Table of contents for March 2025 in Digital Camera Magazine

Our February issue’s Camera Clinic was a vital grounding in photographing architecture and cityscapes. This month we’re following it up by getting hands-on with its author Will Cheung for some tried and tested tips. A well-known figure in British photography, Cheung is a fellow of the Royal Photographic Society and a former editor of photography magazines Practical Photography and Photography Monthly. Today’s One to One will also interest any readers visiting The Photography & Video Show in its new London location in March, who might be looking to make a weekend of their visit to the capital; ExCeL, the show’s venue, is conveniently located in a part of London which offers plenty for cityscape photographers to enjoy. So who better than Cheung to share some of his architectural photo tips…

Whether it’s high-speed turns throwing up a spray of snow and ice or dramatic jumps framed against a bright blue sky, try capturing the thrills and spills of skiing. If a trip to the Alps is out of your budget, you can still capture dramatic images on an indoor ski slope closer to home. The three main shots to aim for are the turns, jumps and close-ups of the skier in a tight crouch for speed. All of them require a fast shutter speed to freeze the action, so aim for 1/1,000 sec or faster. You’re probably shooting with the aperture wide open, so switch to Manual mode, set the aperture to f/4 (or widest), the shutter speed to 1/1,000 sec and put ISO into Auto. Or use Shutter Priority,…

In the past, detailed drawings of various plants allowed people to identify those that were useful for healing purposes and which were toxic. These drawings served as the basis for pharmacists to develop and teach medical techniques and craft the necessary medication for people worldwide. In fact, plants have been a recurring symbol in both painting and photography. In the 17th century, for example, artists used plants extensively in still-life paintings to convey profound symbolic meanings to their audience. In photography, plants have been a source of inspiration and exploration, often used to create striking contrasts with the human body or other organic forms. For this project, photographing plants with backlighting allows you to capture the intricate veins and distinct characteristics of each species with vivid hues and structures. Instagram:…

There are 13 different types of otter, including the sea otter, but only the wild Eurasian otter is native to Britain. It lives, primarily, along river banks and lakes, with a diet of 80 per cent fish, topped up with birds, mammals and frogs if there aren’t enough fish about. The Eurasian otter has two layers of fur, with a warm inner layer and a waterproof outer one. It’s designed for the aquatic environment in which they spend most of their time. The otter actually lives in a hole on the river bank, called a holt, which has a few different entrances, including one above the level of the river, so you can see them coming and going. Mostly, you’ll see otters either at play or hunting on and in…

Repeating patterns can create an interesting infinite look, but these can require you to have abnormally large numbers of an object. So rather than spending your cash on something you don’t need, such as shot glasses, we’re going to cheat and use Photoshop to create a graphic drink shot using a ‘normal’ number of shot glasses. To capture your start image, simply create a row of six to eight shot glasses filled with water on A3 white card or larger. Position them in a diagonal line using a ruler to ensure the line is straight. Backlight the glasses using any light source to create shadows. HOW TO EDIT YOUR SHOT 1 CUT OUT THE GLASSES Using the Lasso Tool, draw around the glasses and their shadows and press Ctrl/Cmd+C to copy.…

Miniature 00 gauge railway figures can be a huge amount of fun as they allow you to use model figures with real-life objects for a more fun and surreal approach to still-life photography. What’s more, it’s only your imagination that’s the limit here, so think outside of the box and enjoy yourself. TOP KIT: MACRO LENS For the best results, you will need a macro lens for this type of photography because you’re working with small objects. If you don’t have a macro lens, don’t worry, a close-up filter/lens attached to a telephoto lens is the best alternative. The NiSi Close-Up lens is a great affordable option and is available with several filter thread sizes so most lenses can be catered for. HOW TO CREATE A SURREAL MINI 1 SET UP…

Q I’ve heard that Tamron’s various 90mm macro lenses for DSLRs were somewhat legendary for many years but are now obsolete. Which is the best second-hand buy? Alex Simmons A Matthew recommends… Tamron SP 90mm f/2.8 Di MACRO 1:1 VC USD If you’re shooting with a Canon or Nikon DSLR, Tamron’s latest line of 90mm macro lenses is ideal. Released (year): 2018 Price new: £2,719/$2,499 ‘Excellent’ £1,099/$1,358 ‘Good’ £949/$1,170 Tamron’s popular line of 90mm macro lenses dates back to 1979. The F017 edition packed a host of updates, including two top-grade XLD (eXtra Low Dispersion) elements, both conventional and nano-structure coatings, weatherseals and a fluorine coating on the front element. An excellent full 1.0x macro lens, the Tamron comes with ‘hybrid’ optical stabilisation and a ‘hybrid’ VC (Vibration Compensation) system, which corrects for…

10 Years of Remembering Wildlife will be the tenth title in the charity book series, which was started by wildlife photographer Margot Raggett MBE in 2016. Prompted to take action after witnessing elephants being poached in Kenya, she asked her fellow wildlife photographers to contribute to a fundraising book. Between them, Remembering Elephants and its successors Remembering Rhinos, Remembering Great Apes, Remembering Lions, Remembering Cheetahs, Remembering African Wild Dogs, Remembering Bears, Remembering Leopards and Remembering Tigers – have raised over £1.175m/$1.54m for 77 conservation projects across 33 countries. For 2025, Raggett has announced that the next book in the series will be 10 Years of Remembering Wildlife. Due to be published on 9 October, the book will feature a selection of stunning images from previous books, plus new images of…

www.7artisans.co.uk I have been impressed with some of 7Artisans’ lenses over the past few years, from the super-fast 50mm f/1.05 manual-focus standard prime to the 10mm f/2.8 Fish-Eye, which I liked so much when I reviewed it that I went straight out and bought one. As with the 7Artisans AF 50mm f/1.8, this 85mm short telephoto lens gains the bonus of full electronic communication with the camera body and the luxury of autofocus. Even so, the purchase price remains much more affordable than for equivalent own-brand lenses from camera manufacturers, as well as undercutting the cost of more directly competing Chinese alternatives. At this price, you wouldn’t expect it to be the best 85mm lens in the world, but if you’re after one of the best portrait lenses to suit…

Pine Island in Connemara National Park in Ireland’s County Galway is a photographer’s paradise. Surrounded by the tranquil waters of Derryclare Lough and set against the rugged backdrop of The Twelve Beans mountains, this stunning location changes with each season. This particular shot was taken at sunrise when the island is bathed in a warm, golden light. The soft hues of dawn and the dramatic sky are beautifully captured through long exposure, turning the water’s reflection into a smooth, mirror-like surface and adding a streaky, almost otherworldly effect to the moving clouds. With the right techniques, places like Pine Island offer endless opportunities to create stunning, dreamlike photos that balance stillness and motion. Instagram: @rx70 Website: ryszardlomnicki.com 1 Plan your visit Visit your chosen location at sunrise to capture the golden…

OVERALL WINNER & WINNER, MAMMALS ‘Stuck Squirrel’ Milko Marchetti, Italy “The photo was taken in April 2022 at the Podere Pantaleone nature reserve in Bagnacavallo, Italy. The reserve is usually open to the public and schools, but between October and March, it is closed to visitors. In exchange for photographs for educational and promotional purposes, I have access to a fixed hide to photograph passerines, hawks, woodpeckers and squirrels that come to visit the set, which consists of a small lake with the surrounding vegetation. In Italy generally, but especially in the area where I live in the Po Delta Regional Park, it isn’t easy to see and photograph squirrels as they are quite rare. However, there used to be four specimens in the park and they are quite confident.…

Many keen photographers will have a collection of cameras from their past, and as camera technology has improved rapidly over the past few years, your old photography kit can make for a pleasing set of retro-looking still-life images and potentially give them a new lease of life. For this project, you will first need to set up a black studio as a dark background against which your kit will stand out. PRO ADVICE WHICH LENS? For a shot like this, you can use a kit lens zoomed in to its longest focal length. A 90mm macro lens was used for this shot, which wasn’t necessary for its close-up capabilities but the focal length provided a comfortable working distance. HOW TO FILL THE FRAME EFFECTIVELY 1 CREATE A BLACK STUDIO Use pieces…

Some of the projects we’ve covered are a little more involved and may require some planning, so here are three ideas for you to try that can be shot quickly. That certainly doesn’t mean the results are second-rate – in fact, they can be incredibly eye-catching. 9 EXPLORE SHADOWS Shadows are a powerful way to create drama and fill negative space using simple objects with interesting shapes. Everyone has forks and all you need is one fork, a sheet of A4 paper and a desk lamp or another continuous light source. If you wish to control the spread of light, place small pieces of black card on either side of the light source to narrow the direction of the light. 10 EXPLORE COLOUR CONTRAST This simple project has a top-down viewpoint and…

1 ‘Sideways’ by Richard Doak “The shot was taken during the morning as storm Bert hit the North York Moors. I called this ‘Sideways’ as the wind and snow storm was horizontal, making for tough conditions.” Instagram: @rich.doak.photography Digital Camera says: The longer exposure has captured the snow and sleet coming down in a sheet, making for an atmospheric wintery landscape photo. 2 ‘Njord’ by David Ball “This image was captured at Talisker Bay on the Isle of Skye after a high tide that revealed so many incredible patterns. This is a place I’ve been to a few times with my drone, but never having previously managed to find an image I was completely happy with, I returned many times until I was able to capture this one. The light and low tides…

New cameras from Lumix Panasonic launches the G97, a new Micro Four Thirds mirrorless, and the TZ99, a point-and-shoot compact with a 30x optical zoom ideal for taking on holidays With much of the same technology as found inside the Lumix G95 from 2019, including the same sensor and stabilisation system, the G97 is a hybrid Micro Four Thirds camera designed for both “simplicity and affordability”. Featuring a 20.3MP sensor and 4K video with no pre-set recording limit, the G97 continues with a 49-point contrast detection autofocus system. Relatively few changes have been made from the previous model, although the G97 does benefit from a USB-C port and Bluetooth 5.0. The rear LCD also sees a slight jump in resolution, to 1.84 million dots, while remaining an articulating unit. Panasonic…

The next title in the Remembering Wildlife series will be 10 Years of Remembering Wildlife, due to be T published on 9 October. As with every book in this successful conservation series, it features images captured by many of the world’s leading wildlife photographers. Here, two of them, Art Wolfe and Federico Veronesi, look back on their involvement with the initiative… When judging the competition, what is going to differentiate a good image from a great one? Art Wolfe: I’m always amazed at the talent and unique perspectives of photographers from around the world. There is no best way to photograph a subject, but I am drawn to images that have a great sense of drama, colour and light. The medium offers unlimited possibilities, so I love images that reflect…

www.nikon.co.uk The Nikon Z50 II is the follow-up to Nikon’s first crop-sensor mirrorless and comes just over five years after the original Nikon Z50 launched back in 2019. Smaller and lighter than the full-frame Z-series cameras further up the range, its downsized APS-C (or DX, in Nikon parlance) sensor enables it to be used with an equally more compact range of lenses. There are plenty of similarities between the Z50 II and its predecessor, with the same 20.9MP sensor, 3.2in 1.04 million-dot rear screen and 2.36 million-dot viewfinder. The ISO range remains at 100-51,200 (204,800 expanded) as does the 11fps shooting rate when the mechanical shutter is used. However, it does have a newer generation Expeed 7 processor – the same as used in the newer full-frame Z-series cameras from…

Water splashes In issue 288’s Photo Answers, Andrew James advises a reader that flash is needed to capture water drops. In my opinion, water drops captured with flash often tend to have a flat, featureless surface, devoid of texture and contrast, and this can give them an unintentional, two-dimensional pencil-sketch appearance. This also robs the subject of shadows, which are how water surface ripples are often represented. My photograph (above) was captured using a technique that relies on a constant light source. The details and texture have all been preserved, even down to the reflections and refractions in the water ball above the column. Rather than relying on attempting to capture drops released from an unsynchronised water source, either by triggering from the sound of the splash or simply by…

BONUS SOFTWARE EXTRAS! Turn to page 91 ENTER THIS URL www.digitalcameraworld.com/dc291 Enter the URL www.digitalcameraworld.com/dc291 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. This will take you to a page on our website. JUST CLICK THE HIGHLIGHTED LINK Click on the link labelled ‘Download the files for Digital Camera 291’ and your download will start, delivered from our own server. Please override any browser warnings about downloading from a non-secure source – our server is safe! ACCESS YOUR FILES Open the. zip In your Downloads folder, or wherever you chose to download your files, double-click the dcm291-files.zip file icon. Then when it expands, double-click Digital…

The problem with visiting tourist-trap villages in the summer is that unless you discover somewhere so far off the beaten track that there are only pitchfork-wielding yokels for company, you’ll be fighting through hordes of TikTokers and traffic. So why not pack your thermals and camera gear and see if you can time your trip for a frosty but cloudless day with plenty of winter sunshine? Even if the weather turns out to be grey and grim, as transpired when I visited the villages of Castle Combe and Lacock (where there’s a museum dedicated to Henry Fox Talbot, the photography pioneer) in Wiltshire, England, at least you’ll discover places you can return to photograph when the sun does reappear. As you explore villages from the medieval period, plus those from…

Does composition in street photography matter as much as it does in, say, landscape or still-life photography? Isn’t it all about getting the shot at whatever cost, whether the composition works or not? To some people, maybe, but if you are serious about your art, you certainly pay more than lip service to composition. It is concerned with how we position the various elements within the frame and how they relate to each other. We use composition to guide a viewer through the frame, usually to areas or elements of most significance. We aim to create a visually pleasing image that maintains their attention and that they can easily understand. Basic principles The first point to make when considering the role of composition in street photography is not to obsess…

Still-life photography at home is a simple and, indeed, wide subject that can feed your photographic desires at any time of the year, come rain or shine. Let’s be honest, it doesn’t matter how great the weather is outside, it’s not always possible to spare a few hours to get out shooting, which is where shooting indoors comes into play. One of the most enticing aspects of still life photography is that it can be as simple or as complicated as you like, so we’re going to show you 10 projects you can try yourself; each with items that most people will have lying around the house, including using a desk lamp as a light source. Our first project uses a desk lamp and paper reflectors to achieve studio-quality lighting…

With many, if not all, photos, shooting is only half of the equation – it’s the processing stage where images are brought to life. This type of top-down shot of a tool on a textured surface is the perfect example, taken outdoors in the shade for even lighting, it’s well-lit but in need of enhancement. For reference, the photo was shot in Aperture Priority at f/5.6 with ISO at 100 and a focal length of 30mm on a full-frame camera. Editing is simple, but the aim is to accentuate texture and contrast with some desaturation thrown in for good measure. PRO TIP GO MONO 1 PROCESS IN COLOUR Firstly, process the image as you would usually do for a colour image. Follow the tutorial on the right to take your photo…

This month: Creative camera skills It’s time to think outside the box and get funky with your photography Digital cameras are packed with technology that makes shooting great photographs a breeze. Advanced exposure meters can tackle tricky lighting, colours come out looking natural whether you are shooting indoors or outdoors, thanks to sensitive white balance systems, and autofocus is capable enough to capture even the fastest action perfectly sharp. In that sense, photographers, movie makers and content creators have never had it so good. To get creative, you don’t need in-camera ‘trick’ features. Just exploring a camera’s range of shutter speeds will keep you busy. With the slower speeds of a few seconds, you can enjoy intentional camera movement (ICM) or subject blur, such as flowing water, and every camera…

Anwen Whitehead only took up photography as a serious hobby last year, but she has scooped the overall prize in the RSPCA Young Photographer Awards. Aged 15, her image of a puffin on Skomer Island, Pembrokeshire, was shot with a Canon EOS 2000D and Sigma 150-600mm telephoto zoom, with an exposure of 1/3200 sec at f/5.6 and ISO 500. Anwen can happily spend 10 hours in a bird hide or out in a field in camouflage gear at sunrise to get the perfect photo. “That’s my happy place,” she says. “It’s relaxing to be out in nature and away from screens. It allows me to slow down. It takes time but it’s worth it in the end – the buzz afterwards lasts all week!” Living near Aberystwyth, surrounded by animals…

Better, faster, smaller Q I would like to replace my Canon EOS 7D Mark II. I want to go mirrorless but stick with APS-C. Would you recommend the EOS R7 or the Nikon Z50 II? Jim Yates A People often say that full-frame cameras are‘better’ but I love the APS-C format for sport, wildlife, airshows and much more besides. The crop factor is ideal for gaining extra telephoto reach while keeping the size and weight of the lenses down to manageable proportions. The latest Canon and Nikon mirrorless cameras enable a big step forward in terms of lens performance but, sadly, APS-C specific RF-S and Z DX system lenses from both companies are still fairly thin on the ground. You could use your existing Canon EF and EF-S lenses with an EOS…

SAVE THE DATE! 8-11 March at ExCeL London Excitement continues to build for The Photography & Video Show (TPVS), which opens its doors on 8 March. This extravaganza for still and moving images runs for four days at the ExCeL exhibition centre at London’s Royal Victoria Dock. As it will be the first time the show has been held at ExCeL, you may have some questions about the venue and its facilities, which we answer on the opposite page. Future Publishing (Digital Camera’s parent company) has been working hard on making TPVS 2025 an unmissable one; if you only attend one festival of all things photography in 2025, then TPVS will more than meet your needs. If you have visited the show in previous years, we look forward to welcoming…

A recent report published by the World Economic Forum, called The Future of Jobs Report 2025, paints a striking picture: between 2025 and 2030, we’ll see 170 million new jobs emerge while 92 million existing roles fade away. So what does this mean for people like us who are passionate about photography? Whether it’s how we make a living, something we do on the side or purely a passion, stick with me, I’ve found some hope to share. Currently, the UK has about 90,000 professional photographers, while the US has 181,000. In both countries, roughly two-thirds work independently as freelancers or business owners, a pattern mirrored across Western Europe. These figures don’t capture the countless photographers who shoot professionally on the side or offer their services for free as a…

www.panasonic.com Panasonic needs no introduction as a photographic manufacturer, or indeed as a maker of anything and everything from hairdryers to microwave ovens, televisions, computers and more. But in the digital camera solar system of Panasonic’s wider electronics galaxy, it is probably best known for its high-performance Micro Four Thirds Lumix cameras and lenses, along with the newer Lumix S system full-frame fancies. Bridge cameras are a bit more out on the fringe, a kind of fully-grown, chunky body but with the compact camera ethos of having a built-in rather than interchangeable lens. Typically, the Lumix FZ82D (also known as the FZ80D in the USA) has the kind of integral mega-zoom lens that defines the breed, in this case with a huge 60x optical zoom range. As such, it vies…