‘Pipe Line’ by John Colmer “This image was taken at Papplewick Pumping Station in Nottingham. It was very dim lighting, but I liked how the pipes stood out from the background and the texture of the metal.” Digital Camera says: Often when you find yourself in a dimly lit area, certain objects really stand out. Modern-day cameras can work with high ISO settings very well and give us more opportunities to capture images at 6,400 and above. 2 ‘Puddle Church’ by Craig Blackley “This is St Matthew’s Church in Widcombe, Bath, reflected into a puddle. I specifically went out searching for puddles after heavy rainfall the night before. During editing, I rotated the church to make it upright.” Digital Camera says: Great use of creative perspective. The puddle itself…

The middle of spring can see the garden as a riot of colour, shape and textures, because the growing season is in full swing. It’s also rich pickings for photographers, with some of the most evocative and interesting subjects right on our doorstep. From the structural shapes of architectural plants to the brilliant and vibrant colours of bee-attractors, there can almost be too much to shoot! Try to simplify what’s in front of you, considering backgrounds and interesting colour combinations. Whether you choose to shoot detail with a macro lens or single out prize specimens with a telephoto, the power of flowers can breathe some rich and rewarding life into your photography. Project 1 Long lens luxury A telephoto lens is one of the best optics for shooting flowers, enabling…

Spring signifies new birth, so there’s no better time to try something fresh. The textures, greenery and dappled light offered by the cover of trees may seem like a challenge to capture in-camera, but woodland provides a plethora of subjects and techniques, and it’s so accessible that everyone can take advantage of its potential. Although woodland can provide great photo opportunities at any time of the day (or night), the techniques here are best attempted early. Not only is the location likely to be quieter, but the raking light from a low sun should generate special shots. So recce your nearest woods to get your plan together, then set your alarm! Project 1 Add a creative twist to your tree shots The lush, yellow-green canopy offered by newly-leafed trees presents…

Like bacon and eggs, wide-angle lenses and scenic photography are a classic combination. Wide-angles allow you to capture a magnificent sweeping view in a single photo, with the emphasis they place on features in the foreground making for shots with bags of impact (as long as you’re standing in the right place). On a full-frame camera, wide-angle lenses are those with a focal length shorter than 50mm; they typically run from 28mm down to 14mm. With a camera that has a smaller sensor, you’ll need to go even wider to combat the cropping effect of the sensor. Telephoto lenses – those with focal lengths longer than the standard full-frame 50mm – allow you to pick out details in the landscape, or to take advantage of compression distortion by standing farther…

Manual focus To increase the depth of field – the amount of front-to-back sharpness – focus the lens a third of the way into the scene. You can also use a ‘hyperfocal focus’ smartphone app to work out the precise focus distance for maximum sharpness. Optimum aperture The narrowest aperture of a lens will give you the most depth of field, but there is a trade-off: softer detail. A compromise is to use an f-number that’s slightly lower; use DoF Preview (often a button near the lens) to check that the scene is still sharp. Solid support Check that all the tripod and head locks are firmly tightened. If the legs are a little wobbly, consider lowering the centre of gravity by hanging a heavy bag from the centre column…

Young Science Photographer of the Year (Climate Change) ‘Apollo’s Emissary’ Raymond Zhang A concentrated-solar-power station in China. 12,000 mirrors reflect sunlight toward a central tower, where it heats sodium nitrate salt. This goes to a heat exchanger, making steam to drive generator turbines. The thermal inertia is such that the station can continue working through the night, saving up to 350,000 tonnes of CO2 emission per year. Science Photographer of the Year (Climate Change) ‘North Pole Underwater’ Sue Flood A signpost depicting the geographic North Pole, at 90 degrees north latitude, is placed on sea ice largely covered with water. Each year the ice cover over the Arctic declines, a direct result of changing global climates. Young Science Photographer of the Year (General Science) ‘Rainbow Shadow Selfie’ Katy Appleton Sunlight…

FILE & VIDEO www.digitalcameraworld.com/dc241 Photoshop’s Blending Modes have long been one of its most useful features. Each Blending Mode uses a distinct algorithm to blend a selected layer with the layers below. If this sounds complicated, in practice using Blending Modes is simple. All you need to do is copy one image on top of another, then experiment. Blending Modes can be used for all kinds of projects, and allow you to create a near-limitless range of effects. Here we’ll look at how to give a car a vibrant psychedelic treatment by blending images of colours and smoke. This involves two of the most useful Blending Modes: Screen and Multiply. We’ll also make use of brush Blending Modes to colour our smoke. Beyond this, Blending Modes can be used for…

Nikon recently released NX Studio, a piece of new software that enables the seamless viewing, processing and editing of still images and video. Integrating the functions of Nikon’s current image viewing software, ViewNX-i, and its image-processing and editing sibling, Capture NX-D, NX Studio is designed to allow you to view, process and edit images in a single application. NX Studio inherits a wide range of existing functions from ViewNX-i and Capture NX-D, and adds some new features. Organised by workflow, NX Studio’s intuitive menu structure improves the response speed for each function and provides a smoother editing process. The software will enable Nikon owners to transfer images to Nikon’s image sharing and storage service, Nikon Image Space, and it will be continually updated with support for new Nikon camera models.…

www.canon.co.uk The Canon RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM arrived with far more fanfare than traditional f/4 zoom lenses. For starters, it’s the shortest and lightest 70-200mm f/4 in the world – it’s only just larger than a fizzy drink can when collapsed! And it delivers an astonishing maximum of 7.5 stops of stabilisation on recent IBIS-enabled R-series cameras, making it truly formidable for handheld shooting. While there’s a lot to like about this lens, it is incompatible with the Canon RF Extender RF 1.4x and RF 2.0x teleconverters. This is a physical limitation due to the collapsing nature of the lens, but it’s a big drawback for a 70-200mm optic. Performance The RF 70-200mm f/4L is a bit of a tale of two halves. On the one hand, centre sharpness…

With so much working from home going on, printers have become big news over the last year. But printers aren’t just for workaday jobs like creating documents and spreadsheets: they can also turn your digital images into physical photographs. Indeed, some of us feel that a digital photo only becomes ‘real’ when it’s printed onto a sheet of paper, rather than existing purely in the digital realm. For this group test, we’ve started small, but not too small. We’re kicking off with four A4/8.5-inch models that are eminently suitable for creating mono and colour documents, while also working well as photo printers for outputting bordered or borderless glossy prints in popular sizes including 4 x 6-inch, 5 x 7-inch, A4 and 8.5 x 11-inch. We’ll then work our way up…

www.epson.co.uk Epson EcoTank printers come with high-volume ink tanks, which you can replenish with bottled ink. The ET-7700 comes with two sets of high-capacity ink bottles, sufficient for up to 14,000 mono documents and 3,400 6 x 4-inch photos. Ink levels are easy to keep track of, with the tanks positioned behind viewing windows in the front panel. Scanning, photocopying and printing from memory cards are based on a push-button interface with a 2.7-inch screen, rather than the touchscreen display of the XP-8600. Performance The ET-7700’s photo print speeds are pretty pedestrian, especially compared with the Canon A4 printers on test, which use a similar combination of dye and pigment ink types. The print quality is good overall but, while colour rendition is quite accurate, tonal accuracy could be better.…

www.canon.co.uk Although it’s a pigment-based printer, the Pro-300 delivers superb looking output on glossy as well as matte and fine-art media. This is enabled by the printer’s Chroma Optimizer cartridge, which smooths out the finish when printing on glossy photo paper, so that there’s no difference in the reflectivity of different colours and tones. Unlike Canon’s previous pigment-based printers, the Pro-300 enables borderless output on matte and fine art media, instead of just on glossy, semi-gloss and lustre photo papers. Performance The new 10-cartridge Lucia Pro ink system delivers a wide gamut (colour space) with rich, vivid colour rendition, as well as high-fidelity black-and-white photo printing, with amazingly deep yet detailed blacks. The Pro-300’s print quality is spectacular in all respects, and yet it’s still pretty speedy for a pigment-based…

www.epson.co.uk Epson’s SureColor P700 A3+/13-inch printer (£679/$800) might seem an obvious fit for this group test, competing against the Canon Pro-200 and Pro-300 models. But while the A2/17-inch P900 is more expensive, it gives relatively supersized output from a printer that’s only about the same size and weight as the Canon A3+/13-inch models, and its 50ml cartridges have twice the capacity of the Epson P700’s cartridges, resulting in significant savings for ink costs. Handling is excellent, with an additional pull-out feeder at the front, ideal for fine art media and relatively thick poster board. As well as a useful colour touchscreen, the printer features a translucent top panel and interior LED lighting, so you can check your prints as they’re being made. Performance Print quality is excellent for both colour…

The digital advantage Digital magazines can travel with you – even if you delete them, they’re free to re-download. Subscribe today by visiting www.magazinesdirect.com/categories/photography-and-design Binders for your print issues Prefer print? Keep your mags together with our binder, which neatly holds a year’s worth of issues. We also sell back issues… www.magazinesdirect.com/merchandise/categories/binders Available on the following: Apple iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch Get the free Digital Camera app for your iPad or iPhone at www.bit.ly/app_DCM (UK) or www.bit.ly/app_DCW (the rest of the world), then browse through our back issues or buy a subscription using the app. Android, PC or Mac Zinio: www.bit.ly/DCW_Zinio Pocket Mags: www.pocketmags.com Other options Digital Camera is available for Kobo, Kindle, Nook and more. It can also be found on the all-you-can read Readly magazine app. Limited…

9 ALL-NEW TIPS CARDS Our collectable shooting tips cards enable you to carry handy settings and suggestions around in your kit bag, ready for when you need them. This issue, get wallet-sized advice on street colours, waterfalls, perfect fashion poses and using leading lines in your compositions. Reflection effects for Photoshop CC Add water reflections with your free Photoshop kit – see page 94. 15 WATER REFLECTION EFFECTS digitalcameraworld.com/dc241 Image Transformation Pack for Photoshop We’ve curated a selection of effect kits to give existing photos a whole new look – see page 47 for more details. Buyer’s Guide ebook 252 pages of the latest camera and lens reviews, plus buying advice for accessories! See the Gifts folder in your download.…

With a career spanning 50 years, the award-winning photojournalist Tom Stoddart is currently taking a comparative career break at his home in the north-east of England, mainly due to England’s rigid Covid lockdown regulations. However, with his latest book, his work is still very much in the public eye. Extraordinary Women: Images of Courage, Endurance and Defiance features over 200 images of the women he has encountered and photographed since the mid-1980s. Stoddart has often come across women in conflict situations, in the midst of famines or natural disasters. “All through my career, there are so many times that you notice whenever there’s a problem – whether it’s a famine, HIV/Aids or an earthquake – it’s always the women who turn and face the situation,” he says. “They feed their…

10 things to shoot, edit or create this month, including roe deer, glam glassware and making a portrait glow Living in the Peak District, I’m very fortunate to have so much natural beauty on my doorstep. Focusing my energy into landscape photography seemed the right thing to do. We’ve all been there: we drive through a stunning landscape, hop out of the car and quickly fire off some shots; then get back home, look at the images, and find them dull and boring. When we look at a landscape, we scan over it and instinctively focus on the elements that we find the most aesthetically pleasing. Our field of vision absorbs a lot of the scene, but our eyes and brain focus on the most striking details and dismiss the…

How you choose to finish an image can put a clear stamp on your whole portfolio. Some people prefer colder images, while others like a warm tone to finish. Where skin is a priority, I like a natural or warmer feel for the subject. Here I’m using a gradient map that affects the entire image. If you want to leave the gold effect on your subject only, you can use a Layer Mask once you’re finished so that the background isn’t altered. Model: Rebecca Rose Robinson www.rebeccaroserobinson.com Getting a golden-toned finish 1 Convert to black and white Open your image in Photoshop. Press Ctrl/Cmd+J to duplicate the image on a new layer. Go to Window > Adjustments, then select Black & White. Use the coloured sliders in the Adjustments Panel…

Raise your hand – who loves light? I surely do. I’ve been searching for the perfect light source my whole life: the perfect shot, with less invasive graphic effects needed – gentle light settings, colourful ideas and a highpowered storytelling ability. In a world where it feels like the direction each day is to manipulate everything, I felt I needed to take one step back. It’s making a choice against the trend, I know… going back to pure photography – just myself, my camera and my skills. A way to show this crazy world that a good photographer always rises out of a pitch-black situation through familiarity with the tools she is handling and in balance with her inner self – strong, raw, authentic. This self-portrait was made during lockdown…

With just a few miniature models, whether they’re landscaping models, Lego, or old toy soldiers you may have in the back of a cupboard somewhere, we can explore our imagination. Creating model dioramas indoors can lead to some enjoyable photo projects, with interesting results. If you have children, or nephews and nieces, you could get them involved with the project with you, and start their interest in photography. This is a fun project to do at home, and with a bit of planning, can produce some creative results. So bring out your inner child, and have a go at producing your own miniature world! WHAT YOU’LL NEED CAPTURE AN INDOOR MOUNTAIN CLIMBING SCENE Get yourself organised Get everything prepared before your shoot, with card, rocks, figures – or whatever…

9 ‘Droplets’ by Kate Parmaku “This shot was taken using macro extension tubes, window light and a son who didn’t mind me spraying water in his face! Staying still is not one of his strong points, so it was tricky, but I am pleased with the results. I did a quick edit on my phone in Snapseed, converting it to black and white and boosting the contrast a little. I would love to get a macro lens one day, but in the meantime extension tubes for my Canon EOS 1300D are a great budget alternative.” Digital Camera says: A great shot, Kate. Extension tubes are ideal for starting to explore macro photography, and you have used them well. 10 ‘Furloughed & Home-Schooling Kids’ by Neil Logan “This was taken during…

Even the most humble back garden is likely to be full of interesting small critters to capture on camera. And if you live in a flat, just head for the nearest park or even a patch of wasteland. Nature’s springtime abundance might need you to get up close with a macro lens, reversing rings or close-up filters, but the rewards are there for the taking. Close-up photography takes a bit of effort, and you might find yourself on your hands and knees or even lying flat to the ground to get the best angles. A groundsheet to lie on and a beanbag to rest the lens on at ground level are two useful and relatively inexpensive accessories to have when it comes to mounting a backyard safari. Project 1 At…

Many of us have the idea that shooting landscapes means travelling somewhere else: somewhere with mountains and lakes, or criss-crossed with a lattice of dry stone walls. Wherever your ideal landscape environment might be, it’s always somewhere more exotic than the familiar surroundings on your doorstep. But start seeing your nearest rural area as a landscaper’s honeypot and everything changes, and you can get to the best spots quickly whenever the light’s in your favour. This type of thinking is especially pertinent during lockdowns when our desire for travel is restricted. You don’t have to stifle your creative drive – you just have to redirect it! Project 1 Cloud burst If you live somewhere flat, all you need is a lone tree and a good sky to create a top-notch…

Many tripods have a built-in spirit level to help you make sure you’re working from a level base. But that doesn’t mean the camera is level on the tripod head. This is where the electronic level that’s available on modern cameras proves essential. Get into the habit of using it to ensure that the horizon is straight, as a slight slant will be obvious in the final image.…

This planet we live on is pretty darn incredible. This is the Milky Way rising just before sunrise as Volcán de Fuego erupts with an explosion of lava. On the left side of the frame is Volcán de Agua. This is a dream shot, and I cannot thank my good friend, and talented photographer, Diego Rizzo enough for forcing me to wake up at 3.30 in the morning to freeze in the dark with him while we stood in awe. Sometimes battling the cold and stormy winds pays off big time. I have been fortunate enough to shoot multiple volcanoes erupting, but none had yet provided a scene like this one. Volcán de Fuego is one of the world’s most active volcanoes, erupting multiple times an hour. With a pristine…

FILE & VIDEO www.digitalcameraworld.com/dc241 My name isn’t Henri, and my surname doesn’t even rhyme with Cartier-Bresson. That doesn’t stop me from engaging in street photography from time to time. Once you’ve got your settings down, street photography is mostly about looking for scenes, then waiting on serendipity to put the finishing touches in place. Or maybe you prefer searching for the graphic in everyday places: here I’ve made use of the environment to create a frame within a frame. To hark back to the look of old masters like Henri, we’ll take colour out of the equation. Mixed light, bright facades and modern clothing often don’t go together well. The clash of colour makes black-and-white the perfect option here. Lightroom offers a selection of local adjustment options to recreate effects…

What is image noise? What we call image noise is nothing more than a degradation in image quality, signified by blotches of colour or ugly variations in tonal brightness. It’s often more obvious in the darker tones of an image. What is it caused by? Noise is an inherent issue with any electrical device. In the case of a digital camera, there is a signal-to-noise ratio – the signal being the light that is hitting the sensor of the camera. The higher the sensitivity of the sensor (defined through the camera’s ISO setting), the more image noise is generated. How do I prevent it? Camera sensors have hugely improved over the years. A modern camera’s ability to limit noise means that even at relatively high sensitivities, noise is less of…

Graphics Suite is the all-in-one flavour of CorelDraw and also includes the Photo-Paint image editor and AfterShot 3 HDR raw photo editor. New features to be rolled out in Photo-Paint 2021 include a Local Adjustment Mode, for finding frequently used filters quickly, a workflow-enhancing Replace Colors filter, and support for the HEIF format used by Apple’s iPhones. Developed to simplify complex workflows, CorelDraw Graphics Suite 2021 features new tools for better creative collaboration when users are spread around different locations. www.coreldraw.com; £299/$249 (annual subscription); £599/$499 (perpetual licence)…

Remembering African Wild Dogs will be the sixth book in the charity book series started by wildlife photographer Margot Raggett in 2016. She was prompted to take action after seeing a poached elephant in Kenya, and started asking fellow wildlife photographers if they would contribute to a fundraising book. Remembering Elephants and its successors – Remembering Rhinos, Remembering Great Apes, Remembering Lions and Remembering Cheetahs – have between them raised more than £775,000/US$1 million for 50 conservation projects across 24 countries. For 2021, Margot has announced that the next book in the series will be Remembering African Wild Dogs. The book will be published on Saturday 6 November 2021, and will feature stunning images donated by many of the world’s leading wildlife photographers, including Marsel van Oosten, Art Wolfe, Frans…

www.fujifilm.co.uk The Fujifilm GFX 100S is the fourth model in the GFX series, inheriting the 102MP sensor from the GFX 100. However, it one-ups its predecessor by coming in a much smaller, DSLR-style body that boasts better image stabilisation. And it does so with a smaller price tag than the previous model. When we reviewed the Fujifilm GFX 100 in Digital Camera 220 (September 2019), we called it “impressive”, and the same is true for its successor, the Fujifilm GFX 100S, but for very different reasons. It takes medium-format photography out of the studio and more into the mainstream. Going mainstream also means making the camera somewhat more affordable. Priced at almost half the cost of the GFX 100, the GFX 100S manages to undercut some pro-level full-frame mirrorless cameras.…

www.laowalens.co.uk Part of Venus Optics, Loawa has quickly established a reputation for high-quality manual focus ultra-wide primes and macro lenses. Its 10mm f/2 Zero-D is made for Micro Four Thirds cameras from Olympus and Panasonic. Apart from going wider than any of the companies’ own-brand primes, the lens also boasts an f/2 maximum aperture that’s pretty amazing for a lens this wide. Laowa has yet to embrace autofocus, but this lens does have a chip that can communicate with the camera and automatically trigger the camera’s manual focus aid (typically zooming in) when you try the focus ring. It also has an aperture drive motor, so that you can control the lens aperture from the camera. This means the Laowa is a step up from a typical ‘dumb’ prime and…

www.canon.co.uk Available as the TS6350 series in the UK and the TS8320 in the US, this multi-function printer is available in black or white finishes. Like many Canon five-ink printers over the years, it has an oversized pigment-based black cartridge for crisp, rich black text, while photo printing is based on dye-based cyan, magenta, yellow and black inks. Replacement cartridges are available in standard, XL and XXL options, the last of which gives the best economy, although a full set costs around £100/$125. Performance Print speeds are quick, matching the pricier Pixma TS8350/8320. As with other Canon five-ink printers in the past, this model produces excellent photo output, with vibrant yet realistic colour rendition for landscapes and pleasantly warm, flattering skin tones. However, mono photo printing is relatively lacklustre compared…

www.epson.co.uk Bucking the trend of combining pigment and dye-based black inks for document and photo printing, the XP-8600 runs on six dye-based inks that include CMYK, plus photo cyan and photo magenta to broaden the colour space. Even so, it produces pretty solid-looking text. Drop for drop, ink costs about 10 times more than for the Epson EcoTank ET-7700, although the XP-8600 is much less expensive to buy. Like the EcoTank ET-7700, there’s a 2.7-inch colour LCD, but this time it’s a touchscreen without the surrounding array of push-button controls. Performance Epson six-ink photo printers are somewhat renowned for their vibrant-looking output, and the XP-8600 is no exception. Indeed, colour saturation and contrast can sometimes look a little lurid, especially in ‘photo enhance’ mode. Steer clear of that option, though,…

www.epson.co.uk If twice as big is twice as good, this Epson A3/11-inch photo printer beats its smaller XP-8600 A4/8.5-inch sibling. It delivers double the maximum print area but remains reasonably compact and light. Unlike the other large-format printers on test, this Epson packs a built-in scanner and a SD/HC/XC card slot, brought together by a 4.3-inch touchscreen. As with Epson’s XP-8600 A4 printer, the XP-970 runs on six Claria Photo HD dye-based inks, with a conventional ‘photo’ line-up. Performance Photo print quality is virtually identical to that of the smaller XP-8600. The smoothness of graduations in blue skies and the quality of skin tones are very good. Again, the ‘photo enhance’ option is best avoided if you’re after good colour accuracy. As with any dye-based printer, the XP-970 is best…

For top-quality photo output, the Canon imagePrograf Pro-300 is an outright winner. It makes excellent use of pigment-based inks to deliver spectacular quality on matte and fine-art media, for both colour and mono photos. That said, the Canon Pixma Pro-200 dye-based printer wins out for an ultra-smooth finish on glossy paper. Going larger to an A2/17-inch printer, the pigment-based Epson SureColor P900 is excellent for both colour and mono prints, but is less convincing than the Canon Pro-300 on glossy paper. Even so, the upsized print capability is particularly impressive considering that the Epson is about the same size and weight as the two Canon A3+ printers. Going slightly smaller than A3+, the A3/11-inch Epson Expression Photo XP-970 is a versatile all-rounder that delivers good print quality from its conventional…