Photography Monthly Magazine - July 2011

EXPERIENCE LIFE - CAPTURE THE MOMENT
ISSUE 123 JULY 2011
PRO ZONE
5 LIES OF FOCUS
We tackle the accepted beliefs and explain new ways to be creative
IN AT THE DEEP END

Learn how to create stunning underwater images from one of the worlds best pros
THE BIG DAY

We explain how to capture a wedding day portfolio PLUS: OUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO LIGHT REFLECTORS & THE FUJIFILM FINEPIX HS20EXR REVIEWED
PHOTOTO TEST YOUR SKILLS CHALLENGE 4 PROJECTS

OUT OF AFRICA
WWW.PHOTOGRAPHYMONTHLY.COM
An exclusive interview with two of the worlds greatest African wildlife & adventure photographers
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The magazine for people who love photography
Th e Professionals Choice
Classic Design
Modern Technology
Inspired by the beauty and form of classic cameras from the past, the FinePix X100 combines all the latest technical digital innovations in a beautiful, traditional chassis which oozes class and prestige.
O W at f a or st de or m e o ne ns ar tra yo tio u n
JULY 2011 | ISSUE 123
WELCOME
FROM THE EDITOR
THIS MONTH WE DECIDED TO SET YOU ALL SOME CHALLENGES TO KEEP YOU BUSY THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER MONTHS. So we asked some of our regular contributors not only to set you a photographic task but also to give you some advice and inspiration based on their own experiences to help you explore familiar ground or new territories. I know that I am going to accept Martin Middlebrooks challenge with portraiture. If you take up any of our challenges make sure that you let us see the results by uploading your images on to our website and we will publish the best in a future issue of the magazine. To provide you with extra inspiration this month we have managed to track down three photographers who work in widely differing environments but who all create stunning images. The provider of this months cover, Stephen Frink, is happiest in the depths of the ocean, while Angela Fisher and Carol Beckwith find their inspiration in the arid plains of Africa. I hope you agree that all three create incredible images which we are honoured to feature in the magazine. For myself and all of the PM team, photography is a creative form which allows us not only to create images but to test ourselves, creatively, mentally and often physically. For us the spirit of photography is about adventure and exploring the unknown. I hope that you agree and enjoy the adventures we take you on this month. PM
Grant Scott Editor, Photography Monthly
EDITORS IMAGE | MATT HALSTEAD THIS IMAGE | ANGELA FISHER / CAROL BECKWITH COVER IMAGE | STEPHEN FRINK
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CONTENTS
PHOTO MONTH
9-13 Each month we bring you all the essential news on kit, competitions and exhibitions from the world of photography. This month we have the film star portraits of Cornel Lucas, the Panasonic Lumix G3, Tokinas latest wide-angle zoom and Sigmas SD1 DSLR camera.
PRO ZONE
32-41 Photography team Angela Fisher and Carol Beckwith have spent the past 30 years photographing cultural practices across Africa. Tor McIntosh spoke with them to find out how they work together. 42-50 Steven Taylor is a 30-year veteran of the wedding industry. Kelly Weech caught up with him to find out how he tells a story with his images. 54-62 This month we asked lighting master Neil Turner how to capture action with flash.
Every month we feature the best of our readers pictures that have been posted in our online gallery. See pages 15-23.
PRO CHALLENGE
64-79 With the long days and warm nights of summer fast approaching we thought it was the ideal time to step outside and challenge our creativity, and perhaps even have a little fun as well. So take a look at our four photographic challenges and then show us what you can achieve. To help you on your way, we asked our photography masters Martin Middlebrook, Neil Turner, David Ward and PM Editor Grant Scott to offer tips and advice on how to excel at their chosen subjects. Upload your images to our gallery for the chance to see them in the magazine.
JAN WILLIAMS & CHRIS TEASDALE / NEIL TURNER / ARRON GENT / STEPHEN FRINK
CARAVAN CLUB
24-31 Step inside this small and wonderful mobile exhibition to explore the world as seen through the eyes of the Caravan Gallery.
WIN STUFF ON PAGES 23, 95, 101 AND 102 & UPLOAD YOUR IMAGES TO OUR PRO CHALLENGE GALLERIES.
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IN THE JULY ISSUE
Stephen Frink is a world-class underwater photographer. On page 80 Rachael DCruze finds out the way he works and how he creates exciting and colourful images.
REGULARS
7 FRIENDS
Those who have helped us to put this months issue together.
52-53 SUBSCRIPTIONS
Subscribe to Photography Monthly today.
93 EMILYS PEOPLE
Emily Andersen describes taking portraits for a cancer charity.
96-97 FILM SCHOOL

John Campbell brings you the latest news from the world of film making on your DSLR.
102-103 READERS CHALLENGE

Win great prizes by uploading your images to the gallery. This month travel.
111 UPGRADE
Your kit questions answered.
122 F STOP
David Ward discusses the rules in landscape photography and what they mean.
PHOTO ZONE
86-91 FIVE GREAT LIES...
Martin Middlebrook looks at the rules and myths behind focus. 98-101 REFLECTORS ROUNDUP Jessica Lamb looks at the world of reflectors to see which are best for you.
GO ONLINE For great photographer

interviews visit www.photography monthly.com
TEST ZONE
105-108 FUJIFILM FINEPIX HS20EXR
Eleanor OKane gets her hands on the latest bridge release to find out what it is made of.
FRIENDS
MEET THE TEAM
Each month we introduce you to the people we work with to produce Photography Monthly
Angela Fisher and Carol Beckwith

Photographers
Angela and Carol have been working together for the past 30 years. Their gorgeous and pioneering work on the peoples of Africa has garnered countless awards and critical acclaim worldwide. In African Ceremonies on page 32, they discuss their love of the continent and offer tips and advice to help you create amazing images from traditional events.
Steven Taylor
Photographer
Steven Taylor has been in the wedding business for more than 30 years, developing a photojournalists approach to shooting these special events, having been inspired by the greats such as W. Eugene Smith, Henri Cartier-Bresson and Elliott Erwitt. In Dont Lose the Plot on page 42, he offers the very best tips and advice on how to tell a story with your photographs.
Stephen Frink
Photographer
Stephen Frink is among the worlds most frequently published underwater photographers. He has been commissioned by Canon, Nikon and Victorias Secret, among many others. He also publishes Alert Diver magazine and teaches from his home town in Florida. In Way on Down on page 80, he offers his tips and expertise on how to take great images underwater.
Eleanor OKane
Journalist
Eleanor is the deputy editor of Professional Photographer, our sister magazine, and loves to get her hands on the latest kit, so this month we asked her to take a look at the new bridge release from Fujifilm. In Lets Go for a Little Walk on page 107, she reveals what she thinks of the HS20EXR and whether its the solution for anyone needing a small, but powerful camera.
GROUP BRAND EDITOR Grant Scott grant.scott@archant.co.uk DEPUTY EDITOR Sean Samuels sean.samuels@archant.co.uk MANAGING EDITOR Simon Reynolds simon.reynolds@archant.co.uk FEATURES ASSISTANT Kelly Weech kelly.weech@archant.co.uk EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Jessica Lamb jessica.lamb@archant.co.uk SPECIAL THANKS Rebecca Shaw, Karen le Gallez and Mandy Pellatt
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I While reasonable care is taken to ensure the accuracy of the information in Photography Monthly, that information is obtained from a variety of sources and neither the publisher, the printers nor any distributor is responsible for errors or omissions. All prices and data are accepted by us in good faith as being correct at the time of going to press. Pound conversion rates correct at the time of going to press. Advertisements are accepted for publication in Photography Monthly only upon Archant Specialists standard Terms of Acceptance of Advertising, copies of which are available from the advertising department. All advertisements of which the content is in whole or in part the work of Archant Specialist remain the copyright of Archant Specialist. Reproduction in whole or in part of any matter appearing in Photography Monthly is forbidden except by express permission of the publisher. Competition terms and conditions: I The closing date for competitions/giveaways is displayed alongside the competition/giveaway online. I Employees of Archant Specialist, and those professionally connected with the competition/giveaway, for example, employees of the sponsor company, are not eligible to enter. I Unless otherwise stated, competitions/giveaways are only open to UK residents. I Prizes are as described and no alternatives can be given. I The editors decision is nal and no correspondence will be entered into. I Archant Specialist may wish to contact you in the future, or pass your details to selected third parties, to introduce new products and services to you. If you are sending your entry by text and do not wish to be contacted, please add the word NO to the end of your text message. If you are sending your entry by post, please tick the appropriate boxes on the entry form.
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All you need to know from the world of photography
PHOTOMONTH
GRACE KELLY, 1956 BY CLARENCE SINCLAIR BULL JOHN KOBAL FOUNDATION, 2011
HOLLYWOOD BOULEV ARD

A NEW EXHIBITION FEATURING GLAMOROUS portraits of Hollywood stars from 1920 to 1960 goes on display at the National Portrait Gallery in London next month. Included in the showcase are portraits of Marlon Brando, James Dean, Marlene Dietrich and Elizabeth Taylor by nearly40 photographers, including George Hurrell, Clarence Sinclair Bull, Laszlo Willinger, Bob Coburn, Ruth Harriet Louise and Davis Boulton, one of the few British photographers working for the Hollywood studios. The images will be shown alongside film scene stills, including Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers for Swing Time and James Dean for Rebel without a Cause. During this period Hollywood film studios maintained a high level of control over the image of the stars they represented. This was a time before paparazzi, and these photographs distributed by the studios were the only connection between stars and fans. Thousands of photographs would be sent out worldwide by the studios, both to fans and to publications. Glamour of the Gods: Hollywood Portraits, Photographs from the John Kobal Foundation, runs from 7July to 23 October 2011, at the Porter Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, London, admission 6, concessions 5.50/5. PM www.npg.org.uk/glamour
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SIZE DOES MATTER

Lexar has released a 128GB memory card which is capable of a 133x transfer speed, making it a good choice for high-speed, continuous shooting and the recording of 1,080p high-definition video. It also includes the latest version of the companys award-winning image rescue software to help recover lost or deleted photo and video files. The Lexar 128GB Professional SDXC memory card is priced 299.99. In related news Lexar has also released a Professional USB 3.0 Dual-Slot Reader which gives superfast file transfer speeds from card to computer of up to 500MB per second. The reader also supports CF UDMA, SDXC and SD UHS-I memory cards and is backwards compatible with standard CF, SD, and SDHC memory cards. A dual-slot design means you can run concurrent and card-to-card file transfers. When not in use the slots are protected from dust and debris by a pop-up mechanism. The reader is priced 39.99. www.lexar.com
FINDING YOUR VIEWPOINT

This budget-friendly LCD ViewFinder is perfect for shooting film with your DSLR or stills outdoors when bright conditions make it
difficult to see the screen. The ViewFinder is attached to the back of your camera with an adhesive frame and it can be attached and detached using a magnetic mount. It provides magnification of 220% and is tailored to suit most 3in LCD screens, while the design allows the viewfinder to be turned 180 to suit the left or right eye. As well as being splash and dustproof, it weighs just 110g and is less than half the price of other popular viewfinders available on the market. The only minor drawback for us is that it does not have an eye diopter for adjusting focus. It is priced 102. www.videogear.co.uk www.lcdvf.com
Liv Ullmann in Ingmar Bergmans Persona, 1966.
THE CINEMATIC EYE

Lovers of cinema will be pleased to know publisher Phaidon has released five new titles in its Masters of Cinema collection, further adding to its profiles of the worlds greatest film directors. The latest releases feature the work of Ingmar Bergman, Charlie Chaplin, Federico Fellini, Orson Welles and Billy Wilder, and are priced 5.95 each. Directors featured in books released previously include Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Scorsese and David Lynch. The books tell the story of each directors work from their early career onwards and are
CORNEL LUCAS
written by internationally respected experts. In addition to detailed biographies and plot summaries, each book includes critiques of the directors seminal films, interviews with the directors and their collaborators, and analyses of film sequences focusing on specific techniques, themes, actors or collaborators. Each volume features more than 100 images, some of which have rarely been seen before, depicting every aspect of the movie-making process, from behind-the-scenes shots of film sets to stills and sequences to posters. www.phaidon.com
PHOTOMONTH
A PHOTOGRAPH TO ME IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN FILM
July sees the start of a second exhibition featuring portraits of stars from years gone by (see page 9 for details of the NPG show). More than 40 portraits of stars from the 1940s and 1950s by British photographer Cornel Lucas will be on display at the Chris Beetles Fine Photographs gallery in London. Considered to be one of the pioneers of film portraiture, Lucas began his career in the late 1930s with the help of his first sitter Marlene Dietrich. Soon afterwards, Lucas became the photographer of choice for the British film industry and in the early 1950s he set up the Pool Studio at Pinewood Studios outside London. During a career that lasted more than 40 years, Lucas photographed some of our greatest film stars, both at the Pool Studio and on film locations all over the world, from Brigitte Bardot to Katharine Hepburn and David Niven to Alec Guinness. Lucas was always in high demand. Dietrich once told him: Mr Lucas, Im telling you now that a photograph to me is more important than film. This retrospective will run from Wednesday 20 July to Saturday 27 August at Chris Beetles Fine Photographs, 3-5 Swallow Street, London W1B 4DE. www.chrisbeetlesfinephotographs.com
ITS A WIDE WORLD

The AT-X 16.5-135 DX lens is the latest compact, super-wide zoom from Tokina. Its optical design features three aspherical elements one all-glass precision moulded
Brigitte Bardot, 1955.
element and two compound elements which offer high contrast. In full format 35mm terms, the lens gives an equivalent angle of view of 25-200mm, making it suitable for most photographic situations. It is available for either Canon EOS or Nikon DX fit and is priced 816. www.tokinalens.com
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Yuri Gagarin orbited about 200 miles above the Earth, travelling at 17,000mph in Vostok 1.
STEADY AS YOU GO
Photographers looking for more stability from a monopod should take a look at the Yuri Arcurs SteadyPod from Custom Brackets. The US company is an established manufacturer of high-quality camera brackets, camera rotating mounts and flash mounting accessories. Its latest release consists of a Tilt Head and Digital Pro-SV rotation mount with Palmgrip, mounted to the Manfrotto 685B monopod. This setup offers ultra-fast camera movement from horizontal to vertical orientation and tilt movement, making it suitable for shooting film with your DSLR. The monopod features a locking mechanism, making it fast and easy to use and more portable than a tripod. The SteadyPod is available in two versions. The SteadyPod Basic is built around the Custom Brackets style quick release and the SteadyPod AS Basic is built around the Arca-Swiss style quick release. Both are priced at 456 and available from www.flaghead.co.uk
ROCKET MAN
The Royal Albert Hall in London is now staging an exhibition of images from RIA Novosti, Russias leading news agency, and Science Photo Library telling the story of the first man in space. On 12 April 1961, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the worlds first space man. Three months later the man who was now a household name visited the UK. These rarely-seen images show Gagarins early life, his historic flight, his visit to the UK and the fame that followed him until his untimely death in an aircraft crash in 1968. Poyekhali! [Off We Go!] Yuri Gagarin & the Dawn of Space Exploration runs until 4 July. For more information visit www.royalalberthall.com
BIG ON THE INSIDE

Sigma Imaging has announced a 6,199.99 suggested retail price for its high-end SD1 DSLR. The model features a lightweight magnesium alloy body and splashproof O-Ring seals for buttons and connections, making it an interesting proposition for use in harsh conditions. The camera features a 23.5 x 15.7mm APS-C X3 sensor that is capable of recording 46-megapixel images, a size more commonly found with medium format cameras. According to the company, the sensor reproduces colour more accurately and offers sharper resolution pixel for pixel than other sensors thanks to three silicon-embedded layers of photo detectors; these are stacked vertically to take advantage of silicons ability to absorb red, green and blue light at different respective depths. This means light and colour recorded by the camera possesses a three-dimensional quality. The SD1 features a continuous shooting speed of five frames per second and can capture up to seven RAW images per sequence in continuous To keep up-to-date with all the news, announcements and camera releases shooting from the world of photography as mode; it is they happen. Youll also find great Sigmas first interviews with some of the camera to worlds best photographers. www.photography offer monthly.com simultaneous RAW and Jpeg recording. We look forward to getting our hands on one. www.SIGMA-SD.com/sd1
ON SOLID GROUND
The Walkstool Steady is the latest release from the Swedish manufacturer of portable, folding seats. It is a simple and elegant solution that will greatly increase the stability and strength of your Walkstool on uneven or soft ground. Attaching the support to the bottom of the legs of any
READERS CHALLENGE
WI NN ER
Congratulations to Susan Watkins for her image Splash of clouds which is the winner of our June Readers Challenge.
GO ONLINE
Walkstool increases the amount of weight the stool can bear. It also reduces the movement possible on slippery surfaces and prevents the legs of the stool from sinking into very soft ground. It is small and lightweight, adjustable for all Walkstool sizes and comes with its own carrying pouch. The Walkstool Steady is priced 15.48 and is available from selected retailers. For more information contact Flaghead Photographic Ltd. www.flaghead.co.uk www.walkstool.com
PHOTOMONTH
SUMMER LOVING
Londons HOST Gallery will stage the fourth annual Foto8 Summershow next month featuring some of the best documentary photography from around the world. Last years competition attracted more than 2,000 entries from 40 countries. With no set theme, photographers submit recent work of any subject, style or genre with the judges on the lookout for work that is both new and offers a creative approach to storytelling. The photographic exhibition, award and print fair will run from 8 July to 12 August and launches with a street party at the gallerys Honduras Street location in Clerkenwell, London. The exhibition, which will feature up to 150 images, will be installed from floor to ceiling in the gallery. All works in the show will be available for sale. On the opening night, one image will be chosen as the Best in Show, with the photographer taking home a 2,000 prize. There is also a Peoples Choice award with a prize of an Olympus PEN EP-2 camera. For more details and to buy tickets visit www.foto8.com
THE THREE MUSKETEERS

Totality, Bhutan, July 2009. Panasonic has launched the third incarnation in its compact DSLR range with the Lumix
COLIN ROBERTS / RIA NOVOSTI & SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / MAJA FLINK
Vipers Bugloss.
HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?

The winner of this years International Garden Photographer of the Year competition has been announced. UK-based photographer Colin Roberts takes the top
title with his image, Sea Thrift Flowers, as well as the 5,000 prize. Colin was also awarded third place in the wildflowers category for his photograph Vipers Bugloss and highly commended in the same section for Sainfoin Meadow and Cow Parsley. All of the winning images can be viewed online at www.igpoty.com
G3. The camera is 25% smaller than its predecessor and weighs just 336g body only, but is packed with enough technology to keep even the most advanced photographers happy. Its 16-megapixel Live MOS Micro Four Thirds Sensor is capable of recording up to four frames per second. There is also a fast autofocus function with up to 23 focus areas, full HD movie quality at AVCHD 1,920 x 1,080, 50i, a built-in electronic viewfinder with Live View and the ability to manage the ISO range from 100 up to 6400. Trying to make light work of capturing an image, touch screen control is available. This compact little camera features technology that was once found only in large, heavy DSLRs. It is priced at 549 body only or 629 with 14-42mm kit lens. www.panasonic.co.uk
Shoot wide open. So sharp it hurts. X Z -1
Upload your images to www.photographymonthly.com, we choose the best and publish them the following month. Simple!
GALLERY
YOUR IMAGES
ED IT OR S
CH OI CE
IMAGE OF THE MONTH

There is no denying the atmosphere within this portrait. Its a successful portrait because it has that atmosphere and a strong graphic composition that leads you through the image. The choice of black and white is also a clever way of avoiding any skin tone issues which may have arisen. As always, a simple approach works best.
Grant Scott, Editor
Jason Mark Harris Laura Canon EOS 5D MkII Canon 70-200mm
Robert Ho Dandelion seeds Olympus E-620 Zuiko 14-42mm
J Cardoso Sabrina Nikon D700 Nikkor 70-200mm
Mads C. Forchhammer Still hanging Nikon D70s Nikkor 18-70mm
READERS GALLERY
James Robert Jones Yuko-Chan in Adelaide Casio EX-Z1000
Arron Gent Louvre at first sight Canon EOS 550D 18-55mm
David Rhead Ceiling fan Nikon D5000 Nikkor 18-55mm
Leila Murseljevic Chinese Sahara Canon PowerShot S1 IS
Jon Howard Red bricks Canon EOS 450D Canon 50mm
READERS GALLERY
Eng Chye Toh Two sisters Nikon D90 Tamron 18-270mm
Adam Jones Balloon war Nikon D80 Nikkor 24-120mm
Sanjay Gupta Navvi Canon EOS 5D MkII Canon 70-200mm
Rob Cole The Sage, Gateshead Canon EOS 450D Sigma 24-70mm
Peter Karry Smiler Minolta 8000i Minolta 135mm
READERS GALLERY
David Rhead Fishing Nikon D5000 Nikkor 18-55mm
Marco van der Ham MarathondamMvdham Canon EOS 7D Canon 70-200mm
Tim Taylor Exploring the mountains Canon PowerShot D10
Ian Lloyd-Graham Ice cream Nikon D700 Nikkor 50mm
READERS GALLERY
Paul Conroy Rebel flag bearer Nikon D2XS Nikkor 24mm
Hugh Ware Yellow rose Sony DSLR-A500 Cosina 100mm
UPLOAD
& WIN!
IF YOU WANT TO SEE YOUR IMAGES IN THE MAGAZINE and have the opportunity to win an 8GB Lexar Professional memory card and reader, visit www.photographymonthly.com and upload your favourite images. We will choose the best work uploaded each month for inclusion in the magazine, and the Editors Choice will win a card and reader. SD or CF, the choice is yours.
If you want the ultimate in memory cards, look no further than Lexars Professional range. Even if you shoot at machine-gun speeds, theyll keep up; the 133x SDHC cards can sustain write speeds of 20Mbps, while the 400x CF cards are even faster, at 60Mbps and at that rate you will need their 8GB capacity. Thats room for more than 5,000 RAW files from a 10-megapixel DSLR. So, if you want to shoot away unhampered, secure in the knowledge that your pictures are being stored safely, start uploading your images to www.photographymonthly.com For more details visit www.lexar.com
WIN!
Wenlock Estate, Shoreditch.
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PRO ZONE
Getting exhibited Jan Williams and Chris Teasdale
CARRY ON CAMPING
Photographers JAN WILLIAMS and CHRIS TEASDALE have created the perfect way to show off their work. The Caravan Gallery is as it sounds, so the next time you see a little yellow caravan in your town, step inside and take a look at the world through their eyes.
he Caravan Gallery is quite literally a photography exhibition space on two wheels. A mustard-coloured unit dating from about 1969, it even has white interior walls and beech flooring to make it like a real gallery, claim the founders, Jan Williams and Chris Teasdale, whose work, featuring moments from hidden Britain, is housed inside. The project was launched in 2000 and has since featured at exhibitions and festivals all over the world, but even with the wear and tear, the team are still on their first caravan. Indeed it is the caravans quirky appeal that is the main reason many people find out about what they are doing, says Jan. We got that particular caravan because it looked so ridiculous; we couldnt stop laughing when we saw it. Its like a little Tardis, a little social club on wheels and because it looks funny and non-threatening it encourages people to come in and have a chat. You might have someone who has just popped out to get a pint of milk talking to a top international curator. Just looking at photos tends to bring people together. They have an opinion on the thing they are looking at. Visitors to the gallery will see photographs of subjects and locations that lie beyond the normal tourist routes and hotspots. Jan and Chris used to work in tourism and felt compelled to record less well-known ways of life which were disappearing. They research and then visit locations to hunt out places, characteristics and settings that reveal more about the community that lives there. We totally immerse ourselves in the locations, walking for hours and miles, driving through and around places, all the while attempting to capture a sense of place in the photographs we take. Sometimes we chat to people we encounter en route and follow
WE GOT THAT PARTICULAR CARAVAN BECAUSE IT LOOKED SO RIDICULOUS; WE COULDNT STOP LAUGHING WHEN WE SAW IT. ITS LIKE A LITTLE TARDIS...
JAN WILLIAMS / CHRIS TEASDALE
the leads they give us, but usually its a case of following our noses and seeing where we end up. Some of our photos might reflect characteristics unique to the area in question while others represent random sightings. As I speak to the team they are recovering from the first day and night of their Pride of Place project in Portsmouth, their home town, featuring photos of the area and video portraits of the locals. Working along the same lines as the Caravan Gallery project, this exhibition is housed in a building, which is something they would like to do more of. We plan to use this model elsewhere, says Jan. Weve already collaborated
with film makers Pilgrim Films (www.pilgrimfilms.com) on The Other South Bank, about the changing fortunes of South Bank, Middlesbrough, and hope to take the Pride of Place project there. In Portsmouth the exhibition focuses on how people relate to their environment. The duo showed their own work and encouraged people to respond by taking their own pictures and leaving comments. Weve both travelled a lot and done various jobs in the tourist industry, and it struck us that if you present a place through officialdom it doesnt necessarily tally with how places really are, so we thought wed redress the balance and give an affectionate appraisal of how
Primark, Liverpool. Outside Tate Britain. Home to Heroes and Champions, Hull. Edge Hill rainbow, Liverpool.
PRO ZONE
Abnormal bus stop, Bristol. Luis, king of Scotland. Scenic photos here, Australia.
Bags and gentleman, Bloomsbury. Scooter and pillion, Arlesford, Hampshire.
PRO ZONE
WE ARE REALLY HAPPY WITH THESE CAMERAS. THEY ARE NOT TOO OBTRUSIVE, WHICH IS GREAT WHEN YOU ARE DOING STREET PHOTOGRAPHY.
places really are, warts and all. Our next book project is going to be doing the same sort of thing, but in Australia. Weve travelled there four times before photographing and always want to take less clichd photographs. Jan and Chris have been experimenting with moving image using Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 cameras and filming the reactions of visitors to the exhibition in Portsmouth. We are really happy with these cameras. They are not too obtrusive, which is great when you are doing street photography. You can get really good results without intimidating people. Hewlett-Packard is giving us a wide format printer, which well keep at Caravan Gallery headquarters in Portsmouth. Support from the photographic community is important to their work. Over the years they have had Arts Council backing, local authority funding and commissions by galleries and architecture associations, but it is tougher these days because funding has been cut from so many places. The team is always on the lookout for commissions and invitations to festivals and talks any venue where they can spread the word so if you feel the area where you live deserves their attention, they urge you to get in touch.
Mr Cheap, Portsmouth. Liverpool Wall of Fame. Hippo, Southsea.
West Pier, Brighton.
PRO ZONE
Their work is in demand, however; just last year the designer Paul Smith shipped the caravan to Japan to stand in his flagship store in Tokyo as part of an exhibition held in his gallery above the shop. Their travels have inspired a range of merchandise, including three books: Welcome to Britain a Celebration of Real Life, Is Britain Great? and Is Britain Great? 2, subversive visitor guides, reality postcards and greetings cards.
showcasing a selection from their extensive archive (around 150,000 images) while taking new photos capturing the character of the Channel island at the same time. They are also appearing at the Look11 Liverpool International Photography Festival and spending time in Toxteth with a Pride of Place project and exhibition. The next international stop is in the autumn as part of a Kunst & Zwalm artists residency in
IT WOULD BE GREAT TO SEE THE WORK IN TATE MODERN, LAUGHS JAN. EVEN IF WE ARE NOT OUT AND ABOUT WITH THE CARAVAN AS MUCH, IT WOULD BE NICE TO MAKE USE OF THIS ARCHIVE WE HAVE...
We dont go anywhere without our cameras so we are photographing on a daily basis. Often we will be approached by a gallery or festival organiser to go and do something in their town or city. Dates in 2011 include this months Guernsey Photography Festival, where Martin Parr and Richard Billingham are among fellow exhibitors. Jan and Chris are the Belgian countryside, photographing the area and meeting residents. In five years time, the team hope to see their work in more permanent collections similar to the project in Portsmouth. They already have a deal with the new Museum of Liverpool to display work. It would be great to see the work in Tate Modern, laughs Jan. Even if we are not
out and about with the caravan as much, it would be nice to make use of this archive we have, which is always growing because we are interested in how places are changing and will revisit areas weve been to. Initiatives such as this are important to the world of photography at the grass roots. It is a creative and enterprising way to record life and garner attention for work. So even if the caravan is put out to pasture one day, the spirit of Jan and Chris and what they are trying to achieve can and should live on. Life moves at such a fast pace that we should all be thankful for photographers who take the time to slow it down for us; who are willing to go to extreme lengths to secure forever the hidden moments that happen around us all of the time; and who are capable of creating thought-provoking, humorous and imaginative images. PM www.thecaravangallery.co.uk
To find more photography events in your area visit www.photographymonthly.com

Dinka cattle camp in smoky haze, Southern Sudan.

PRO ZONE
Shooting traditional events Angela Fisher and Carol Beckwith
AFRICAN CEREMONIES
Working as a team for more than 30 years, photographers ANGELA FISHER and CAROL BECKWITH have documented African tribal rites and rituals of cultures thousands of years old. They speak to TOR McINTOSH about their remarkable journey.
ANGELA FISHER / CAROL BECKWITH
Woman in beaded corset.
[3 4 ] P H OTO G RA P H Y M O N T H LY J U LY 20 1 1
PRO ZONE
Shooting traditional events Angela Post Production Masters Photo manipulation Fisher and Carol Beckwith
OVER THE YEARS

CAROL AND ANGELA HAVE BEEN GRANTED UNPRECEDENTED ACCESS TO INTIMATE CEREMONIES THAT HAVE NEVER BEFORE BEEN WITNESSED BY WESTERN EYES.
Dinka men dancing. Dinka boy with long-horned bull.
uring a 35-year love affair with Africa, Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher have journeyed more than 270,000 miles through46 countries to photograph more than 150 traditional African cultures. They have spent months at a time living among indigenous peoples to earn their trust before being granted exclusive access to the sacred rites and rituals that mark the lives of Africas tribal groups. Theyve travelled by foot, mule train, camel, canoe and 4WD vehicles to the remotest corners of Africa to reach communities that have never seen, or been seen by, the outside world. Each journey has had its fair share of obstacles; theyve travelled along roads littered with land mines, negotiated their way through war zones and dealt with death threats from tribal warriors. Over the past three decades the two women have produced 14 coffee-table books, exhibited their work in museums and galleries throughout the world, and been honoured with numerous awards for their ongoing work recording the tribal ceremonies and ancient cultures of Africa. I spoke to Australian Angela Fisher from her remote base in Kenya overlooking the picturesque plains around Mount Kilimanjaro. And from the slightly less exotic setting of New York City I caught up with American-born Carol Beckwith during a trip back to her homeland. From these vastly different locations the two women chatted passionately to me about their enduring and deeply respectful relationship with the people, cultures and traditional ceremonies of Africa. Drawn to Africa in the mid-1970s by the kaleidoscope of art forms and cultures, Angela and Carol began their lives in the vast continent working on individual projects,
blissfully unaware of the others existence; Carol was shooting for her book Maasai (1980), a study of the Maasai people of Kenya and Tanzania, and Angela was working on her book Africa Adorned (1984), a seven-year study of traditional adornment in40 African countries. While visiting his daughter in the Maasai Mara nature reserve in Kenya, Carols father bought her a hot-air balloon ride over Maasai country for her birthday; the balloon pilot was called Simon Fisher, Angelas brother. He was terribly good-looking and I was smitten by him, recalls Carol. At 1,000ft he looked deeply into my eyes and said, There is something that I really have to tell you. My heart was beating wildly and he continued to look deeply in my eyes and he said, I would
really like you to meet my sister. My heart sank, laughs Carol. Realising the similarity between the two women they both travelled and worked in Africa and were interested in traditional cultures Simon wrote to his sister begging her to meet Carol. Finally, a year later, the pair were introduced at the African Heritage gallery in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, where Angela was exhibiting jewellery and Carol was showing her drawings. We took one look at each other and didnt think we were kindred spirits, explains Carol. We were dressed to the gills in dresses, turbans and jewellery for the gallery opening; we had imagined we were each going to meet an Amazonian bush woman dressed in khaki and camera jackets! However, we met next morning and realised he [Simon] was absolutely right; within a week we were photographing side-by-side at a Maasai warrior ceremony on the border of Kenya and Tanzania, and we quickly discovered that we shared a passion for the traditional cultures of Africa as well as the nomadic way of life. It was an informal working relationship at the beginning, with each of them continuing their own projects, but while Carol was photographing the Wodaabe, a nomadic group from the Sahel region of west Africa, for her book Nomads of Niger (1983), the pair decided to collaborate on their first book, African Ark (1990), a five-year study of the people and cultures of the Horn of Africa. Unlike other well-known photography duos, who share their lives as married couples as well as their photography credits, the Beckwith-Fisher creative partnership is an unusual one in consisting of two individuals brought together by a shared passion.
Dinka cattle camp at sunset.
WE TOOK ONE LOOK AT EACH OTHER AND DIDNT THINK WE WERE KINDRED SPIRITS...
Carol believes their ability to work together stems firstly from their different, yet complementary styles of photography Angela had learned about photography in the field producing Africa Adorned, while Carol studied the subject at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts. Secondly they both have a drive for perfection. If we didnt get something right and we had to get up four more mornings in a row before
sunrise in very cold or extremely hot weather and walk a long distance to get to a specific place as the sun rose on a certain activity, for example Maasai warriors painting their bodies in rock caves at sunrise, we just did it; we were inspired by the other one wanting to do it. Along with their huge appreciation of each others photography, Angela points to the individual experiences gained from their solo projects during the 1970s as the basis of their successful collaboration; for Africa Adorned, her first book, Angela dealt with many different cultures, landscapes and logistics, whereas for her first two books Carol was involved in the cultural lives of two tribes, the Maasai and the Wodaabe, and had spent a lot of time recording each stage of their lives.
When we put these two talents together we realised we could produce an in-depth story of ancient traditional cultures and ceremonies across the continent, explains Angela. We could take on something that had the breadth as well as the depth and I think thats been a tremendous strength of ours. It wasnt long before the pair started to see the benefits of working as a team two pairs of eyes can observe and photograph twice as much as one. A delightful, serendipitous surprise was that even if we were photographing the same thing we would tend to do it slightly differently. One person might take a long lens for close-ups and details, and the other a short lens for a broad overall picture, explains Carol. This meant
PRO ZONE
precisely because they are two Western women that they have managed to photograph both male and female traditional ceremonies. In very remote areas traditional people have a style of life that is very welcoming to outsiders, particularly women. They dont see a threat in women, whereas if we were Western Over three decades they have made historical recordings of the passage from birth to death within ancient African cultures, the best example being their double-volume book, African Ceremonies (1999), a 10-year study covering 93 ceremonies in 26 countries. But Angela and Carol feel that with their latest
I DONT THINK WE COULD EVER DO AFRICA IN BLACK AND WHITE, BECAUSE COLOUR IS SUCH AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE CULTURAL EXPERIENCE OF EACH GROUP.
men they would feel more threatened by us and more closed to accepting us; with women theyre curious as to why youre there. She explains that by going through an introduction with the head of the community or the chief of the village they establish themselves as part of the male group, meaning they are invited into male ceremonies, such as male rites of passage and private circumcision ceremonies. Weve actually seen things that traditional women havent. As women they are automatically invited to witness female ceremonies, something a Western male photographer would never be allowed to do. However, many of the traditional women consider Carol and Angelas Western look as extremely unattractive and insist on beautifying them with traditional costumes and make-up; although a great way to bond with the female members of a community it has its limitations, because when dressed as tribal women they cant leap up and start photographing the men folk. If we wanted to be with the men we realised we had to change into our genderless clothes so we were not breaking a taboo of separation of men and women in social situations, explains Carol. Taking time to build friendships is key to developing trust within a traditional community and both photographers believe it is a vitally important element of photographing people in remote areas. Before a single photograph is taken, the pair take their time to get to know a group of people; this could take days, if not weeks, sitting underneath an acacia tree speaking to the village chief or going to the well every day with the female members of a group. One of the things that has made us most successful is that we work very slowly; we come into Africa and take on the pace of Africa, explains Angela. On arriving in remote communities the pair are acutely aware that a camera is an unknown, slightly frightening shape and photography a completely new concept. In the early days they would use a Polaroid camera to show such communities the photographic process, whereas these days they use digital cameras so they can easily show people exactly what they are doing. book, Dinka (2010), a 30-year study of the legendary cattle herders of Southern Sudan, they have moved away from merely telling a linear story and started to portray the beauty of an ancient culture by indulging in aesthetically beautiful images. It was no accident that they chose to adapt their approach during the study of the Dinka people, a tall ethnic group (the average height for men is between 6ft 6in and 7ft 6in)
Dinka man leaping in courtship dance.
that our photographs of the same subject would complement each other. From this early discovery, they realised that when producing books the important thing was to build the story using their most powerful images. If they shared the credit and, as such, lose their egos they would be freer to choose the best pictures for each book. Over the years Carol and Angela have been granted unprecedented access to intimate ceremonies that have never before been witnessed by Western eyes. I was quick to surmise that as two female photographers they must surely struggle to gain access to male-only ceremonies, especially in the misogynistic cultures that exist in the remote parts of Africa. But Angela reveals that its
known as Africas gentle giants by early explorers, as the cattle herders way of life offered the photographers visually stunning scenes. The magic hours with the Dinka were at sunset during the dry season cattle camps where as many as 2,000 head of cattle would gather with their herders; every evening they would build fires out of cattle dung and burn them to keep the mosquitoes and insects at bay. Carols description of the scene is as vividly beautiful as the resulting photographs: the sunlight filtering through the layers of smoke, thousands of long, twisted horns catching the light and the silhouettes of cattle herders moving in an almost hypnotic way through the animals neither of us had ever seen anything so beautiful.
Ready for marriage.
PRO ZONE
Angelas reaction to their time with the Dinka sums up why the people remain close to their hearts: In a way youre offered images that you cant help but want to photograph and the whole style of life just fills your body. I think living with the Dinka has provided us with some of the most beautiful images that weve ever seen in Africa. But running alongside the visual beauty of the Dinka lifestyle is a familiar story of a traditional societys transition into the 21st century. When we first visited the Dinka in the late 1970s one saw a very traditional lifestyle with no influence from the outside world, recalls Angela. When we returned 30 years later a lot of the remains of civil war were visible and we had to travel for a month in the swamplands of the River Nile until we found a traditional cattle camp. Despite the relief at finding isolated pockets of Dinka people maintaining their ancient ways, the effect of civil war was visible everywhere: [We photographed] Dinka herders wearing the very beautiful and traditional leopard-skin togas, but instead of carrying spears they were carrying Kalashnikovs, recalls Carol. Through their lenses, Angela and Carol have seen first-hand the heartbreaking changes that have occurred in Africa during the past 35 years. As they recount to me the differences they witnessed on returning to Sudan in 2006 after the countrys brutal civil war their voices are tinged with sadness. But their Dinka book purposely only touches on the visual changes and instead focuses on the traditional ceremonies and cultures that still exist. Their deep-rooted passion for their work is most apparent when they get lost in vivid descriptions of the tribes and ceremonies theyve photographed, such as the Maasai ceremony where 900 warriors come together all covered in the red-ochre, oily paint that glistens in the golden sunlight the multi-coloured flags blazing in the wind the lone serpentine lines of hundreds of warriors coming over the golden hills with almost flaming colour, or the Wodaabe with their indigo-coloured costuming you almost felt they were leaping out in profiled silhouette against a background of sand dunes. The constant reference to the intensity of colour confirms why the pair always shoot in colour. I dont think we could ever do Africa in black and white, because colour is such an integral part of the cultural experience of each group, explains Carol. [The colours] are not only beautiful to look at but theyre symbolic [for many cultures], therefore how could we possibly leave that out of our story? With an extensive body of work spanning three decades its no surprise to learn that more than40% of what Carol and Angela have photographed no longer exists.
Dinka girl smoking a pipe.
BIOGRAPHY
American-born Carol and Australian Angela met 30 years ago in Kenya. They have published 14 books, exhibited in museums and galleries throughout the world and been honoured twice with the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award in race relations. Other awards include the Royal Geographical Societys Cherry Kearton Medal and WINGS WorldQuests Lifetime Achievement Award honouring visionary women. Their collection includes half a million images, 400 hours of video film, 200 illustrated journals and three museum-scale exhibitions. www.africanceremonies.com
Then youll love the work of National Geographic photographer Jim Richardson. His stunning work from the Hebrides in Scotland can be seen in the March 2011 issue of the magazine. To order back issues go online: www.photography monthly.com
LIKE THIS?
Man in beaded corset.
PRO ZONE
Shooting traditional events Angela Post Production Masters Photo manipulation Fisher and Carol Beckwith
Dinka cattle herder in a purple robe.
The Beckwith-Fisher collection of traditional African cultures and ceremonies includes half a million photographs,400 hours of video footage and 200 illustrated field journals. This unique body of work not only helps Western societies understand the history and culture of the African continent, it has also become an important source of information for future generations in Africa. Both Angela and Carol are great believers in the African concept of reciprocity the importance of giving back. On a smaller scale theyve helped to build schools, organised the digging of wells and developed initiatives to assist people in the communities theyve photographed. On a larger scale their wish is to give back their photographs to Africa by digitising all the
images and making them freely available for educational purposes so that the next generation of Africans can learn about their traditional heritage. Its hard to believe that there are any indigenous communities left in Africa that the Beckwith-Fisher camera lenses havent focused on, but surprisingly there are. Aware that traditional cultures in Africa are disappearing, Carol and Angela are in the process of producing a follow-up to African Ceremonies, a book called African Twilight (due to be published in 2014) that will concentrate on the 14 countries they have yet to work in due to political upheaval, border closures or the sheer difficulty of navigating certain remote parts of Africa. When they finally
have ticks next to all 54 African countries (they have eight left to visit) they will have completed the enormous task they unwittingly set themselves as young explorers in the 1970s when they decided to dedicate their lives to visually preserving Africas often undocumented and slowly disappearing ancient cultures. PM Dinka: Legendary Cattle Keepers of Sudan, by Angela Fisher and Carol Beckwith, is available from Rizzoli USA (www.rizzoliusa.com) and Amazon UK (www.amazon.co.uk), RRP 47.50. The book is also available in a limited edition, presented in a handmade box and including a choice of one of five high-quality signed prints, suitable for framing. Proceeds from the sale of this edition go to African Ceremonies Inc, Carol and Angelas not-for-profit charitable foundation.
Angela Fisher and Carol Beckwiths top tips for photographing traditional ceremonies
Do your research by reading as much as possible about the group of people youre going to study, or speak to people who can advise you on where to go and how to enter sensitively into a group. Its very easy for small, insensitive things to happen in a traditional society that dont appear important to a Westerner, but are extremely critical within some cultural traditions. Before you start taking photographs its important to spend time building a close relationship with the people you wish to photograph, to gain trust and understanding. Write about 25 words of the language on your hands so you always know how to greet or thank people or how to ask very simple questions. Its important not to intrude on a ritual start with a longer lens and then when people are comfortable with that you can move in a bit closer. The subjects still need to feel the sacredness of the rite of passage and not feel youre intruding on them. Be prepared to deal with very challenging lighting conditions, therefore work with lenses and a camera setting that can accommodate very low light. A lot of traditional people dont like flash photography; some are superstitious about it and feel endangered by flash. Use 35mm SLR cameras rather than medium or large format cameras. Due to the nature of a ceremony you need to be able to carry all your equipment easily and to move very quickly. With two cameras, a fill-in flash and two zoom lenses 24-70mm and 70-200mm you can cover everything. What catches your eye to start with isnt always the story that needs to be told; sometimes its the tiny events attached to a rite of passage that are the pivotal points of the whole ceremony. To understand a ceremony it is advisable to witness it as many times as possible. If you have promised to send a copy of an image or the final book, then make sure you stick to your promise a positive experience with an outsider colours very strongly how a group of people see the outside world.
DONT LOSE
A picture is worth a thousand words, so the saying goes, but wedding photography relies on a collection of images to give the overall narrative of the big day. Wedding photographer STEVEN TAYLOR explains how you can convey emotion, mood and narrative at any wedding where you are a guest in 2011.
s a guest at a wedding, you are in the ideal position to explore your skills as a photographer and storyteller. When the pressure is off you can go to town on making a fantastic, journalistic record of the day. The key to good storytelling photography is to keep a sharp eye open for the details, expressions and mini-stories that occur throughout the day.
THE PLOT
A
Black-and-white images work well for telling a story. The first thing a viewer sees when they look at a colour picture is the colour. If the image is about colour thats okay but if other narrative is more important, it can be a distraction. The pictures in this illustration have been processed mostly as lightly toned black-and-whites but I will usually make about 30% of the pictures on the day in colour.
SOMETIMES, JUST BY MOVING ACROSS A ROOM I SEE NEW PICTURES THAT I HADNT NOTICED BEFORE.
Image Caption here
THE ESTABLISHING SHOT
JUST LIKE A WRITTEN ESSAY YOU WILL NEED AN INTRODUCTION

...The establishing shot eases the viewer into the story. I often make an image of the faade of the venue, a detail of the front door, with appropriate decoration or an order of service. The sign on the arrow-shaped board stating Wedding was a gift. It not only introduces the viewer to what it is we are going to be looking at but the arrow becomes a symbol to lead us on to the rest of the story.
THE ARROW BECOMES A SYMBOL TO LEAD US ON TO THE REST OF THE STORY.

STEVEN TAYLOR
PRO ZONE
Telling a story with your images Steven Taylor
PREPARATION PICTURES
PREPARATION PICTURES ARE A GREAT WAY FOR THE SUBJECTS TO GET USED TO YOU BEING AROUND
...As well as capturing the people, you should also make sure the details of the day are recorded. You should make pictures of the flowers, the brides shoes and the dress before the bride puts it on. At this part of the day there are usually only a handful of people present, so it is polite to make conversation. Humour (as long as it is
appropriate) helps the subject of your pictures to relax. The bride and groom and other principal players may be quite nervous at this point, so a little banter and, of course, some flattering comments about the way they look, all help to put them at their ease. Hotel rooms or brides bedrooms are usually quite small and there are often more than a couple of other people around, so space is tight. I move around the room as much as possible. Sometimes, just by moving across a room I see new pictures that I hadnt noticed before. We never use flash and often the light from the window can be quite a lot stronger than the rest of the room, so you do have to be aware of how the light is behaving and how it affects the mood of your pictures. Mirrors make interesting frames for your subjects and are a good indicator of the story of what is happening at this time of the day.
THE BRIDE AND GROOM AND OTHER PRINCIPAL PLAYERS MAY BE QUITE NERVOUS AT THIS POINT, SO A LITTLE BANTER AND, OF COURSE, SOME FLATTERING COMMENTS ABOUT THE WAY THEY LOOK, ALL HELP TO PUT THEM AT THEIR EASE.
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MOMENTS SOME MOMENTS ARE ALMOST STAGED
...There are certain points during a wedding day that you know are going to happen before they do. The key is to focus on being ready to capture natural emotions. For example, you know that when the brides father sees his daughter dressed and ready to be married there is going to be emotion. Move yourself into a good position before it happens to best capture the expressions. If the light level is low you will require a fairly fast ISO, shutter speed and wide aperture. There may be motion blur as dad lifts his hands in delight and the focus may be soft on the bride. However, all the emphasis should be on dads expression. In this image it would have been even better if the brides expression had been reflected in the mirror but taking a journalistic approach to photography means things dont always go to plan.
THE ENTRANCE ALL EYES ARE ON THE BRIDE AS SHE ENTERS THE ROOM
...The bride makes eye contact with her mum and her expression gives away her excitement. I used a wide aperture to get enough light on to the sensor to allow me to use a sufficiently fast shutter speed to freeze the movement. The focus and exposure are on the brides face. Even though mum is not sharp and the highlights on her outfit have blown because she was closer to the light source, we do not need to see her face to know that she was beaming back at her daughter.
THIS PICTURE IS ONE THAT IS EASILY CAPTURED AT MOST WEDDINGS

...Normally I would stand on the opposite side of the room to see the brides expression. On this occasion, though, I was confined in a very small space; there was nowhere for me to be on the other side, so the focus was going to be on the groom. The 35mm lens I used for the majority of the wedding was essential for me to get in enough information; even a 50mm would have cropped too tightly. What made the picture was dads expression; just making sure it was all done correctly.
EXCHANGE OF RINGS
STEVEN TAYLOR
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AN AWFUL LOT OF TIME AND RESEARCH GOES INTO CHOOSING THE LOOK, COLOUR AND THEME OF A BRIDE AND GROOMS SPECIAL DAY
...Those details that set the mood for the whole look of the wedding day should be recorded with as much care as all of the other pictures you make. Colour is more relevant here than in any other picture of the story. Flowers, table plan, place names, favours and decorations not forgetting the cake should be photographed. A slightly longer lens, like an 85mm along with a wide aperture, will throw the background out of focus so the attention is on the detail.
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BIOGRAPHY
Steven Taylor has been in the wedding business for more than 30 years. Inspired in the early days by photojournalists Henri Cartier-Bresson, Elliott Erwitt, Ian Berry and W. Eugene Smith, Steven adopted an observational style from the beginning of his career. His wedding photography focuses on narrative, telling a story of the day as a whole. To view more of his work visit www.steventaylorphotography.co.uk
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Your favourite magazines are now available on your iPad!

Foto Mags Now is free to download via iTunes or the App Store and gives you the chance to buy single editions and subscribe to Professional Photographer, Photography Monthly, Turning Pro, Which Digital Camera and World of Photography. Foto Mags Now lets you expand features, scroll around the page, read text only, access a photo gallery exclusive to each issue, listen to podcasts and view video content exclusive to the iPad edition. If you dont have an iPad dont worry as Foto Mags Now can also be downloaded on to your iPhone. Foto Mags Now your digital gateway to your photography magazines.
THE PHOTOGRAPHERS GUIDE TO
TURNINGPRO
PHOTOGRAPHY
WORLD OF
PRO ZONE
THE CONFETTI
ONE OF THE MOST ANIMATED PARTS OF A WEDDING IS WHEN THE GUESTS THROW CONFETTI AT THE NEWLY MARRIED COUPLE
...This part of the day often needs a little help to make happen. The more traditional photographers would organise two lines of guests for the couple to walk through. However, if you want to stay unobtrusive then have a chat with the best man and suggest that he might like to delegate the ushers to make it happen. Dont worry if it doesnt, there are plenty of other things going on at this time to photograph.
FLOWERS, TABLE PLAN, PLACE NAMES, FAVOURS AND DECORATIONS. NOT FORGETTING THE CAKE SHOULD ALL BE PHOTOGRAPHED.
THE GUESTS
IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT ALL THE PRINCIPAL PLAYERS OF THE WEDDING ARE PHOTOGRAPHED
...But some interesting little cutaways usually occur. Guests are an integral part of the day; without them the party would be a non-event. Try to find an interesting angle. It is obvious to point your camera at your friends and family, they may smile or act up to the camera in some way and in years to come that might be fun to look back on, but if you move around and look for a different slant you can express more about the day than simply making a record of the participants.
9
STEVEN TAYLOR
RE-ESTABLISHING SHOT THIS IS ANOTHER ESTABLISHING SHOT
...The guests reading the table plan to locate their seats is a great way to establish that part of the day known as the wedding breakfast. Its also a good way of getting pictures of some of the faces that are celebrating with the couple. Using the mirror as a frame provided an opportunity to make slightly more creative images of guests.
For more tips and techniques from our masters visit our site www.photographymonthly.com
PRO ZONE
Steven Taylor Telling a story with your images
CHILDREN KIDS ARE ALWAYS GREAT SUBJECTS FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS
10
...Children havent yet acquired the inhibitions that cause adults to act awkwardly in front of a camera. They also often have their own little micro-dramas occurring. This little boy has managed to get mud on his wedding suit and his friend is concerned for him.
THEY ALSO HAVE THEIR OWN LITTLE MICRO-DRAMAS OCCURRING.
11 12
THE SPEECHES
SPEECHES ARE AN OPPORTUNITY TO PHOTOGRAPH SOME TELLING EXPRESSIONS, AS ALL EMOTIONS ARE ON DISPLAY
...We often see tears, laughter and embarrassment all from one speech. Although the grooms face cannot be seen, the expression of the bride, along with the grooms body language, allude to the grooms emotion and the content of the speech.
FIRST DANCE
A ROMANTIC FIRST-DANCE PICTURE MAKES A BEAUTIFUL CONCLUSION TO YOUR WEDDING DOCUMENT.
AS PROFESSIONAL WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS, MOST OF OUR WORK IS FINISHED AFTER THE BRIDE AND GROOMS FIRST DANCE
...The first dance is symbolic of the start of their new life as husband and wife, and the love of the couple is often very evident in their posture during the dance. The light level is usually very low at this point and flash would destroy the atmosphere of the image. A very fast ISO setting is essential. Most sensors struggle with speeds of ISO 6400 but even at shutter speeds of 1/30sec and apertures of f/1.4 that is the ISO you will often need to use. Digital noise is a problem at this sort of speed. There are some noise reduction software products that can help at the post-production stage. Adding grain to imitate the look of fast film can help to mask noise as well. A romantic first-dance picture makes a beautiful conclusion to your wedding document. PM
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Full Frame sees top travel and landscape photographer David Noton set about achieving the perfect shoot. He gives invaluable photographic tips on how he captures the essence of a location, explains his creative process and reveals the secrets that make his work so widely admired.
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FREEZING POINT
This month we asked our lighting master NEIL TURNER to capture action using flash. Here he tells you the secrets of this successful shoot from the preparation and finding the right model through to the technical aspects of getting the desired shots.
t doesnt take much to get me excited about shooting pictures and being there capturing the action in my own way has to be at the top of the list. I greatly admire specialist sports or wildlife photographers, whose patience, technical skills and timing give us images that convey the intensity of the moment in a seemingly simple still frame. Shooting action with flash adds a different dimension and when I was asked to do this article I searched for an activity which would give me the chance to get the right angles and to put my lights exactly where I wanted them. Keegan Walker is a very good BMX rider by any measure, but the great joy of using him as my model for these pictures is that he can repeat the same trick over and over again, landing his jumps within a few centimetres of his target each time.
NEIL TURNER
MASTERCLASS
Capturing action with flash Neil Turner
BIOGRAPHY
Born in Bournemouth in 1964, Neil Turner has been working professionally as a photographer since 1986. He spends much of his time shooting executive portraits and editorial commissions for magazines and newspapers, and has been commissioned by a range of PR, commercial and editorial clients. He also writes about photography and teaches across the UK in universities and colleges. He is a vice-chairman of the British Press Photographers Association, and works out of London and Bournemouth. www.dg28.com
This shot was made with a Canon 580EX II flash unit clamped to the railings to give the unique highlight.
In the space of five minutes Neil went from shooting at 1/200sec at f/11 to 1/50sec at f/11.
[5 6 ] P H OTO G RA P H Y M O N T H LY J U LY 20 1 1 4
MASTERCLASS
THE PLAN
It was about two hours before sunset and I was looking to start by shooting some action with flash against the deep blue sky at the beginning of May. The weather was kind to us but the skies were a little more watery than I had hoped for, which meant altering the plan a little. The objective was to constantly adapt the shooting style as the light began to fall away with the final few frames being shot after the sun had dipped below the horizon.
THE FIRST STEP

There was still plenty of daylight at this point and so I needed every joule of power that I could get from the Elinchrom Ranger Quadra
that was acting as my main light. I started with a 24in x 32in softbox but quickly swapped to a 14in beauty dish which cuts out less light and I started to shoot with the main light about 6ft away from the point in the air where I was anticipating Keegan to be. The angle of the flash meant that he was almost jumping straight at it, which gave me some nice head-on light. I pre-focused my Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L lens because there was no way that my cameras were going to be able to track the focusing through the air from my shooting position I calculated that I would see the rider for only 1/4 of a second before I had to shoot the picture and no AF system can
Just one light was used for this image to keep it simple.
WE WERE GOING TO BE SHOOTING WITH A HUGE DEPTH OF FIELD, WHICH MEANT THAT PRE-FOCUSING WAS THE BEST OPTION.
track that. We were going to be shooting with a huge depth of field, which meant that pre-focusing was the best option. After the first couple of frames I added a second light (Canon 580EX II Speedlite on full power at a distance of about 12ft) directly opposite the main one. My exposure for these frames was 1/200sec at f/22 at ISO 200 and the white balance was daylight rather than flash because my beauty dish is a little colder than the Canon standard flash setting.
THE NEXT SETUP

Next I decided to shoot a couple of portraits. Once again, the 14in beauty dish was my main light and I intended to use a Canon 580EX II as a second. While shooting a test shot to determine where to place the second flash I decided to keep it simple and stick with the one light, because I liked the simplicity of the image. I ended up shooting at 1/200sec at f/22 at ISO 200 with the main light directly in front of the bike on a 16-35mm f/2.8L lens on a full-frame Canon EOS 5D MkII. With the quick portrait behind us I moved the lights on to the other section of the half-pipe (two curved ramps opposite one another), with the Elinchrom and its beauty dish off to my right pointing through the pipe, a Canon 580EX II off to my left and a second 580EX II high and to the right. Around the top of the half-pipe is a railing, which is very useful for attaching lights using Manfrotto Super Clamps possibly the best accessory you can get for this kind of work. I got my regular assistant Jonathan (Jonny) Fleetwood to stand on the lip so that I could pre-focus and get a really good idea how I was going to frame the shots before shooting quite a few very similar frames.
NEIL TURNER
IN THE CAN
There comes a point in every shoot where you start to relax. You know that you have
The exposure for this shot was 1/200sec at f/22 at ISO 200 with the white balance set for daylight.
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MASTERCLASS
some pretty good pictures in the can and the ideas for more interesting shots start to flow. The first one involves the rider hitting the curved ramp at just the right angle, flying a few feet into the air, kicking his feet off the pedals and then rotating the bike through 360 before putting his feet back on to the pedals and landing the bike safely on the ramp. I had a 24-70mm f/2.8L lens on a Canon EOS 5D MkII and, again, I tried to pre-focus at a point through which I was hoping Keegan would fly. The longer the lens that you use, the harder it is to pre-focus accurately and, because this scenario meant that I could track the focusing on the rider, I decided pre-focusing wasnt the best option. The lighting was still pretty simple: the Elinchrom Ranger Quadra with the beauty dish was still the main light and positioned high and to my left about 12ft from the point in the air we were aiming for. There was a 580EX II further around clamped to the top of the railing at about 90 to Keegans right side and the second 580EX II to my right, adding some fill light to Keegans left side. After that we tried all sorts of angles around the half-pipe, including a few tricks on the lip. The sun was starting to drop pretty quickly by this time and so we decided to go with some less conventional lighting with the Elinchrom with a basic spill-kill reflector acting as the main light on top of the half-pipe to my left and a Canon 580EX II in shot clamped to the railings, giving a great highlight to the frame. Both frames were shot at 1/200sec at f/13 at ISO 200.
Fill light was used to create this image by strapping a Canon 580EX II to the top of the railing to the left of the rider.
LOSING THE LIGHT

Keegan was keen to get as much height as he could from the ramp and we set up the Elinchrom Ranger Quadra with a 24in x 32in softbox off to my left, a Canon 580EX II to my right and another 580EX II straight ahead of me hidden below the lip of the ramp. Keegan was jumping over the ramp in each direction and doing turns in the air. The important thing here is to keep checking and adjusting your exposure. In the space of five minutes we went from shooting at 1/200sec at f/11 to 1/50sec at f/11. The flash was putting out a constant amount of power hence keeping the aperture at f/11, but the ambient light and the sky was getting darker quite quickly and so we lost two f-stops of light in just over five minutes. Two minutes later, we had completely lost the light for any kind of action pictures. I just had time to shoot the tighter portraits on a 24-70mm f/2.8L lens on the full-frame camera. The object was to get the nice catch light in the models eyes and
This image was shot at 1/200sec at f/13 at ISO 200.
NEIL TURNER
MASTERCLASS
get that very trendy even light look. I also had Jonny holding a 580EX II high above and slightly behind Keegans head just to get a little backlight to finish off the shoot just as it went fully dark and we decided to head off.
THE IMPORTANT THING HERE IS TO KEEP CHECKING

AND ADJUSTING YOUR EXPOSURE. IN THE SPACE OF FIVE MINUTES WE WENT FROM SHOOTING AT 1/200SEC AT F/11 TO 1/50SEC AT F/11.
WORDS OF WISDOM
There are so many different ways to do a shoot
Three lights were used to give this image punch and drama.
Neil lost two f-stops of light in just over five minutes on this shot.
NEIL TURNER
like this, but I went for a traditional flash overpowering daylight approach rather than a high-speed flash synch one. The disadvantage of my way of shooting this way is that I was restricted to a maximum shutter speed of 1/200sec, which is as high as a Canon EOS 5D MkII goes. Some other DSLRs go to 1/250sec or even higher and those extra part stops of speed can really help to avoid the blur that you often get with fast-moving subjects when you are using some ambient light as well as the flash. The big disadvantage of high-speed synch is that you are largely restricted to using hot shoe type flash units and either the manufacturers own triggers or some pretty expensive after-market ones. I actually like the hints of blur that you get when shooting at speeds of between 1/60sec and 1/250sec but that is just my taste in pictures. Marrying daylight and flash often means shooting at apertures as high as f/22 which means you need a lot of flash power or to get your lights close to the subject. It also means that you will show up every tiny piece of dirt and dust on your image sensor. On this shoot I used two different bodies and I spent quite a bit of time in post-production cleaning dust spots off of the pictures from one of
MASTERCLASS
Neil Turner Capturing action with flash
the two cameras. Dust shows up as far more sharply defined spots the more you stop the lens down and when a big part of the scene is a plain or out-of-focus background (the sky in this case) those dust spots will stick out a mile. When you have decided how you want to shoot, it is important to make sure that you know the exposure for the ambient light. Shooting against the sky is easy when you learn to use manual exposure and to take a reading off the sky. I tend to underexpose the sky where I can so that my subjects stand out against it a little more, but the degree by which I will underexpose varies from anything as little as half an f-stop to
two or three f-stops, depending on the feel that I am trying to achieve. Shooting in a public place like this you need to keep your kit safe. We all know the dangers of letting valuable items out of our sight and nothing attracts the light-fingered as much as shiny, new-looking camera gear. Bike locks, bungee cords and good old-fashioned chains and ropes are all useful. My kit contains a couple of climbing carabiners and a couple of cable locks, and I always try to find an anchor point to attach my cases when Im not using them. Using clamps and brackets instead of lighting stands is also a useful security
SHOOTING IN A PUBLIC PLACE LIKE THIS YOU NEED TO KEEP YOUR KIT SAFE.
Shot with a 24-70mm f/2.8L series lens.
measure and I am a big fan of Manfrotto clamps especially the 035 Super Clamp.
EQUIPMENT
Anyone who regularly reads my kit lists on these articles will know that I tend to stick with the same basic outfit. In fact, it really isnt often that I add something new to the mix but this was my first Photography Monthly assignment to feature my new Think Tank Airport TakeOff rolling case which I have started using to carry my Elinchrom kit. I wouldnt normally mention a mere camera bag but this case has changed the way that I will carry my lighting kit forever. PM
KIT BAG
2 Canon EOS 5D MkII camera bodies Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L lens Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L lens Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens Elinchrom Ranger Quadra Flash Pack 2 Elinchrom Ranger S heads 2 Elinchrom Skyport triggers 2 Elinchrom Skyport receivers 2 Canon 580EX II flash units 4 Manfrotto light stands 2 Manfrotto Lite-Tite brackets 2 Manfrotto Super Clamps with brass posts Chimera 24in x 32in Pro II softbox White 14in beauty dish adapted to fit Elinchrom Ranger Quadra flash system
For more masterclass tips visit our site www.photographymonthly.com
NEIL TURNER
Keegan breaks off to answer a text when the light is right, almost any picture looks good.
How to discover the perfect location.
Learning to use a map and compass confidently can be an extremely liberating experience, allowing you to get to where you want to quickly and safely. Once mastered, effective navigation skills can open up the mountains for you, allowing you to confidently go further into the wilderness and to find your way safely home again. Here at the National Mountain Centre we teach people to use a map, compass all year round. Our vast range of courses caters for newcomers to navigation and advanced practitioners alike. We run 2-day and 5-day courses designed to introduce you to navigation and to polish your skills. Our 5-day Complete Navigation course includes GPS use as well as traditional skills. For the more experienced
navigator, we have a winter navigation weekend or an advanced GPS weekend. If you can navigate already, you may choose to learn some fundamental ropework skills to keep you safe on steep ground, to handle a sea kayak to access remote locations or to paddle a canoe so you can get closer to wildlife. In fact we run over 300 different courses, holidays and expeditions throughout the year. Off piste skiing, ice climbing, mountaineering, rock-climbing, canoeing, kayaking, sea kayaking, mountain biking, road cycling, first aid and even landscape photography. Check out our website www.pyb.co.uk and take a look at whats on offer or email brochure@pyb.co.uk and well send you a free 72-page colour brochure.
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LL24 0ET
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GRANTCREATE AOTT SC WINNING THE CHALLENGE:

www.grantscott.com
BLACK & WHITE IMAGE WITH A WHITE SHIRT

Its at this point that I turn to one of the regular contributors to Photography Monthly, Martin Middlebrook, and his excellent article in our March issue on the five lies of shooting monochrome, for some tips about how to handle the technical aspects of this challenge. The first point that Martin raises and one in which I have always believed fervently is that to create black-and-white images you do not need to shoot black and white in-camera. This is the direct opposite of the traditional beliefs I was brought up with back in the days of analogue. To give an example, for me the portrait image on the right could exist only as a black-and-white image. I had been looking at the portrait work of the great Edward Weston shot in Mexico in the early part of the last century. I loved the soft focus of his images, the slightly yellowish tone of his prints and the way in which he used folds in fabric to create movement with images which were incredibly quiet and still. It was my attempt at this kind of image taken on a Hasselblad 500C/M in the basement of my house at the time in Islington, north London. The location and camera could not have been more different from Westons but having read from his personal diaries about how he handled light I had a go and was happy with the results. The key to the image was the simplicity of the white shirt, as it had been in Westons images of Tina Modotti, his lover and a fellow photographer. Today, however, you can shoot in colour digitally to achieve a richer mono image than is possible with basic mono capture. Shooting in RGB gives you three channels of information to work with, rather than shooting in mono which is only going to give you one. Simple but true. Martins second point, and mine too, is the fact that shooting in black and white is not all about tonality, as many people believe, but is about structure. The structure of the composition. Black-and-white images rely on extreme light such as backlighting and high contrast to give them this structure. The use of light is what leads the eye through the image and this, combined with an understanding of tonality and how colour converts into black and white, is what creates a successful image. In the case of my Edward Weston inspired portrait the light is coming from a window behind and high above the subject and above the staircase. By ensuring that the profile picks up this light I was able to define the shape and form of the subject without having to overlight
TO HELP YOU WITH THIS CHALLENGE, PM EDITOR GRANT SCOTT HAS SOME TIPS AND ADVICE ON HOW FLEXIBLE A WHITE SHIRT CAN BE AS A SUBJECT.
have set the white shirt challenge for nearly 20 years now to school children, professional photographers, degree students and MA students, and I do not think that I have ever seen the same image twice. For me it is a simple, open-ended brief that gives the photographer complete freedom to create any kind of image they want. It can be a still life, a portrait, a fashion image or a landscape; it can be anything you want it to be, as long as it features a white shirt. The white shirt can be any kind, male or female, big or small, old or new, whatever you have to hand will do. The key to success in this challenge is imagination. A white shirt is the most democratic of pieces of clothing. It can be worn with a tie and suit to demonstrate a certain seriousness of intent or it can be worn loose with shorts and flip-flops to give the impression of a relaxed state of mind. It is a piece of fabric that allows you to give it meaning and this is why the challenge is much more difficult than it first appears. Whenever a challenge is as open as this it brings its own difficulties. Its just like when we were all children and were give a blank piece of paper and told to do a drawing; immediately, our minds would go blank. However, if we were given the same piece of paper and asked to draw a house, we would all know what to do. Thats why in this challenge I have given you a slight lead by suggesting that it must be completed in black and white. By doing this I am not only setting a creative challenge of concept and composition, but also a technical one of how to handle light, shade and shadows.
BIOGRAPHY
Grant Scott began his career in photography more than 25 years ago working on the launch of Elle magazine in the United Kingdom. Since then he has art-directed magazines such as Tatler and Foto8 and worked as a portrait and interiors photographer for clients such as Bang & Olufson, The Guardian, Vogue, Glamour and Sony Ericsson. His images have been published internationally and have also been published by Thames & Hudson in a book entitled At Home with the Makers of Style.
GRANT SCOTT
PRO CHALLENGE
Shooting a white shirt Grant Scott
BLACK-AND-WHITE IMAGES RELY ON EXTREME LIGHT SUCH AS BACKLIGHTING AND HIGH CONTRAST TO GIVE THEM THIS STRUCTURE.
the foreground. This light also picks up the treads on the stairs to lead the eye towards the centre of the subject. I then placed a sheet of paper in front of her on the table at which she was sitting to break up the solid dark mass that the table was creating. The concept came from looking at Edward Westons portraits and the technique I needed to use came from the basics of lighting a black-and-white portrait. A simple solution to the challenge. A similar inspiration is behind the images on these pages. This time the inspiration came from two different photographers, both of whom shoot or shot fashion images and portraits: Bill King, who was the master during the 1970s and early 1980s of clean white background fashion images, and Herb Ritts, who was also a master but at creating portraits that contained a simple authenticity. If you are not aware of their work they are worth looking up for inspiration because both made good use of the white shirt throughout their photographic careers. To me it was important to work with the simple, abstract shapes created by the subjects. In contrast to the Weston-inspired image these are all about shape, form and abstraction, humour and spontaneity. So how do you take on this challenge? Well, my suggestion would be to look for inspiration from within the world of photography and see how you can adapt images you like with the addition of the white shirt or based around its inclusion in your concept. Brush up on the basic rules of working with light and then have fun. Just like that blank piece of paper when you were at school, the white shirt can be just as intimidating but equally as rewarding to work with once you have decided what you want to do. For further inspiration with your black-and-white images check out www.herbritts.com www.edward-weston.com
Then youll love our 101 tips and techniques for shooting perfect portraits. This feature first appeared in our May 2010 portrait special, which also featured the work of some of the worlds best photographers. To order back issues go online: www.photography monthly.com
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GRANT SCOTT
PRO CHALLENGE
Shooting a white shirt Grant Scott
DAVID WARD THE CHALLENGE: CREATE A WINNING

ABSTRACT IMAGE USING WATER
www.into-the-light.com
TO HELP YOU WITH THIS CHALLENGE, DAVID HAS SOME TOP TIPS, FROM SHOOTING WITH COMPACT CAMERAS TO HOW TO CAPTURE MOVING WATER USING SHORT EXPOSURES.
want you all to stop and think for a while about water That might seem a little pointless; after all, we know what water looks like, dont we? In temperate climes its everywhere; flowing in rivers, lounging in lakes, loitering in puddles, hanging from leaves in droplets. But water is an amazing substance (Ive heard it described as the Devils work because it is so different from all other liquids) and we shouldnt be blinded to its charms by its ubiquity. Water is the most abundant compound on the Earths surface oceans and lakes cover about 70% of the planet. In nature, water exists in liquid, solid and gaseous states, and is the only common substance found in all three. At room temperature, water is a tasteless and odourless liquid, nearly colourless with a merest hint of blue. Many substances dissolve in water and it is commonly referred to as the universal solvent. But perhaps its most amazing attribute is that it is essential to life on Earth. Perhaps this is why we find it so beguiling and beautiful.
SO YOUR CHALLENGE IS TO SEE WATER AS IF FOR THE FIRST TIME AND TO CONVEY SOME OF ITS WONDER IN A PHOTOGRAPH.
I WANT YOU ALL TO STOP AND THINK FOR A WHILE ABOUT WATER...
If we are to make amazing photographs of any subject, we need to see that thing with fresh eyes. The photographer Bill Brandt said: We look at a thing and believe we have seen it. And yet what we see is often only what our prejudices tell us to expect to see, or what our past experiences tell us should be seen, or what our desires want to see. So your
BIOGRAPHY
David has worked as a professional landscape photographer for more than 20 years, favouring large format work. As well as image making, he also writes about photography and leads photographic workshops for Light & Land. He is particularly drawn to making abstract, intimate landscape images and his work is informed and inspired by many of the great American landscape photographers of the last century. The emphasis in his teaching is on the photographers vision, rather than on what format is being used.
DAVID WARD
Waters reflective properties offer a huge range of possibilities for image making.
PRO CHALLENGE
Photographing water David Ward
Then youll love Davids masterclasses on composition and his regular monthly column in which he discusses photography and his own experiences as a professional photographer. To order back issues go online: www.photography monthly.com
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JUST THINK ABOUT HOW DIVERSE THE FORMS OF LIQUID WATER ARE, FROM A TOWERING WAVE ROLLING ACROSS THE OPEN OCEAN TO A WATERFALL PLUNGING OVER A CLIFF TO RAIN BOUNCING HIGH OFF A CITY STREET...
challenge is to see water as if for the first time and to convey some of its wonder in a photograph. To make the challenge a little less daunting Im going to limit your entries to images of liquid water. This still leaves you with plenty of scope; just think about how diverse the forms of liquid water are, from a towering wave rolling across the open ocean to a waterfall plunging over a cliff to rain bouncing high off a city street in a thunderstorm. Think now about how differently light plays across its surface; how clear and gemlike a single water droplet sitting on a leaf can be, or the way moonlight shimmers on the surface of a lake or the white, churning maelstrom of rapids. Lets look at two different approaches you might take and dont forget that others are available.
TOP TIP
Experiment with different exposure times. Pick a stretch of moving water, or a fall, and make a number of exposures from 1/8sec up to several seconds and see how this affects the result. You might also try varying your depth of field to see how this changes things.
WATER IN MOTION
With the rising popularity of LEE Filters Big Stopper long exposure filter an increasing number of blurred water images are being made. I dont wish to deter you from trying something like this yourself but in the spirit of seeing things with a fresh eye I would like you to think a little more about water and motion. Some people see long exposures of waterfalls as unrealistic and hackneyed. I think that whats unsettling is not the blur in itself (after all, we perceive falling water as blurred unless we consciously track its path with our eyes), rather it is the accumulation of blur, the stacking up of one blurred image upon another in a continuous flow. In the extended accumulation of blur resulting from exposures of several seconds both focus and, often, the direction of motion have been lost. If we make an exposure of extremely long, or short, duration the image produced steps outside the boundaries of how we see the world. When we make an extended exposure of moving water the resulting image is something our linear perception of time and space could
DAVID WARD
Experiment with different exposure times for different results.
PRO CHALLENGE
Photographing water David Ward
A series of images can enhance the impact of the subject matter.
never have envisaged before the invention of photography. But far from always being hackneyed, such a representation can be quite enchanting and mysterious. Personally, provided that the overall composition is satisfactory, I like the magic wrought by long exposures precisely because this vision represents a new reality, something uniquely photographic. Before photography the rendering of a period of time was, as the American writer Rebecca Solnit put it in her book, Motion Studies, as beyond our reach as the surface of Jupiter.
YOU DONT NEED A SPECIALIST MACRO LENS TO MAKE IMAGES OF WATER DROPLETS...
REFLECTIONS ON WATER
Waters reflectivity provides a huge range of possibilities for image making. Think how reflections change on its surface under different conditions, eg as a large body of still water or single droplet, or in full sun or in shade. You dont need a specialist macro lens to make images of water droplets; modern compact cameras are great for making macro images so you might decide to ditch the DSLR (shock, horror!). A single droplet is like a half-silvered curved mirror, allowing you to see through to what is underneath the droplet as well as picking up the surrounding environment reflected in its surface.
Reflections from the surface of a river or lake are always stronger when it is in the shade so work out when this is going to be for your chosen location. Personally Im not a great fan of images of a lake that include both an object and its perfect reflection as they can look like those ink blot tests used by psychiatrists. I think its much better to work with the reflection alone and produce something more enigmatic. But surprise me! Waters moods are almost infinite and I find myself still exploring them after 30 years as a landscape photographer. As I noted earlier, the trick for making interesting images with depth is to keep an open mind and constantly try to see things anew. Here are some more sage words from Bill Brandt; Very rarely are we able to free our minds of thoughts and emotions, and just see for the simple pleasure of seeing. And so long as we fail to do this, so long will the essence of things be hidden from us. So my final piece of advice is not to get too stressed about meeting the challenge. As always, I would advise you to play with your subject and enjoy the process.
TOP TIP
Of course, a droplet can reflect you and your camera. A little care about choosing your position should mean that you are lost in the curvature or in a dark area.
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MCHALLENGE:N MIDDLEBROOK ARTI CREATE A WINNING CANDID MOMENT THE

WHICH UTILISES FOCAL DEPTH
www.martinmiddlebrook.com
TO HELP YOU WITH THIS CHALLENGE, MARTIN DESCRIBES HOW YOU CAN GO AGAINST THE USUAL ADVICE AND SHOOT CANDID STREET SHOTS FROM LONG DISTANCES.
ne of the mistakes we often make when taking photographs is to try to make things too easy for ourselves. We try to simplify, which is understandable, but in doing so we dont maximise the intrinsic possibilities within a scene. One of the things I love to do when shooting candid pictures is actually to make life more complex, because by doing so your images will have so much more depth and dimension that you will see the value, for ever more, of not shooting straight, but of putting in that extra hard work. The image on the right which I am using to illustrate my point was taken in Mumbai this April. I had been walking around a street market, the sun was getting higher in the sky, and shadows and exposure were becoming an increasing problem. You stand out like a sore thumb in these situations and the result is that you lose that sense of prying into someone elses world, your images become a studio portrait, and all honesty is lost. Well, thats how I see it anyway.
Successful candid street images require the photographer to vanish into his surroundings.
I HAD BEEN WALKING AROUND A STREET MARKET, THE SUN WAS GETTING HIGHER IN THE SKY, AND SHADOWS AND EXPOSURE WERE BECOMING AN INCREASING PROBLEM.
I started my day by shooting with a 17mm and getting into peoples faces, and soon turned to my 24-105mm, but this still failed. I was too close to my subjects, their response was unnatural, so I turned to my 100-400mm. Now I could sit 30ft
BIOGRAPHY
Martin has travelled extensively to document issues around the world. He is a passionate photographer and never puts down his pro camera. He has covered famine in Ethiopia and humanitarian issues in Afghanistan, where he recently completed an exhibition and book on behalf of that countrys Government. He has been commissioned by the UN in Iraq to complete a similar project. In the UK, Martin operates the Great in Britain photographic archive aimed at recording Britain at work. For more information visit www.greatinbritain.co.uk
MARTIN MIDDLEBROOK
PRO CHALLENGE
Adding depth to candid shots Martin Middlebrook
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Then youll love Martins other masterclasses on subjects including how to capture motion, aperture, depth of field, the zone system and much more. To order back issues go online: www.photography monthly.com
...TO ACCENTUATE THIS ASPECT I SHOT THROUGH THE BARS OF A METAL RAILING AND USED THIS TO FRAME THE LEFT AND THE BOTTOM OF THE IMAGE.
YOUR CHOICE OF LENS, YOUR DISTANCE FROM THE FOREGROUND AND THE VARYING DISTANCE BETWEEN ALL ELEMENTS WILL DICTATE THE SUCCESS OR OTHERWISE OF THE SHOT.
away and just spy upon the everyday comings and goings. Firstly I started shooting only straight portraits from a distance, but these always lack depth and colour, so I reverted to some old tricks, and set myself up to shoot through a foreground, focusing on the subject in the middle ground, and using specular highlights in the background to add a third elemental depth. I know that my 100-400mm will create a certain amount of vignetting, so this will add another element: the sense of looking through the keyhole and spying upon a hidden world. To accentuate this aspect I shot through the bars of a metal railing and used this to frame the left and the bottom of the image. Now I have a picture that is beginning to work but it needs a final powerful element to bring all the components together, so that we have an image that has a painterly quality, and transcends pure portraiture. So I patiently waited until people slid into and out of view, and for just the right coloured clothes to complement the scene, and for just the perfect positioning; then I pressed that shutter and there you have it, a beautiful candid with so much depth and vivacity and dynamic that we now have a picture, not just a snapshot! There is much to understand when trying for this type of execution, however, because it will fail as often as it works, and knowing these pitfalls in advance is crucial. So now Ill elaborate on these points in a little more detail. Often I have used this technique in low lighting, and often indoors, when trying to add depth to very flat scenes. You get low and shoot through a tabletop or some other piece of furniture to create a foreground blur. But you are inside and the light is terrible and you are tempted to use a flash well dont, it will be a disaster. The flash will bounce powerfully off the foreground element, totally overexposing that element of the image, and the subject will become woefully underexposed as the flash rapidly drops off. Always increase your ISOs and accept the loss of quality in the happy knowledge that your image will have balanced tonality. The colour of all elements is crucial to the success of the image for several reasons. Firstly you want a palette that complements everything across the canvas but will also
Be patient and allow time for your subject to accept you. It is then that you are more likely to get a great image.
provide balanced tonality within a recordable range, so exposure complications are less of an issue. Avoid high contrast if you possibly can. Your choice of lens, your distance from the foreground and the varying distance between all elements will dictate the success or otherwise of the shot. This is a matter of practice and lens choice, but it is critical to understand these variables. The closer you are to the foreground, for example, the smoother and more subtle the blur that is created. Get to know how your lenses work and it will guarantee success every time. Maintaining focus is the hardest part. You may have three to four elements that are constantly moving, rapidly changing. Each cameras focusing mechanism is different. My Canon EOS 5D MkII allows me to focus on the element I want and then keep the shutter depressed for as long as I wish, maintaining focus. Even when other elements slide across the frame, if I keep the shutter depressed it will keep perfect focus (well most of the time). Again this is all
GUARANTEEING EXPOSURE IN A SCENE THAT IS CONSTANTLY CHANGING IS ALSO A BIG ISSUE.
HERE IS A CHECKLIST OF THINGS TO CONSIDER, A SET OF RULES THAT WILL ALLOW YOU TO BE MORE SUCCESSFUL THAN NOT. Never use flash.
Understand how close and how far apart all elements have to be so that they merge seamlessly. Understand how to maintain absolute focus when every element is shifting and changing. Understand how to guarantee exposure when the tonality of the scene is constantly shifting.
MARTIN MIDDLEBROOK
Consider the colour and tonality of the elements you choose to shoot through - it affects everything.
about practice, but with so many shifting planes, failure is a given if you are unable to manage this element. Guaranteeing exposure in a scene that is constantly changing is also a big issue. I tend to manually expose for the tone that I need correctly exposed and then run with that. These types of scenes can often shift from flat to high contrast in a moment, and exposure can fail instantly. Keep practising, but remember manual always works you know it wont be affected by changing variables.
PRO CHALLENGE
Adding depth to candid shots Martin Middlebrook
Once you understand these basics, you can begin to consider using the dynamics of the frame in different ways, experimenting with all possible angles. You can begin to seek out ever more interesting shapes, which can provide different apertures through which to spy upon your subject. Diagonals, squares, circles, two elements, three elements and so on, different colours and contrast range. You could easily build a whole portfolio simply by experimenting with this style of photography, so get out there and give it a try, it makes portraits look amazing.
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NEIL TURNER PORTRAIT THE CHALLENGE: CREATE A WINNING

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IMAGE THAT USES THE EYES AS THE FOCAL POINT
TO HELP YOU WITH THIS CHALLENGE, NEIL HAS SOME TIPS AND ADVICE ON HOW TO MAKE YOUR SUBJECTS EYES WORK HARD FOR YOU WHEN SHOOTING PORTRAITS.
ages have been written about the importance of eyes in portraiture. The (too) often quoted line the eyes are the window to the soul is certainly true but as photographers we cannot simply rely on having a pair of eyes in a portrait to show the subjects personality, hopes, dreams, loves, regrets and passions. The role of the portraitist is to show enough of their sitter to give big clues about them and to excite the viewer into wanting to know more. Getting emotion or reaction from people isnt easy and conveying those emotions and reactions in a still frame is a tough job, but getting their eyes right will take you a very long way towards turning a simple picture of a person into a portrait. You dont have to have been taking pictures for very long to realise that well-composed photographs have impact. Most 11-year-olds who have done art at school understand the rule of thirds and the idea of the Golden Section even if
THE ROLE OF THE PORTRAITIST IS TO SHOW ENOUGH OF THEIR SITTER TO GIVE BIG CLUES ABOUT THEM AND TO EXCITE THE VIEWER INTO WANTING TO KNOW MORE.
PAGES HAVE BEEN WRITTEN ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF EYES IN PORTRAITURE.

they dont know those phrases. Painters from the Renaissance and the Dutch schools also knew a lot about where to place elements within the frame to give them emphasis and for me the most interesting part of Johannes Vermeers masterwork The Girl With a Pearl Earring isnt her jewellery or her headscarf, it is her eyes. For me, the same is true of arguably the worlds most famous painting, Leonardo da Vincis Mona Lisa. Much has been made of her enigmatic smile
BIOGRAPHY
Born in Bournemouth in 1964, Neil Turner has been working professionally as a photographer since 1986. He spends much of his time shooting executive portraits and editorial commissions for magazines and newspapers, and has been commissioned by a range of PR, commercial and editorial clients. He also writes about photography and teaches across the UK in universities and colleges. He is a vice-chairman of the British Press Photographers Association, and works out of London and Bournemouth.
NEIL TURNER
Getting the eyes right will take you a long way towards turning a simple picture into a portrait.
PRO CHALLENGE
Making the most of the eyes in portraits Neil Turner
Then youll love Neils other masterclasses, which include how to capture action with flash, how to give your still-life work a painterly quality and how to get the best results from using reflectors. To order back issues go online: www.photography monthly.com
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but the thing that lures you into the picture is her eyes. Examples with greater relevance to photographers are Steve McCurrys remarkable and simple photograph of a girl in a refugee camp in Pakistan taken for National Geographic magazine in 1984 and Annie Leibovitzs portrait of mud-covered rock star Sting in the Lucerne Valley in California, taken the following year. The mark of a great composition is when you see one thing instantly and then start to notice the rest of the image. You see Stings eyes, then you notice the mud and the fact that he is naked.
SO HERE WE HAVE MY FIRST TIP FOR MAKING EYES WORK HARD FOR YOU IN A PORTRAIT:
Start by placing your subjects eyes in the most advantageous place in the frame. If that means using the intersections in the picture that obey the rule of thirds, so be it. If that means keeping them squarely in the middle of the frame of tighter compositions, thats fine too. Getting your sitters eyes to stand out requires the light to be right. What constitutes right depends on who the subject is, what they are doing and what you want the portrait to say. A lot of photographers, when they get serious about taking pictures, start to look at formulas for successful lighting: main light, fill light, hair light etc. I have met people for whom this acquires an almost Holy Grail status, but they are missing the point. No two portraits should be lit in the same way and not all portraits need to be lit they just need the right light. Im happy to talk about the shapes of catchlights in peoples eyes; do you go for octagonal from an umbrella or an octabox, or square from a softbox? Do you want the
GETTING YOUR SITTERS EYES TO STAND OUT REQUIRES THE LIGHT TO BE RIGHT. WHAT CONSTITUTES RIGHT DEPENDS ON WHO THE SUBJECT IS, WHAT THEY ARE DOING AND WHAT YOU WANT THE PORTRAIT TO SAY.
defined shape of a ring flash or are you one of those photographers who prefers catchlights to have no obvious shape and source? Thats all a matter of taste but what you do need is light in the eyes. Where people are looking says so much and yet so little seems to be written about the subject. As a young magazine photographer I had a picture editor who wanted the people
NEIL TURNER
Getting your sitters eyes to stand out requires the light to be right.
PRO CHALLENGE
Making the most of the eyes in portraits Neil Turner
SO MY SECOND TIP FOR MAKING EYES STAND OUT IN YOUR PORTRAITS IS:
Try to avoid having your main light source too far below or above your subjects eye line. Where there is light there is shadow and too much shadow around peoples eyes will almost certainly detract from the image. If the light is coming from a higher angle than youd like, try getting your subject to look up towards the light or shoot from a higher angle yourself. whom I was photographing to make eye contact with the reader. He wanted almost everyone to be looking right into the lens so that when the picture was printed they looked right out at anyone who was reading the magazine. He saw it almost as an honesty test his belief was that readers could tell a lot from the way that the subjects of my pictures held eye contact with the camera. For a lot of the time he was right especially when you were photographing people with the confidence and even the training to establish and keep eye contact with a lens. Where this broke down was when you had people whose nerves and confidence wouldnt let them keep their focus on a big chunk of glass. Sometimes getting people to look away is the right thing to do. It relaxes many people and at other times it is the best way to get the right light into their eyes. The difficulty of having people not looking at the camera is that the viewer will often follow their eye line to see what it is they are looking at. This can be bad news if it takes the viewers attention out of the frame altogether. Photographers need to use their skills to keep the interest in the subject. Some of the most successful portrait photographers know the rules and then choose to break them. Closed eyes, wearing sunglasses and looking well out of the frame can work but you need the safe shot too. Placing your subjects eyes away from the more obvious parts of the frame and not getting the light into them can be effective. Shooting professional portraits is about balancing risk and reward. Invariably, the initial reward is getting paid but beyond that lies getting something special for your portfolio and those pictures are often the ones where you have taken risks. One of the characters in the BBC comedy series Little Britain had a saying: Look into my eyes, dont look around my eyes, look into my eyes and it isnt a bad idea as a portrait photographer to paraphrase that as: Look into my lens, dont look around my lens, look into my lens! PM
Photographers need to use their skills to keep the interest in the subject.
MY THIRD PIECE OF ADVICE ON MAKING EYES WORK IN PORTRAITS IS:

As you are shooting the pictures keep thinking about where your subject is looking and keep in mind the idea that if they are gazing out of the frame, thats where the people viewing your pictures may be tempted to look too. This isnt an exact science and you need to shoot plenty of variations so when you come to edit your work you will have more options. The more times you shoot with non-standard eye lines, the better youll get at predicting what will and will not work.
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BIOGRAPHY
Stephen Frinks work has appeared in Scuba Diving magazine and been commissioned by Canon, Nikon, Victorias Secret, Aqua Lung and Oceanic, among others. Stephen publishes Alert Diver, a new quarterly magazine for the Divers Alert Network, and is the author of a coffee table book, Wonders of the Reef. He teaches masters level courses at the Stephen Frink School of Underwater Digital Imaging in the Florida Keys.
www.stephenfrink.com
DOWN
WA ON Y
One of the worlds leading underwater photographers, STEPHEN FRINK, talks to RACHAEL DCRUZE about his journey from a landlocked upbringing in Illinois to the Florida Keys, his lucky break, making a living and the secrets behind his underwater shots.
MASTERCLASS
Underwater photography Stephen Frink
Green turtle, The Maldives. Dolphin, Freeport, Grand Bahama.
I GOT A CRUMMY JOB TAKING PICTURES OF DRUNK TOURISTS AT NIGHT. IT GAVE ME ENOUGH MONEY TO LIVE ON AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY, AS NOTHING HAPPENED UNTIL SUNSET, I HAD THE DAYS TO PRACTISE MY DIVING AND HAVE FUN.
ou might assume that underwater photographer Stephen Frink grew up by water and learnt to dive at an early age. In fact Stephen was brought up in Americas landlocked Mid-West, where a relationship with the ocean wasnt possible. However, he did swim competitively for 13 years, all the way through college. Graduate school saw him move to California, where he studied psychology and had some spare time, so he took a photography class as well. The magic of black-and-white
STEPHEN FRINK
processing was compelling. The photography hook came first and the diving came later, says Stephen, who later became a certified scuba diver something he had to do to get a part-time job cleaning boats at a marina. After completing his masters degree, Stephen went to live in Kona, Hawaii. I got a crummy job taking pictures of drunk tourists at night. It gave me enough money to live on and, more importantly, as nothing happened until sunset, I had the days to practise my diving and have fun. Stephens next move
saw him drop out of diving and move to the mountains, becoming a commercial photography lab technician. While in the Florida Keys visiting an old friend from his high school swimming days, Stephen saw nobody was processing there. I ended up renting a little bit of a dive shop, to process film and rent out cameras to tourists, he says. This was in 1978 and the next two years were all about Stephen teaching himself the art of underwater photography, while working in retail. I was able to see the results of my shoots the same day, as I was processing the images myself. He got his lucky break when Dive magazines scheduled visit to the Florida Keys to do a feature was hit by the weather. It was cheaper for them to send me than somebody from out of town. Id never shot wide-angle before, although I knew thats what I needed to do for the dive mags, says Stephen who borrowed a lens, and found himself a willing model at the diving shop and got on with it. The next week the magazine sent him on assignment somewhere else; regular work and a column followed. If I had blown that chance I wouldnt be where I am today. Stephen has previously worked for Scuba Diving magazine as director of photography, and as a contributing photographer for Skin Diver magazine for 17 years. He is now the publisher of Alert Diver, a new quarterly magazine for the Divers Alert Network. Most of what I do has an editorial nature.
Queen angelfish, Key Largo, the Florida Keys.
Southern stingray, Grand Bahama.
STEPHEN FRINK
I get my fair share of commercial and catalogue work too which is good as it feeds my stock photography business at the same time, he says, referring to his stock photo agency, Stephen Frink Collection. His varied client base includes Canon, Nikon, Victorias Secret, Aqua Lung, Oceanic, Scubapro, Subgear, Mercury Marine, Jantzen swimwear, Alcan Aluminium, Seaquest, Henderson Aquatics, Neo Sport, American Express, Rolex, Club Med and numerous resorts and live-aboard diving boats throughout the world. So, what makes all these big names commission Stephen over other professional underwater photographers? My pictures of people differentiate me from other underwater photographers. I can shoot critters and I do, but Im not as compelled as I am when it comes to shooting people. He says his early stock work, showing people having fun in the ocean which sold well has heavily influenced his photography. Indeed, few underwater
photographers specialise in underwater portraiture, so this truly is Stephens niche. I couldnt be a street photographer, approaching strangers and getting in their personal space, but when Im working with a model, we both know its our job to get the best shot. He explains that shooting people underwater needs completely different skills from capturing marine life the strobes, lenses and shooting distances are all different and crucially you have to be able to communicate with your model and make them want to perform for the camera. Stephen has a set of signals which he teaches models before they go underwater. He also makes a specific sound when he wants the model to look at the camera, so he can tell them if he is changing picture orientation etc, as its typical for him to be shooting them interacting with underwater life. Last Saturday I was working with a model who had a haircut that looked great on the surface, but rubbish underwater, as it just kept
MASTERCLASS
Ikelite underwater strobes. While his success affords him the best gear, Stephen quite rightly points out that digital photography has made underwater photography much more accessible. Id say were in a watershed moment for underwater photography. With an affordable camera, such as the Canon PowerShot G12, you can go to depths, use a strobe and take serious underwater pictures. He explains that while shutter lag on early digital cameras was a real problem, the lag times that we get now are workable. Stephen also advises against using anything
with a built-in flash, as the light produced is just too close. Light is the most important aspect of any genre of photography, perhaps especially in underwater work. As water is about 800 times denser than air, the particles in the water between the front of the lens and the subject look pronounced and distracting, and also create a colour bias. So, as well as trying to minimise the amount of water between front of lens and subject, you need to use artificial light to achieve colour, unless youre shooting at the very surface. Colour is lost as a
I CAN SHOOT CRITTERS AND I DO, BUT IM NOT AS COMPELLED AS I AM WHEN IT COMES TO SHOOTING PEOPLE.
standing up on end. I took my hood off and then shook my head to the left and then the right so they could see the natural flow caused by the movement and do the same, says Stephen, illustrating how he overcomes communication difficulties underwater. Digital photography has made life a lot easier for him in this respect too, as he can simply show the models the back of the camera underwater, giving them an idea of how he is compositing and lighting the photos. He has the accolade of being made a Canon Explorer of Light an elite group of photographers who are invited by the manufacturer to talk about their craft at major consumer shows. Its a reward for being both a good shooter and being willing to share your knowledge, says Stephen, who shoots with Canon EOS-1Ds MkIII, 1D MkIV and 5D MkII bodies with Canon 15mm, 16-35 II, 14mm II, 24-70mm, 100mm macro, 70-200mm f/4, 100-400mm and Sigma 50mm macro lenses, Seacam underwater housings and ports, and
Christ of the Abyss, Key Largo, the Florida Keys.
This shot of a springboard diver warming up was taken at the Orange Bowl Classic swim meet in Key Largo.
MASTERCLASS
Caribbean reef sharks, Stuart Coves Dive Bahamas, Nassau.
STEPHEN FRINK
function of depth in the water and artificial light will restore this. You always need to get close to make up for the colour loss too, says Stephen, who explains that because all underwater photography needs to be lit artificially, you can shoot at any time of day, or even night. He talks about the field of light, which is the proximity you need to get to marine life for a quality picture and how close the marine life will let you approach. Its a fine line and its intuitive, says Stephen, who explains that each type of fish is different whereas those found on coral reefs are generally skittish, others are more tolerant and allow you to get close. Understanding the physics of underwater photography, becoming proficient in lighting underwater with strobes, is crucial, but more importantly you need to ensure you stay safe below the surface and dont sacrifice your health for the sake of a few extra frames. Ive been in re-compression chambers at least four times from the bends, related to being so enraptured with underwater photography that I pushed the limits too aggressively. In the end, getting the bends repeatedly gained him a few extra minutes underwater but cost him months in recovery. When it comes to technical matters he says: I teach people how to light a subject underwater, but I dont think you can really teach composition. To compose what you see in your minds eye, you need to be technically perfect. He teaches masters level courses at the Stephen Frink School of Underwater Digital Imaging, in his home waters of Key Largo, in the Florida Keys. He also has a diving travel company, WaterHouse Tours and Reservations. He says running these tours challenges him, and allows him to go to places he wants to visit
but which he wouldnt necessarily be sent to, and to build his stock library. We go away for a week or 10 days, on a live-aboard boat and dive four times a day, away from phones and email. Im refreshed creatively and able to add to my stock photo files, says Stephen, who has just got back from a Philippines tour. I started my tours in 1982, when I wanted to go to the Pacific, so I set it up. Since then Ive offered the tour two or three times a year. Knowing where to capture the best pictures is obviously an important part of being able to run successful photography tours and Stephen
explains its also crucial to his business in general. We know where to go to get the best pictures, to fulfil briefs. We find the destinations and already know the operators there. He employs a travel coordinator as well as a retail and studio manager, and is a fan of being economical in terms of the number of days spent on location. Id rather be efficient and move on, he says. This is obviously beneficial to his clients in these cost-conscious times. Usually if Im shooting something for a catalogue, say a wetsuit, Ill just go ahead and travel to where Im going to shoot, taking the product with me. This is cheaper for them and works because my clients trust me to shoot the products in the best place. However, when it comes to big projects, Stephen prefers art directors to come on location with him, as their expertise with a particular product is always invaluable above water and they know exactly what they want his pictures to show. With his editorial and commercial work, stock business, photography school seminar in the summer and tours company going out around three times per year, Stephen Frink is an incredibly busy photographer. I know myself I need projects, he says. And so he should; he has been a professional photographer since 1974 and he just keeps on getting better at his craft. PM
STEPHENS ADVICE FOR SUCCESSFUL UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY

1
GET CLOSE Water is about 800 times denser than air, contains distracting particles and has a colour bias. You need to minimise the amount of water between front of lens and subject. USE ARTIFICIAL LIGHT You need artificial light to achieve colour, because colour is lost the deeper you go underwater. ACQUIRE GOOD DIVING SKILLS The most important thing is to be comfortable and safe in the water, and have buoyancy skills that avoid damaging the coral reef. DIVE SAFELY Its far better to avoid injury than to be greedy in pursuit of imaging opportunities. GET TO KNOW THE MARINE LIFE Its important to understand the behaviour of the marine life you are trying to photograph. This is not to say you must be a marine biologist but having keen observational skills helps in locating the subject and having a benign, non-threatening approach. COMMUNICATE Cultivate communication with those you might wish to photograph underwater. Good interpersonal skills when working with models are very important. GO GLOBAL Have a good working knowledge of where the worldwide photo opportunities might be, and in what seasons. BE DILIGENT ABOUT MAINTAINING EQUIPMENT The ocean is harsh and corrosive, so regular
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fresh water rinsing and proper maintenance is imperative. RESPECT AND APPRECIATE LOCAL KNOWLEDGE This is the gateway to the best marine life behaviours, so tip well. TRAVEL WITH BACKUP GEAR Accept that sometimes cords, batteries or chargers may break, and youll need spares. It may not be practical to carry spares for every bit of equipment we travel with, but be handy enough to repair what can be fixed in the field, and be prescient enough to carry spares for anything that may break but which you are unable to repair. EDIT EFFICIENTLY Create an image editing workflow that allows quick editing in the field. BACKUP Make sure all your files are backed up on redundant drives that travel in separate bits of luggage. THINK LOGICALLY Be diligent in terms of creating a post-production archive so that images can be retrieved on demand. SPEED MATTERS Use the most efficient software to process from RAW to high-res or web view resolutions on demand, quickly. GET MODEL RELEASES Make sure you have permission to use images of people if you ever intend to enter the commercial photography realm. Many agencies wont consider images without proper release forms.
GREAT LIES OF
FOCUS
hen I began teaching myself about photography, absolute focus was my Holy Grail, the thing I wanted more than Kylie Minogue. It seemed so unachievable most of the time. I was crestfallen and defeated more often than I was successful. I never quite came to
MARTIN MIDDLEBROOK understands the frustrations of tackling focus and the importance of getting it right. This month he turns his attention to the common myths attached to focal points.
terms with my number of failures until one day I realised that focus was not about focus at all, it was about a combination of decisions that you made depending on the parameters before you. I always thought focus was about brilliant finger control and accurate and fast lenses, but
Uprating the ISO settings helped solve focus problems with cropped-in portraits of safari park animals.
PHOTO ZONE
5 great lies of focus Martin Middlebrook ...WHEN YOU GET YOUR STAR-STUDDED SELECTION HOME LATER THAT NIGHT, YOU WILL SEE THAT NOT ONE EYE WILL BE IN FOCUS.
thats just not so. Its about understanding your subject, understanding composition, and having control over aperture and speed, so that a confluence of decisions flow together at just the right time, burning the image you envisaged upon your sensor. So here are my Five Great Lies of Focus!
FOCUS IS ABOUT LENS CONTROL NO, ITS ABOUT UNDERSTANDING WHY YOUR CAMERA WILL FAIL!
MARTIN MIDDLEBROOK
In 2010 I undertook a project at West Midland Safari Park, to photograph all its major species for a series of limited edition prints. I had photographed these types of animals before and knew exactly what problems would lay ahead. I was doing a series of cropped-in portraits, with focus on the eye being critical for this style of imagery and subject. But I knew from experience that when shooting with very shallow depth of field (f/4.5 is de rigueur for wildlife portraits) the camera would, without fail, focus on the brow of the nose of the animal, throwing the eyes slightly out of focus. You dont see this when you take the shot, you dont see it at the time when reviewing the images, but when you get your star-studded selection home later that night, you will see that not one eye will be in focus. And you will ask yourself how has this happened. Well, it happens because we never have enough focusing points on our cameras; most users rarely toggle them anyway, so we allow the camera to chose and it will focus on the first solid structure it comes across, the nose, in this instance.
Avoiding this is so simple and yet often overlooked. Uprate your settings from ISO 100 to ISO 400 and suddenly you can get four times the depth of field. Suddenly you can shoot at f/7.1 and this will make all the difference the key elements of your image will have front-to-back focus, yet you will maintain the shallow depth-of-field portrait look. The point is that focus is as much about subject depth of field as it is about camera skills and accurate lenses all these things can be overcome simply by understanding the plane of focus. I have used this example before, but it applies equally here. I was once photographing a dog running towards me at high speed, on a hot sunny day. I originally shot at ISO 100, but the little mutt was always out of focus. So I uprated to ISO 1000, shot at f/16, significantly increased my plane of focus and got a series of perfectly focused shots. Because I was shooting with a 400mm lens, I still got perfect background and foreground blur, the subject was sharp and isolated, so you got the whole f/4.5 look, with all the risk of failure eradicated.
THERE ARE PLENTY OF OCCASIONS WHEN AUTOFOCUS WILL FAIL YOU, REGARDLESS OF YOUR PERSISTENCE: LOW LIGHT, GO SHOOTING THROUGH CONSTANTLY ONLINE MOVING OBJECTS, SMALL OBJECTS SET For more of Martins articles visit the website AGAINST BRIGHT SKIES ETC. www.photography
monthly.com
Autofocus ensured speed and accuracy in this image of children in Mumbai.
AUTOFOCUS IS ALWAYS QUICKER AND SAFER NO, MANUAL IS OFTEN BETTER!

I can think of a number of occasions when autofocus, while easier, is absolutely the wrong choice. Just two examples would be landscape and macro photography. Focus is a creative decision, as with all the other controllable parameters in photography. So, of course, you should have absolute control over it and autofocus will not always give you that. There are plenty of occasions when autofocus will fail you, regardless of your persistence: low light, shooting through constantly moving objects, small objects set against bright skies etc. We should chose our method of focus against some obvious criteria, technical and creative, so that we achieve the most efficient result for the image we are taking. Speed of capture, accuracy of capture, or likelihood of capture are three stand-out reasons that determine whether we should use auto, manual, or a combination of the two (which I will come to next). This image of a dandelion (below) was focused manually with a 90mm macro. We want absolute control over the most precise depth of field, which can never be achieved with autofocus. However, the antithesis to this is that there are occasions when autofocus is your bedfellow, when speed and accuracy are outside the gamut of manual dexterity. This image of a group of children (right) taken recently in Mumbai, India, is a good example. The kids were constantly moving back and forth in the frame. I set an aperture of f/13 and autofocused, which guaranteed me front-to-back, fast and accurate focus.
Using manual focus provided absolute control in this shot of a dandelion.
PHOTO ZONE
5 great lies of focus Martin Middlebrook
EXACTLY THE SAME SCENE IS GIVEN A TOTALLY DIFFERENT TREATMENT BY IGNORING RULES OF COMPOSITION AND THE RESTRICTIONS OF FOCUSING POINTS.
FOCUS IS ALWAYS AUTO OR MANUAL NO, IT CAN BE A PERFECT COMBINATION OF THE TWO!
I have a Canon EOS 5D MkII, and it has nine focusing points, arranged in a diamond formation in the central 50% of the frame. I always toggle between focus points because, after all, photography is about composition, so sticking to the central one is a big fail a lot of the time. The real problem is that if I use autofocus on a 5D MkII, then all my images will always be composed around the central 50% of the frame how very limiting, dont you think? If I want to focus on something off centre for compositional dynamics, then this is what I do. I use the central focusing point (always the most accurate) and autofocus on my subject. I then turn off autofocus and recompose my shot as required in the frame. In doing so I can place my subject anywhere in the remaining 50% of the frame that is not covered. We never think to do this, so we tend to see most images fall within a well-accepted compositional formula but it doesnt have to be this way. Using a combination of auto and manual focus is the most freeing expression of compositional release I know I use it always! Here are two illustrations (above right), one showing how the focus points are arranged on my camera and the other showing how limiting this is if I wish to place a critical element in, say, the top left-hand corner. There are plenty of solid reasons to ignore compositional formalities, so ditch autofocus and start to think outside of the diamond. Lets now look at what this means in reality. Below are images of the same landscape, shot in two different ways. The first shot uses the central focusing point, giving equal weight to both land and sky. For the second image I have focused using autofocus, then turned to manual and recomposed to give the sky complete dominance. Exactly the same scene is given a totally different treatment by ignoring rules of composition and the restrictions of focusing points. So when you wish to ignore compositional rules, use auto and manual in combination and break free from technical constraints.
MARTIN MIDDLEBROOK
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PHOTO ZONE
5 great lies of focus Martin Middlebrook
WE SHOULD ALWAYS FOCUS ON THE SUBJECT NO, SOMETIMES THE SUBJECT SHOULD BE DELIBERATELY OUT OF FOCUS!
Convention tells us that the subject should be in focus and furthermore it should be the essential bit that is in focus but of course there is no reason why this should be so. Sometimes we may wish to show an obvious disconnection, or indeed connection, between two elements. Sometimes, by throwing the subject out of focus, we are highlighting their value even more. Imagine I photograph two people, one standing maybe 10ft in front of the other; then I can choose to have both in full focus, or to have one or other in focus, or indeed to have neither in focus. So we have four images of the same two people in the same relational context, and yet each gives an entirely different message. When we consider focus, and how and where we might apply it, we should equally consider the following: the subject, the composition, the narrative, the relationship between subjects, visual subtlety or otherwise, and doubtless many other matters. Focus is not simply about making your subject sharp in the frame, its a method of telling a story In this picture (right) of a diner drinking wine, the focus is on the wine, the subject being offset and out of focus. Actually the most dominant element of the image is the figure and yet we have chosen to suppress it; we are trying to create an enticing relationship between the two. If we had focused on the diner we would have created an image of someone having supper, but by focusing on the wine we create an image of the pleasure of dining an emotionally different response altogether. Differential focus is a key element in photography. It provides depth to our images, and creates narrative. We never consider that depth of field and focus are the same thing, but of course they are.
The quality of the image overcomes any flaws in focus. Focusing on the wine highlights the pleasure of dining.
It is our decision to express how much information contained in an image is in focus or not by doing so we control the relationship between facets of the image, setting up dynamics that add to this storytelling. Issues of available light, for example, should not drive these types of decisions, but they are germane to the response to the scene you are capturing.
IN CONCLUSION
I wonder how often we consider what we mean when we discuss focus, whether we truly consider the implicit values. Its something we aim for in every shot, we half-depress that shutter and wait for the moment we think everything is in order. We rarely stop to contemplate what we are really doing, creatively or not. We should be asking ourselves a bunch of salient questions that ultimately create the image we aspire to, but we dont. Its a portrait, it must be f/4.5; a landscape, then f/16 it is. We dont consider that depth of field provides focus, we rarely consider how different lenses create different depths of field at the same aperture, and hence affect focus. We dont often consider offsetting elements within an image with differential focus. Focus is not about digit dexterity and fast lenses, it is completely about decisions that affect the ultimate look of your photographs.
EVERY IMAGE SHOULD AIM FOR FOCUS NO, SOMETIMES JUST GETTING THE IMAGE IS MORE IMPORTANT!
We have many parameters we can control in photography and some take precedence, depending upon creative requirements and technical restrictions. Sometimes, just sometimes, all of them should be thrown out the window, because getting any kind of shot at all is more important. The newspapers of the world are filled every day with out-of-focus, overexposed, unsharp images. Some of the greatest images ever taken are technically flawed, but the photographer couldnt have cared less at the time just getting the image was all. This is when, as photographers, we have to understand what is most important at the time. A couple of years ago I travelled to Uganda to photograph lions. In the middle of the night we came across a pride on a kill, and the only way I could get any shots was to shoot at ISO 16000. There was no point deliberating, I had travelled for thousands of miles and spent thousands of pounds, and I couldnt come back empty-handed. Something had to give and quality was it. The same is true of focus. Given a set of circumstances it is the first thing to fail. Unlike exposure or speed, or creative depth of field, absolute focus has no tolerance you are either in focus or not. But maybe sometimes it doesnt matter that much. I have a set of standards that define if images make it into my portfolio and mostly
slightly out-of-focus ones dont pass muster. Just occasionally however, I look at an image, I consider the circumstances under which I took them and, though they are flawed, I pass them all the same because a good image is a good image, regardless. So maybe we should consider the image first and not worry about some of the less important technical limits. I love this image of the child (above) and yet ordinarily I would not let it through, because the focus is soft. Its subtle but its there. I was shooting at f/11 so I have a good depth of focus, but its a little too much on the wall, not quite enough on the child. Everything else works, though, so it sneaks in for me. PM
MARTIN MIDDLEBROOK
EMILYS PEOPLE
EMILY ANDERSEN
Emily is a veteran portrait photographer. A selection of her images forms part of the National Portrait Gallerys permanent collection.
This month Emily describes how she photographed portraits for the Imperial Cancer Research Fund to promote breast cancer awareness.
IN AUGUST 2000 I WAS CALLED BY THE PUBLICITY DEPARTMENT OF THE IMPERIAL CANCER RESEARCH FUND AND ASKED WHETHER I WOULD PHOTOGRAPH ITS CAMPAIGN TO PROMOTE BREAST CANCER AWARENESS. The PR in charge had commissioned me for the Heritage Lottery fund for many years. The concept was to have a series of photographs of celebrities with a person or people who supported them. They would hold a puppy mascot soft toy or a campaign ribbon. Leading the campaign were TV presenter Davina McCall abseiling for hope; composer Michael Nyman and his daughters and granddaughter; TV presenter Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and his daughters; actor Nickolas Grace and actress Honor Blackman; comedians Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins (Mel and Sue); actresses Annette Crosbie and daughter Selina Griffiths; and actress Fiona Fullerton and her friend, commissioning editor Elaine Pyke. There was a four-week deadline. The PR arranged the shoots and as there were so many people giving their time we had to fit around them. Crosbie wanted to be photographed at her house in west London and Llewelyn-Bowen at his house in south-east London. Nyman, Blackman, Mel and Sue and Fullerton wanted to be photographed in a studio. The studio shoot was the most difficult to set up as there were so many people to synchronise. A day was eventually found when they could all make it; I booked a centrally located studio, hair and make-up, and an assistant, Bec, whom I have used for many years. She is calm and personable, patient and technically experienced. She knows the lighting setups I like, and works equally well with digital and film. The studio was booked for the whole day so the models could choose their preferred slot; it was arranged that they would be dropped off and picked up by car. I arrived with Bec at 9am and we had a couple of hours to set up before the first shot. I brought three Bowens flashes and stands, and the studio had Quad flash heads if we needed them.
Nickolas Grace and Honor Blackman. Davina McCall.
LITTLE CHILDREN ARE DIFFICULT TO WORK WITH UNLESS YOU SPECIALISE IN THEM AND HAVE FOUND A KNACK; THE ATTENTION SPAN IS SHORT, SO BEC AND I WORKED FAST FOR THAT ONE.
The client wanted the people photographed against a white background. We were shooting on the ground floor, which had a white cove, so this worked well. Bec set up a 3ft softbox on the 1,500W light for the subjects, and two silver brollies on the other two 1,000W lights for the background. The lights on the background were two stops open from the f-stop on the subjects (f/11) to keep it bright white. We used large white poly reflectors to bounce light on to the subjects to keep the lighting soft, and to stop flare coming into the lens from the lights on the background. I brought two Nikon FE2 bodies, 35mm, 50mm, 80mm and 120mm lenses, and the Hasselblad 500C/M with an 80mm lens and Polaroid back. I was shooting 35mm 400 ASA Fujicolor negative professional film on a Nikon FE2. We shot a few Fuji instants before the arrival of the first models, Michael Nyman with his daughters and granddaughter. I already knew Nyman from photographing him for my project on fathers and daughters, and also for a commission from GQ magazine. Little children are difficult to work with unless you specialise in them and have found a knack; the attention span is short, so Bec and I worked fast for that one. I had about 15 minutes before the child started crying. The Nikon camera had a 35mm lens and was set at 1/60sec at f/22 so I could handhold with a good depth of focus. As we were shooting, Blackman and Grace arrived early and had their hair and make-up done while they were waiting. It was lunchtime and sandwiches arrived to keep people occupied. Blackman and Grace are long-term professionals and they were particular about the make-up, and the pose had to be right. They looked at many Polaroids to check the details. This shoot took about an hour. I handheld all the next studio shots at 1/60sec at f/16 with either the 50mm or 35mm lens. The next people to arrive were Mel and Sue who were bouncy and relaxed about having their photograph taken; this shot took about45 minutes. The last people of the day were Fullerton and Pyke, who were relaxed to work with, which was fortunate because by now we were quite tired. For the first two location shoots I had plenty of time to set up and photograph. For the Crosbie shoot I went to her house with a 9ft white Colorama that I put up in her greenhouse on portable stands and lit with the Bowens flash kit. I combined the daylight with the flash and set the Nikon at 1/60sec at f/8 with a 50mm lens. For the Llewelyn-Bowen portrait I went to his house on the South Circular on a Sunday, as this was the day he could be there with his young children. I used the Colorama backdrop and lit with the Bowens with the 35mm lens on the Nikon at 1/60sec at f/11. The final shot was of Davina McCall abseiling, which took place on the roof of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund headquarters in Lincolns Inn Fields. I arrived at 6am on a misty day. Abseiling experts were already there to help when she arrived at 7am. She was strapped into a harness and lowered over the wall, where she hung for a few minutes to be photographed. I lit the photograph with a portable Metz flash at 1/60sec at f/8. She was going to another job afterwards so we had to work as quickly as possible. Fortunately, working with professionals means that in a photograph they can almost always appear to be enjoying themselves, even when hanging off a building. PM www.andersenphotographic.org
EMILYS TOP TIPS

Open an account with at least one photographic hire company. You may need extra lights, cameras or lenses. Book the studio close to the hire company if possible. Be prepared to set up and shoot fast. Check the studio has lights you can use as extras and/or in case your lights fail. Work with an assistant you know, like and can trust under pressure. On a shoot like this, if the budget stretches, have a second assistant too.
EMILY ANDERSEN / JANUSZ PODRAZIK
To read more of Emilys columns and for more advice from the pros visit the website www.photographymonthly.com
& PHOTO COMPETITION

M A G A Z I N E
FRANCE IN THE FRAME

Win a break in SaintMalo, a ferry trip or a hamper of luxury French goodies
Each month FRANCE Magazine brings you hundreds of the most beautiful photographs of France. Now its your turn to capture it with your camera and be in with a chance of winning a great prize. This years theme: France in the Frame
SPONSORED BY
1ST PRIZE
A two-night break for two people in Saint-Malo PLUS your picture in the FRANCE Calendar 2012!
Our first prize is a fabulous two-night break for two people in the historic Breton town of Saint-Malo, courtesy of Brittany Ferries. You will be travelling to SaintMalo by ferry and staying in a lovely hotel in the pretty port which is famous for its ancient walled town and cobbled streets. Saint-Malo is also the perfect base from which to visit the charming coastline of Brittany, the lovely town of Dinard and the picture-postcard village of Dinan. The winning photograph will also appear in the FRANCE Calendar 2012, the popular calendar produced by the FRANCE Magazine team every year, full of high-quality images.
2ND PRIZE
PortsmouthCherbourg return ferry trip The second prize winner will receive a fabulous return ferry trip for a car and up to four passengers on the popular Portsmouth to Cherbourg route, courtesy of Brittany Ferries
3RD PRIZE
A Made in Provence hamper worth 100 The luxury gift hamper courtesy of Made in Provence contains a selection of traditional artisan food and scented gifts from the south of France, including truffle-infused olive oil and balsamic vinegar and a Provence lavender organic gift set. www.madeinprovence.co.uk
Whether you choose to simply sail with Brittany Ferries or take one of their award-winning holidays, you can mix and match any of the Brittany Ferries services from Portsmouth, Poole or Plymouth to France or Spain, and plan a route thats just right for you. Sail to France by day, overnight, or go high-speed and arrive in as little as 2 hours. Choose to arrive at Caen, Cherbourg, Saint-Malo or Roscoff. Enjoy a relaxing overnight cruise to Spain ideal for touring southwest France. Brittany Ferries direct routes to the holiday regions will save you miles of driving, plus money on fuel, tolls and overnight stops. Holidays too! Take your pick from a range of award-winning gtes, cottages, hotels and apartments all for less than youd expect. To find out more visit brittanyferries.com or call 0871 244 1444
HOW TO ENTER Pictures for this years competition must be in a landscape format, in colour and can only be submitted digitally. You can enter up
to three pictures per person. For full terms and conditions, to register and to enter, visit: www.francemag.com and click on the link.
Follow the instructions for filling in the contact details form and uploading your pictures. Deadline for submissions 20 July 2011.
All prizes are subject to availability. Depending on the contact details you give us, FRANCE Magazine and Photography Monthly may mail, email, or phone you with offers products or services reflecting your preferences. If you do not wish to be contacted by us or third parties, please indicate this on your entry.
PODCAST
In case you missed them
WERE ON YOUR
Thanks to everyone who has listened to our monthly podcasts over the past two years. In case you missed any, they are available via the website and can be downloaded from iTunes.
WAVELENGTH
FEBRUARY 2011
ISSUE PODCAST Grant and Sean discuss their time at the CES Show in Las Vegas and reveal all their favourite things, releases and dishes from Sin City.
TAKEN FROM PM, SEPTEMBER 2010 ISSUE, GRAHAM WATSON DISCUSSES CYCLING PHOTOGRAPHY
SPECIAL ISSUE
TEST ZONE AWARDS SPECIAL PODCAST Grant and Sean discuss the winners of this years Test Zone Awards, as featured in the December issue of the magazine.
JANUARY 2011
MASTERS SPECIAL PODCAST In this months masters special podcast, Sean speaks to Steve Bloom about his creative approach to photographing wildlife, his career and the future of photography. PM
JULY 2011
ISSUE PODCAST The Editor of Photography Monthly, Grant Scott, and deputy editor Sean Samuels discuss the latest news and developments from the world of photography. The podcast goes live on 15 June 2011.
THE BACK CATALOGUE All of our podcasts featuring
APRIL 2011
ISSUE PODCAST Grant Scott and Sean Samuels speak about the latest releases and innovations from the world of photographer interviews and photography and the interesting industry news specials are available online at people and products they encountered www.photography at the Focus on Imaging 2011 exhibition monthly.com at Birmingham NEC.
BLACK AND WHITE DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY

If you have considered exploring the creative possibilities of black and white, this book by award-winning editorial and commercial photographer Chris Bucher will give you not only the necessary tools and guidance, but also the inspiration to venture into a new and exciting monochromatic world. For your chance to win a copy, worth 19.99, enter our online competition at www.photographymonthly.com
JUNE 2011
SPECIAL PODCAST The Editor of Photography Monthly, Grant Scott, and deputy editor of Professional Photographer Eleanor OKane speak to PMs deputy editor, Sean Samuels, reporting from the New York Photo Festival 2011.
SPECIAL PODCAST
NIKON MASTERMIND FINAL The final two contestants of our Mastermind quiz, sponsored by Nikon, go head to head to see who will win the Nikon D3s high-end DSLR worth 4,200. Find out who is the PM Mastermind.
MARCH 2011 MAY 2011

ISSUE PODCAST Grant Scott and Sean Samuels speak about their experiences shooting different subjects and in different locations 24 hours a day and discuss the work featured in the magazine. ISSUE PODCAST Grant Scott and Sean Samuels speak to National Geographic photographer Jim Richardson about his wonderful landscape work made in the Hebrides. They also discuss the latest news from the world of photography.
WIN!
GO WITH THE FLOW

HOLD THE FRONT PAGE
FRAMES
At the forefront of the DSLR film revolution, international news network Al Jazeera has promoted photojournalism and film making to produce stunning films reflecting whats going on in the world. It has created a new show called Frames which will run two-minute character-driven films. Embracing multi-platform uses, these films are not just for the online world, but are seen on TV around the world too, and are shot predominantly on DSLRs. http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/frames
WORKFLOW
A lot of film makers quite often dismiss the Adobes powerful Creative Suite as the pretender on the market, opting to use other NLEs (non-linear editing software) such as Final Cut and Avid. But in the background, the Adobe elves have been listening to their users and creating a system that wields unimaginable power. We have seen film makers switching their allegiance to Adobe for its dynamic link abilities which allow you to link After Effects, Photoshop and Premiere in a fantastic way: when you make changes in one program, it will update automatically in the others, without the use of rendering (which refers to the generation, via computer, of each individual frame, which when strung together forms a fluid video). It is most intuitive. The most relevant step that affects you as a film maker is the way Adobe engineers designed Premiere Pro to work with video in its native format unlike Final Cut and Avid which need you to transcode or wrap the video to make it editable. Moving with the times, the makers of Sucker (a sci-fi, comic-book film) switched from Avid and Final Cut Pro (FCP) to Adobe CS5 to take advantage of a streamlined RED workflow. With FCP, they had to down-convert footage to ProRes QuickTime. The importance of your NLE being able to do this is self-evident. How many of you are fed up with having to make this extra step of transcoding your footage before you edit? It is the biggest bugbear of editors. Premiere Pro CS5 removes this unnecessary step and allows you to scrub HD on the timeline in real time with effects added. It has always been my first choice, especially now as a film maker when DSLRs are becoming my first choice in cameras. Although this software is expensive (with an RRP of 810), after your first purchase, all future releases are a fraction of the cost to update. www.adobe.com/uk
Workflow and post-production are essential parts of creating films, so this month JOHN CAMPBELL turns his attention to workflow solutions. As well as providing inspiration and news from the frontline, he also looks at the accessibility and different types of external record buttons for DSLRs today.
A PRIME EXAMPLE
Canon Australia has shot the companys first TV commercial using its own DSLRs, a move which acknowledges that convergence is here to stay. The DSLRs capability to shoot high-end video is something Canon will be working to improve on in a new HD-DSLR camera it is apparently testing. The advert for the EOS range appeared on TV and in cinemas in Australia. In related news Ram Shani has shot a SEAT car commercial, the first of its kind done in Israel, made with Canon EOS 5Ds and 7Ds, and a Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1. He was happy with the results; even after heavy grading it holds up well on a big screen. www.youtube.com/watch?v=XksSv1zjlv0
HDR VIDEO SOLUTION

Anyone who dabbles in colour correction in post-production will be delighted to hear that a new picture style can be downloaded on to your Canon DSLR that allows you to shoot with a high dynamic range. Technicolor CineStyle lets you record better shadow and highlight detail, giving you greater control of the final look of your film. Be warned when you first shoot with this picture style it will look very flat. This is because you want the high dynamic range to enable you to control colour and contrast in post. Dont use this picture style unless you intend to do post-production work as you will be disappointed with the results. Leading DSLR film maker Philip Bloom tweeted: The @technincolorco Canon PP is the best thing to happen to the Canons since the introduction of manual control. www.technicolor.com/en/hi/cinema/filmmaking/digital-printer-lights/cinestyle
FILM SCHOOL
Shooting film on your DSLR John Campbell
FILMS TO WATCH
SEVERED DREAMS
This month I have an eclectic mix of films for you to take a look at. The first is a story-led film, written, directed and edited by Ian Bucknole. Severed Dreams is a short film about a boys move from boyhood to manhood, accompanied by his magical toy robot, who messes up our protagonists life. This is a beautifully shot film with nice cinematography, sharp editing and a well-balanced soundtrack that underscores the story though it was in danger of becoming more a music video than a film. It was shot in Cornwall for less than 1,000 on a Canon EOS 5D MkII and 550D. http://vimeo.com/22030283
KIT CHECK
I have been asked by a fellow film maker who is just getting started with a DSLR about the practicalities of using one to film, since they are designed with photographers in mind. He was especially interested in the location and accessibility of the record button, and pointed out that this could be quite fiddly to locate when you had the camera on a rig and were shooting run and gun, as he is used to a thumb trigger and zoom control unit to operate his DigiBeta camera. This is a question that comes up often, especially from older users who are more familiar with purpose-built cameras. Here are two options that will help to tackle this problem.
The first is 35mods DSLR Video Trigger, which works with the Shoot RC5 Wireless Remote or Canons RC-6 Wireless Remote Controller (pictured). It has a positionable 7in-long optic attachment that works when mounted on an HD-DSLR rig. This allows the operator to press a button from the handle to trigger the video start-and-stop function on most Canon DSLRs that record HD video. It will work with the Canon EOS 5D MkII, 7D, 60D, 550D and 600D. Priced at only $35 (21) plus shipping, this is a cheap way of solving the record button issue and will undoubtedly make your life a lot easier when shooting. http://35mod.com The FLEX RC-1 is a handle-mounted DSLR remote trigger that will control HD video start-and-stop functions on the Canon EOS 5D and 7D. You can either mount it on a rig (as long as you keep it in line of sight of the remote sensor) or have it totally remote, up to a metre away. The arm can extend up to 12in and coils down to about 3in. The maximum clamp diameter is 1.5in and it is powered by readily available AAA batteries. The trigger looks clunky but will be robust enough for any shoot. Its ability to be free from the camera rig means an assistant can trigger the record, allowing you to focus on composition and movement. List price $155 (95). http://store.zacuto.com/DSLR-Remote-Trigger.html
PARIS FASHION WEEK

This film is by director Frank Suffert and director of photography Sebastian Wiegrtner, who were finally allowed to publish their work made for Wolfgang Joop and Galeria Kaufhof during Paris Fashion Week. It is stunningly shot and the cinematography is excellent. As regards the structure of the film, each shot is more like a photograph than a piece of film, capturing moments in time with people in thought and focusing on what they are doing. This is a true documentary, allowing the action to unfold without interference from the film maker. Again, the music underscores the film to provide a constant flow to the imagery. It was shot on a Canon EOS 5D MkII and a Canon 7D with Zeiss CP.2 35, 50 and 85mm lenses. http://wiegaertnerfilms.com/films/ short-film-paris-fashion-week
TIPS
This months kit check column looks at remote functions for you to control the record facilities on your camera these are extra units that you have usually bolted on to your rig but, as you may have found, there are many ways around problems when dealing with DSLRs. Living in the world of apps, the company onONE Software has designed one for your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad where you can remotely fire off shots and control camera settings, such as shutter speed, aperture, white balance and more. You can, apparently, view images saved on your camera and even look through the viewfinder remotely. www.ononesoftware.com/products/ dslr-camera-remote
PENALTY SHOOTOUT
The last film is more of a behind-the-scenes look at a setup for a video shoot that was then used in an online game to get people excited about the 2010 football World Cup in South Africa. It involved a shootout where you could select to be the penalty taker or goalkeeper. From there you would select where you were going to kick the ball or, as the keeper, where you were going to dive to make the save. The film was complicated to make, taking two days to shoot with nine Canon EOS 5Ds and 158 setups. It is an amazing process to look at and, believe me, not an easy one to undertake in this short time frame. www.hurlbutvisuals.com/blog/2011/04/08 /9-5ds-capture-the-power-of-a-shot-ongoal-for-yahoo-sports-world-cup-2010
BIOGRAPHY
John Campbell received his MA in film from the International Film School, Wales. He won the cinematography award at the Bristol International Film Festival for a short film called Blue Morning You in 1999. He now works as a freelance film maker for public bodies and arts organisations across the UK and mainland Europe.
To read more of Johns Film School columns visit www.photographymonthly.com
THE SHINING
The world of reflectors is vast and can feel confusing. They are available in a range of colours and sizes, each suitable for different shooting environments, and achieve contrasting results. So we asked JESSICA LAMB to do all the hard work for you and explain the options to ensure you make the right choice for your work.
CALIFORNIA SUNBOUNCE
www.sunbounce-usa.com
Sunbounce has an extensive range of products, including rectangular reflectors which come in four sizes: Micro Mini, Mini, Pro and Big. The super-light collapsible frame is compatible with all of its screens, allowing you to turn the reflector into a diffuser or just change the colour. The frames are made from aluminium and can be extended to 135cm and collapsed down to just 8cm. The frame has bars and integrated clamp which allow you to attach the reflector to a tripod or simply hold it comfortably in your hand. As well as the rectangular reflectors Sunbounce has a circular make called Sun Movers, which come in two colours. When you get a reflector from Sunbounce you are buying a frame and the selected screen; interchangeable screens are available from the website. 130/190cm (c4ft/6ft) Pro frame and gold/white screen, 329 (289), from www.californiasunbounceshop.com
PERFECT FOR:
Outdoor use; larger reflectors need less precision and can light larger areas or subjects. The aluminium frame makes it easier to hold and position.
Regardless of the size and colour of your reflector, it will work best when placed directly opposite the light source. Unfortunately, this isnt always possible and it will take time, practice and patience to learn how to place and angle reflectors effectively. However, by positioning your model at different angles to the light source you will quickly learn where to put a reflector so it delivers the results you want.
PHOTO ZONE
Reflectors Jessica Lamb
BEST FOR
WESTCOTT
www.fjwestcott.com
As well as single reflectors, Westcott produces reflector kits which consist of two diffusion panels (frames) and four different slip covers, allowing you to achieve different effects with just one kit. Along with reflectors Westcott also manufactures lighting stands and accessories. The single reflectors come in four colour combinations, and six sizes, and can be collapsed to a third of their open size. Reflectors from Westcott are fairly priced and each comes with a nylon carry case and instructional DVD. 20in (50cm) gold/white reflector (1204 style), $38.10 (23.50)
PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY
PERFECT FOR:
Head shots and products; measuring only 20in at its widest the 1204 style reflector is ideal for portraits or when you need to be very precise and illuminate a small area.
GO ONLINE For more kit and gadget

LASTOLITE
www.lastolite.com
Reflectors come in many variations with Lastolite; alongside standard circular reflectors it produces UpLite, Skylite and TriGrip options. TriGrip is the latest addition to the range; the triangular frame features a moulded handle, making it easier to hold, perfect for situations where a smaller reflector is required. The classic circular reflectors come in six sizes and seven colour combinations. The circular reflectors are collapsible to a third of their original size, making them portable and easy to pop up. Lastolite gives a lifetime guarantee on its reflectors rims. 1.2m (47in) Lastolite large TriGrip Sunlite/soft silver, 80, available from www.calumetphoto.co.uk
news, visit the website www.photography monthly.com
PERFECT FOR:
Lighting larger areas or subjects with a soft warming affect, great for both outdoor and studio use.
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KOOD Pro ball head:
Quick release sliding platform with spring loaded safety pin Spirit level Twin knobs for friction adjustment and lock Nylon ball seating for smooth operation 360 scale and indicator for panoramic photography Head sizes available/max weight of camera and lens: 22mm 25mm 28mm 8kilos 12kilos 15kilos
KOOD CF224
Carbon Fibre tripod
A professional field tripod for all types of locations.
Cast alloy stock head with: Spirit level Twin bolt leg fixing Winged lock for centre column Carry strap eyelet Centre column with: 14/ 38 Screw post Wide circular platform with 3 ball head lock screws Reversible column Hanging Hook Legs: Carbon fibre legs with adjustable leg ratchets for uneven ground 4-section legs (22mm, 19mm, 16mm,13mm) Large lock grips - for easy adjustment in the cold Choice of retractable rubber feet or spikes 3 fixed angle on each leg up to 80 Comes with: Tripod carrying strap Extra short centre column used with legs splayed at minimum operating height Toolkit in case Heavy duty waterproof bag with accessories pocket Instructions Operating height min: 16.5cm (short centre column), max: 137cm (without head). Weight 0.94 kilos. Will support 2.5 kilos.
Adjustable leg stops for versatility offering 3 fixed angle leg stops for each leg - up to 80.
Rubber and spiked feet
KOOD STUDIO ACCESSORIES

Folding reflectors: Double sided cover giving diffuser, black, white, silver and gold with carry case. Available in 50cm, 80cm, 107cm, 92 x 122cm and round with hand grip.
Carry strap and toolkit included
Umbrellas: Fits all makes except Elichrome. Soft White, White, Gold, Silver, High Gloss Silver with dimples. Available as 24cm, 33cm and 40cm.
Folding product light tents: With white, blue, red, black back grounds. Available in 50cm, 90cm, 120cm
CAN BE ORDERED FROM ANY INDEPENDENT RETAILER
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KOOD
KOOD International Limited, Unit 6, Wellington Road, London Colney AL2 1EY Tel: 01727 823812 Fax: 01727 823336 E-mail: info@koodinternational.com / koodinternational@gmail.com
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PHOTO ZONE
Reflectors Jessica Lamb
WHY ALL THE SIZES?

Reflectors come in many sizes for different uses. For example, a smaller reflector would be ideal when you need to light a compact area or just a face, but getting its positioning just right can be difficult. Larger reflectors are suitable for lighting a bigger area and can be used farther away from the subject; they also take less time and precision to position. Larger reflectors can also be used to diffuse harsh reflections on the subject.
WHY ALL THE COLOURS?

SILVER: Silver gives you a neutral starting point, which is important for both film and stills. Silver is great for accentuating detail and gives off the brightest reflection. SILVER/WHITE: These reflectors are excellent for adding contrast. GOLD/WHITE: Gold and white reflectors are ideal for creating a bit of warmth. SOFT SUN/WHITE: These colours subtly warm up skin tone and are used in wedding and portrait work because the soft sun does not add false colour. ZEBRA/WHITE: The zig-zag silver and gold coated surface reflects light warmly. It creates healthy-looking skin tones in portraits, an effect which is more noticeable in cooler, rather than warmer, ambient light. BLACK REFLECTORS: These are useful for making sure light isnt reflected on shiny surfaces or areas which might ruin the shot.
WEXPRO www.warehouseexpress.com
Online retailer Warehouse Express has created its own range of reflectors, available in six sizes. As well as single reflectors, WexPro features five-in-one and seven-in-one kits. All of the WexPro reflectors can collapse to a third of their original size and come in a carry bag. 110cm (43in) silver/gold (1518795), 20
A WEXPRO 110CM SILVER/WHITE REFLECTOR. GO ONLINE TO ENTER AT

WIN!
PERFECT FOR:
Group portraits; though fairly large this 110cm reflector is portable and comfortable to hold.
INTERFIT www.interfitphotographic.com
Interfit produces reflectors in four different sizes, with its smallest measuring just 30cm which is ideal when shooting products. Single reflectors from Interfit come in three colour combinations and the company also makes five-in-one kits, allowing you to achieve five different effects from one frame. 82cm (32in) silver/white (INT233), 31.60
PERFECT FOR:
Portraits; shooting indoors or out, this reflector is ideal for providing a neutral starting point and for adding contrast.
WHY NOT CONSIDER A REFLECTOR BRACKET...

The aluminium INT274 adjustable reflector bracket from Interfit (pictured below) is an ideal piece of kit to have to hand for any shoot. It allows you to secure your reflector to the height and position needed, and will support up to a42in reflector. The bracket is compatible with most lighting stands. 27.99.
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IN! W
FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN a box of Canson Infinity HighGloss Premium RC 315gsm A3 photo paper, worth 65.16, simply upload your best travel pictures to the Photography Monthly gallery. This extra-white photographic paper offers vivid colours and deep blacks, coupled with excellent image sharpness, with a resolution of up to 5,760dpi. Compatible with pigmented and dye inks, this paper uses an acid-free base to ensure your prints stand the test of time. To get you started and inspired, we have included some of your pictures and others by the PM team, but were sure you can do better than us!
Zane Joynt Majestic sunset
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TAKING PICTURES
READERS PICTURES
Ben Moore Beach boys Chris Ogden Bonavista lighthouse, Newfoundland
Andy Barnes Marina Bay Sands resort, Singapore
Kevin Donnelly Beach life
READERS CHALLENGE
Upload to our gallery to win prizes Travel
PM TEAM PICTURES
KELLY WEECH FEATURES ASSISTANT PHOTOGRAPHY MONTHLY This image was taken in Siem Reap, Cambodia. One evening we went to see a show which consisted of traditional music and dance. Although it was low light I managed to get one shot which I particularly liked. To capture this image required patience and a steady hand. I used a Canon EOS 20D with an 18-55mm lens.
ELEANOR OKANE DEPUTY EDITOR PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER I took this picture on a weekend break to Seville, in southern Spain, which has the largest Gothic cathedral in the world; with its lavish interior and ornate exterior, the building is a photographers dream. I was attracted by the elaborate detail and how the towers soar into the blue sky. GRANT SCOTT EDITOR PHOTOGRAPHY MONTHLY This was taken in an Arabic garden in the north west of Mallorca. I couldnt resist the symmetrical composition created by the reflection, and the sense of promise that the light and garden at the end of the tunnel have created.
Glen Unsworth Snake boy
Paul Samuels Lake Tekapo, New Zealand
SEAN SAMUELS DEPUTY EDITOR PHOTOGRAPHY MONTHLY I immediately fell in love with Marseille when I visited the city several years ago. It is a photographers mecca with an incredible mix of people, architecture, culture, food and seafaring life. This scene is one of my favourite memories.
For more readers images and to upload to the gallery visit the website at www.photographymonthly.com
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Each month we bring you the reviews you need to make sure you buy the right equipment, for the right reasons
TEST ZONE NIKON

A 50mm prime lens is a great addition to any photographers kit. Its natural perspective makes it ideal for portraits and a great all-rounder. We take a look at this affordable lens from Nikon and explain why it is worth considering.
ONLY THE VERY BEST KIT
50MM F/1.8 LENS
TOP news and ! TIP For more

reviews on the latest kit and technology visit the website at
www.photography monthly.com
FACT: For many years the defining documentary camera was the small format rangefinder combined with a 50mm lens. Some of the world's best-known photographers, including Henri Cartier-Bresson, built their careers on this combination.
8 REASONS TO BUY
1
FAST AND BRIGHT
COMPATIBILITY
The fast maximum aperture of f/1.8 makes the AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G lens suitable in low-light or when shallow depth of field is required. It is ideal when flash is not appropriate or desired.
2
The 50mm lens can be used with Nikon FX-format DSLRs as well as offering a 75mm (equivalent) focal length when used with Nikon DX-format DSLRs.
6
SMOOTH AS SILK
LIGHT TOUCH
This lens allows you to single out subjects with smooth bokeh or shoot with available light and still capture striking, sharp images. For the price we are certainly not complaining.
3
Weighing only 185g and featuring a weather-sealed metal mount, this lightweight and compact take anywhere lens is perfect for portraiture or general photography.
7
ALL-NEW OPTICS
GREAT VALUE
The optical design comprises seven elements in six groups, including one aspherical element for superb image quality.
4
With its combination of speed and quality optics at an RRP of 199.99, it deserves a place in the bag of every photographer on a budget.
8
QUIET AS A MOUSE
EXTRAS
PM
The dedicated Silent Wave Motor ensures an autofocus that is discreet but accurate.
It is supplied with a lens hood, HB-47, and a soft pouch, CL-1013. www.nikon.co.uk
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TAKE A CLOSER LOOK
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TEST ZONE
Camera review Fujifilm FinePix HS20EXR
LETS GO FOR A LITTLE W ALK

ELEANOR OKANE tries one of the latest bridge cameras to hit the market, the Fujifilm FinePix HS20EXR, to find out if its the answer to her countryside conundrum.
I FREQUENTLY ROAM THE COTSWOLDS, AMID SOME OF ENGLANDS MOST BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPES and I love to capture my walks on camera. The problem is this is not just any old walking, its Nordic walking, which means striding through Englands countryside with poles. While this means if the figures are to be believed I burn up to 50% more calories than regular ramblers, it makes taking pictures on my walks rather awkward. So I have a conundrum: do I bring my DSLR, which is better suited for capturing the stunning landscapes I roam or do I tuck a compact into my pocket, which is quick and easy to use but limited in focal range? Ive never been sure about bridge cameras, not quite seeing the point of them, so would the opportunity to try one mean the end of my Nordic nightmares, I wondered? To test it in the field and over the wolds I brought along Fujifilms new FinePix HS20EXR on a half-days walk. This is Fujifilms latest bridge model, equipped with a 16MP sensor and a mighty-sounding 24-720mm manual lens with 30x optical zoom. On first handling the camera had a pleasing feel, chunky enough to feel rugged but not too cumbersome, especially as I now had no need to cart any lenses around. The non-slip casing added to the impression that this camera might make an agreeable countryside companion. The camera required four AA batteries, which surprised me at first, but having been left without power on overnight camping trips, I realised that as long as I carried some batteries, this could actually be a good thing. Having such a long focal length on a fixed lens camera came as something of a novelty: cue lots of unnecessary extreme close-ups on your friends and family to test just how close you can get. My walking companion who happens to be photojournalist and is used to dashing around to get her pictures did
On the front is a 24-720mm lens with 30x optical zoom. The rotating screen makes light work of tight angles.
comment on it being something of a lazy photographers camera due to the long lens. However, we were both quite taken by the ability to zoom in close and capture the local wildlife without having to cause too much disturbance. This is definitely a bonus in the great outdoors and something I couldnt have done with my compact. Be prepared to lose some quality with such a wide focal range but thats to be expected at this price. In situations like this, its a case of deciding whether to take
advantage of the full focal range of the lens or move a little closer to the subject to maintain quality. The mechanical lens means you have to focus manually, which can be quite awkward if youre going in for an extreme close-up because the flash casing reaches quite far over the lens, making it hard to get a good grip in order to twist it. On the plus side theres possibly more control than you might have over a digital lens, so again its swings and roundabouts. Perhaps my companions lazy
TEST ZONE
Camera review Fujifilm FinePix HS20EXR
The camera is a versatile option for many shooting occasions.
TECH SPEC: FUJIFILM FINEPIX HS20EXR
90.7mm
130.6mm
comment had a ring of truth and Im just used to having the camera do everything for me. The camera sees the debut of Fujifilms EXR CMOS technology, which promises advances in resolution and a higher speed
Shooting in RAW and Jpeg mode, I did find the camera a bit sluggish, but at the price its not something to get upset about. After all, for much of the time I was capturing the English countryside, rather than embarking on urban street photography. Cows dont move terribly quickly, dry stone walls even less so. In social situations, the camera also has some nice features that make it fun to use. The 3in LDC monitor flips out and can be angled, handy when I needed to reach over the heads of the crowd at a wedding; its also good for watching back any HD video you capture. The panorama mode allows you to pan in stills
126mm (Depth)
MEGAPIXELS SENSOR TYPE STORAGE MEDIA FILE FORMAT
PERSONALLY, WHEN I WANTED TO TRY OUT THE

AUTO SETTINGS OR DIDNT HAVE TIME TO MAKE CREATIVE DECISIONS I PUT MY TRUST IN THE EXR TECHNOLOGY AND IT DIDNT DISAPPOINT.
sensor. This technology is also used in the HD video mode, so filming in low-light conditions is possible. This technology means that as well as offering the usual auto setting, theres an EXR button on the dial. On selecting this you are presented with another set of options. You can stick with the basic EXR auto function, which adjusts the settings for individual scenes, or select from the range of adjustable EXR options such as resolution priority for shooting subjects in detail, high ISO & low noise for clear shots and D-Range priority to capture tonality in bright scenes. Its like a super auto setting. Where this leaves the plain old auto setting, Im not sure, but the manual suggests this is a simple point and shoot for first-time users, which seems sensible if the possibilities of the EXR system are liable to confound a beginner. Personally, when I wanted to try out the auto settings or didnt have time to make creative decisions I put my trust in the EXR technology and it didnt disappoint. mode either 120, 180 or 360 to automatically create one still image. If you want to fully embrace the variety of automatic creative settings on offer, there are a huge number of different scene settings that cope with everything from natural light to beach photography. There are even separate settings for photographing cats and dogs respectively, although I didnt quite get to the bottom of why they required separate settings. Despite my initial doubts about using a bridge camera, I came to enjoy the Fujifilm FinePix HS20EXR for its versatility. For those looking for a creative step up from a compact but still unsure about swapping lenses in different situations it would be an option. There are more than enough creative settings to cope with most situations but theres still scope for learning through use of the manual settings and in understanding why the pre-settings are set the way they are. PM http://fujifilm.co.uk
FACE DETECTION SHUTTER SPEED
EXPOSURE COMPENSATION SELF-TIMER POWER SUPPLY
OTHER FUNCTIONS
TERMINAL
LENS IMAGE STABILIZER LCD MONITOR
WEIGHT PRICE
16.0 1/2in EXR CMOS Internal memory SD/SDHC/SDXC card Still image Jpeg/ RAW, Movie H.264, Sound WAVE, stereo Yes Auto mode 1/4sec to 1/4,000sec, other modes 30sec to 1/4,000sec -2.0 EV to +2.0 EV 1/3 EV step Approx 10sec, 2sec delay 4 AA batteries and CP-04 with AC power adapter AC-5VX PictBridge, Exif Print, 35 languages, time difference, silent mode Video output NTSC/ PAL, digital interface USB 2.0, HDMI mini connection 30x optical zoom CMOS shift type 3in approx, 460,000 dots, TFT colour approx 100% coverage 636g (730g inc accessories) 399
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Park Cameras - one of the UK's Leading Professional Dealers SUPERB DX-FORMAT SLR PACKED WITH CREATIVE FEATURES
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EOS 600D + 18-55mm IS 688.99 | EOS 600D + 18-135mm IS 853.00
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NEW!
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Body Price 514.99
599.99 763.99
For the latest low price on the Canon EOS 550D, please visit our website
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1,287.00 649.99 1,419.99 809.99 999.99 634.99 1,152.99 4,499.99 4,194.99 991.99 6,749.99 6,049.99 7,304.99 669.99 829.99 1,379.99 859.99 463.99 1,092.99 127.99 99.99 199.99 180.00 579.99 1,289.99 529.99 843.99 719.99 199.99 209.99 228.99 1,683.99 399.99 1,219.99 5,139.99 324.99 324.99 419.99
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Operation Our Price 419.99 screen Operation Our Price 599.99
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YOUR QUESTIONS
UPGRADE
Q
I AM LOOKING TO BUY a monopod. Any suggestions as to which one I should go for? If you are looking for one which will stand the test of time then I would recommend the Manfrotto Neotec 685B. Made from aluminium, it features the unique Manfrotto Neotec locking mechanism found in the Neotec line of tripods, which makes it fast and easy to use. There are no fiddly screws or awkward levers just extend, lock and use. With a minimum height of 74.5cm and maximum of 170cm, the top mount features both a 1/4in and retractable 3/8in screw to ensure that your equipment will fit and is capable of supporting loads up to 8kg. Other features include a safety lever that prevents accidental use of the locking release mechanism, a lightweight rubber foot pedal to simplify opening or closing the 685B, a protective leg warmer on the bottom leg section to provide protection against the elements and suction cup foot for extra ground support and increased grip. It may not come cheap with an RRP of 149.50. However, it can be found at a more affordable price over the internet. www.manfrotto.com of exposures taken in the interval timer mode: six frames at 15-minute intervals, for example. The timer remote controller TC-80N3 can also be used as a remote switch. Remember, when you try this technique it will be a case of trial and error until you discover what works for you in different situations. RRP: 149.99. www.canon.co.uk For further advice and inspiration check out film maker Philip Bloom at www.philipbloom.net
This month KELLY WEECH answers your questions about kit to help you make the right choices.
110% colour gamut. The high data accuracy of 12-bit internal processing helps to distinguish very low greyscale tones, allowing for a greater level of detail in dark areas. This is the first Dell monitor that is colour calibrated at the factory for accurate, consistent and precise colours. It is compatible with industry colour spaces such as Adobe RGB (96% coverage) and sRGB (100% coverage) and offers six-axis colour control and custom colour mode for those wanting to customise and adjust parameters for saturation, hue, gain and offset. Priced at 449 excluding VAT, it is available from www.dell.co.uk If you are on a budget then you may have to compromise on the screen size. I would suggest the Samsung SyncMaster 2232BW. Featuring a 22in screen with a 1,680 x 1,050 resolution, this stylish alternative has accurate colour control with a static preset system which offers clean, bright whites and good reds. The only potential drawback is that the gamut is limited, so you wont get the full Adobe RGB out of this monitor. Priced 217.38. www.samsung.com/uk
I AM CONSIDERING making a time-lapse video with my Canon EOS 7D. Any suggestions as to how I would go about doing this? This cinematography technique uses photography to capture a frame at a set time, over a set duration. When replayed at normal speed, time appears to be moving faster, and thus lapsing. While the Nikon D300s, D700 and D3s have the time-lapse function built in, Canon users will require a little device known as an intervalometer. The Canon TC-80N3 is ideal for the Canon EOS 5D MkII, 1D MkIV and 7D. This delay timer is like the self-timer on the camera, but can be set up to 100 hours in one-second increments. An interval timer fires the shutter at preset intervals of between one second and 100 hours. A long exposure timer allows you to extend the exposure time for several minutes, or even hours. The exposure count mode sets the number
I WANT TO REPLACE my bulky old CRT monitor for my PC with an LCD screen. What should I look for in a good monitor for editing photographs and which would you suggest? The overall improvement in LCD monitors in recent years has been massive and most photographers can now invest in one with confidence. The main advantage CRT monitors used to have over LCDs was their colour reproduction, contrast ratios and depth of colour display. But with the developments made in technology over recent years, LCDs have started to catch up and the difference between the two isnt so great. The major disadvantages with CRT monitors are their bulky size and weight and high power consumption. They also generate a lot more heat than LCD monitors, making them less desirable for enthusiasts wanting to edit images in the comfort of their own homes. LCD monitors are smaller, lighter, consume less power and tend to cause less eye fatigue, as they dont flicker like CRTs. When investing in a monitor, budget may be a deciding factor, but a good screen for photography should offer a minimum of 8-bit colour, preferably IPS (in-plane switching) for best colour accuracy and reproduction as well as giving good black depth and extended colour gamut. A widescreen may be more desirable instead of a square one, as most DSLR cameras produce widescreen images. Size will always play a part and a large 21in monitor with 1,920 x 1,200 resolution or higher is sure to produce good results. If you are serious about your photography and are happy to pay, then the Dell UltraSharp 24in U2410 widescreen flat panel monitor is a great screen for a middle-of-the-road budget. It offers 1,920 x 1,200 maximum resolution, 16:10 widescreen aspect ratio and 80,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio. Using PremierColour technology it delivers colour depth of 1.07billion and
I OWN A SONY A580 for which I am looking for a flash unit. Can you help with any thoughts on the pros and cons of Sony HVL-F42AM versus Metz mecablitz 44 AF-1 digital? Coming in at 279 the Sony HVL-F42AM offers a guide number of42 (105mm lens, ISO 100), high-speed sync at all shutter speeds, full manual control with six-step power settings (1/1-1/32), auto and manual zoom control, wireless TTL mode, adjustable bounce 90 up, 90 left and 180 right and built-in wide panel which covers a field of view up to 16mm. Meanwhile, the Metz mecablitz44 AF-1 digital, priced at 179.99, offers a slightly higher guide number of44 (105mm lens, ISO 100), integrated autofocus flash metering, auto zoom control, TTL flash mode, manual flash mode with four partial lighting levels and modelling light. If you are looking for extra power at a more affordable price I would choose the Metz, unless you prefer to stick with own-brand accessories, which many people do. PM www.sony.co.uk / www.metz.de
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STUDIO KIT DIRECT

Lastolite
Collapsible, Reversible Backgrounds
6701 Black/White with train. . . . . . . . . 176.69 1.8m x 1.5m . . . . . . 93.90 2.1m x 1.8m plus 1.5m train . . . . . . . . 159.69
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SKD Muslin
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DAVID WARD
David is a professional photographer with more than 20 years experience. He shoots large format and is drawn to the abstract image.
This month David discusses the rules within landscape photography and how they are applied in a modern world.
I WAS LEADING A PHOTOGRAPHIC TOUR OF ICELAND EIGHT YEARS AGO WHEN A PARTICIPANT DEMANDED THAT I GIVE HIM THE PARTICULAR RULES OF COMPOSITION THAT WOULD ALWAYS RESULT IN A SUCCESSFUL IMAGE. He seemed offended when I told him that no such rules existed. His tone of voice became quite angry as he made it clear that he thought I was hiding the secret of great photography from him for commercial reasons. Well, if only I knew the secret I certainly would have made a fortune. Sadly, my continuing penury is ample proof of my ignorance. No amount of assurance from me would placate my interrogator. But what about the Rule of Thirds?! he asked. What indeed The rule is unfortunately a comfort blanket for many photographers. It is the approach they use when presented with subjects both familiar and unfamiliar. But in particular it is seen as the safe option when presented with something new; you cant go wrong if you use the rule! Perhaps its reassuring nature is because both magazine articles and camera club judges have, for as long as anyone can remember, noted its use approvingly. Or perhaps theres a deeper reason.
Bleikoya, Iceland.
WE ALL KNOW OF IMAGES THAT BREAK THE RULE YET ARE VERY SUCCESSFUL. INDEED, FOR ME, PLACING THE SUBJECT IN THE MIDDLE PRESENTS IT IN A VERY POWERFUL, STRAIGHTFORWARD WAY...
Modern interpretations of the rule propose that when composing or cropping any image imaginary lines should divide it into thirds, both vertically and horizontally. These lines create nine rectangles of equal size. Significant positions in an image (such as the horizon or the eye of a subject in a portrait) should align with one of these third lines. The intersections of these lines are claimed to be particularly powerful. Placing your subject on one of these points will allegedly imbue the image with added tension, energy or interest. The main purpose of imposing the rule seems to be to discourage placing the subject along a central vertical or horizontal axis. Within the rules terms it would be bad to have the horizon, for instance, bisect an image. Im never quite sure why, as we all know of images that break the rule yet are successful. Indeed, for me, placing the subject in the middle presents it in a very powerful, straightforward way that is all the more effective for being quiet. However, the rule has a history much older than photography itself. John Thomas Smith was the first
DAVID WARD
man to set out a modern version when, in 1797, he wrote, I have found the ratio of about two thirds to one third, or of one to two, a much better and more harmonizing proportion, than the precise formal half, [or], in short, than any other proportion whatever. But even this early reference only builds upon an earlier fascination with the Golden Ratio, a proportion also known as phi, or . This ratio is defined by a mathematical equation that results in a rectangle whose sides are in the proportions 1.61803:1 (or not really 2:1, the Rule of Thirds is the Golden Ratios bastard son). When applied to a line the ratios result is called the Golden Section. Its extraordinary mathematical properties have made it the subject of intellectual and aesthetic scrutiny since the times of ancient Greece. Many have claimed that this proportion is intrinsic to anything that we find beautiful and in some circles, such as the Pythagorean Brotherhood, the ratio has come close to being worshipped. In 1509, Luca Pacioli wrote On the Divine Proportion in which he claimed that the ratio was a message from God about the inner beauty of things. In the mid-19th century the German philosopher
Adolf Zeising described it as a law which permeates as a paramount spiritual ideal all structures, forms and proportions. Heady stuff! But is this just an opinion? I do think there may be something fundamental underpinning why we find it so appealing. The ratio crops up surprisingly often in myriad natural forms, from nautilus shells (is that why Edward Weston was so fascinated by them?) to the arrangement of seeds in a sunflower. Interestingly, of all the different aspect ratios for photography, full frame 35mm is the closest to a Golden Rectangle, though its not quite wide enough. Perhaps the ratios ubiquity in nature is the reason that we find it so appealing. Or to put it another way, perhaps the ratio just feels natural. But we should remind ourselves that other ratios are always available how many can you spot in the image above? PM www.into-the-light.com
To read more of Davids columns visit the website www.photographymonthly.com

Photography Monthly Magazine - July 2011

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Photography Monthly Magazine - July 2011

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EXPERIENCE LIFE - CAPTURE THE MOMENT

ISSUE 123 JULY 2011

IN AT THE DEEP END

THE BIG DAY

PHOTOTO TEST YOUR SKILLS CHALLENGE 4 PROJECTS

The magazine for people who love photography

JULY 2011 | ISSUE 123

FROM THE EDITOR

Grant Scott Editor, Photography Monthly

IN THE JULY ISSUE

96-97 FILM SCHOOL

102-103 READERS CHALLENGE

GO ONLINE For great photographer

MEET THE TEAM

Angela Fisher and Carol Beckwith

www.photographymonthly.com | pm@photographymonthly.co.uk | 01242 211096

ABC certied circulation (Jan-Dec 2010): 17,324

All you need to know from the world of photography

HOLLYWOOD BOULEV ARD

SIZE DOES MATTER

FINDING YOUR VIEWPOINT

Liv Ullmann in Ingmar Bergmans Persona, 1966.

THE CINEMATIC EYE

ITS A WIDE WORLD

Brigitte Bardot, 1955.

BIG ON THE INSIDE

THE THREE MUSKETEERS

HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?

Shoot wide open. So sharp it hurts. X Z -1

IMAGE OF THE MONTH

Grant Scott, Editor

Jason Mark Harris Laura Canon EOS 5D MkII Canon 70-200mm

Robert Ho Dandelion seeds Olympus E-620 Zuiko 14-42mm

J Cardoso Sabrina Nikon D700 Nikkor 70-200mm

Mads C. Forchhammer Still hanging Nikon D70s Nikkor 18-70mm

James Robert Jones Yuko-Chan in Adelaide Casio EX-Z1000

Arron Gent Louvre at first sight Canon EOS 550D 18-55mm

David Rhead Ceiling fan Nikon D5000 Nikkor 18-55mm

Leila Murseljevic Chinese Sahara Canon PowerShot S1 IS

Jon Howard Red bricks Canon EOS 450D Canon 50mm

Adam Jones Balloon war Nikon D80 Nikkor 24-120mm

Sanjay Gupta Navvi Canon EOS 5D MkII Canon 70-200mm

Peter Karry Smiler Minolta 8000i Minolta 135mm

Marco van der Ham MarathondamMvdham Canon EOS 7D Canon 70-200mm

Tim Taylor Exploring the mountains Canon PowerShot D10

Ian Lloyd-Graham Ice cream Nikon D700 Nikkor 50mm

Hugh Ware Yellow rose Sony DSLR-A500 Cosina 100mm

Wenlock Estate, Shoreditch.

JAN WILLIAMS / CHRIS TEASDALE

JAN WILLIAMS / CHRIS TEASDALE

Bags and gentleman, Bloomsbury. Scooter and pillion, Arlesford, Hampshire.

JAN WILLIAMS / CHRIS TEASDALE

Mr Cheap, Portsmouth. Liverpool Wall of Fame. Hippo, Southsea.

West Pier, Brighton.

JAN WILLIAMS / CHRIS TEASDALE

To find more photography events in your area visit www.photographymonthly.com

Dinka cattle camp in smoky haze, Southern Sudan.

ANGELA FISHER / CAROL BECKWITH

Woman in beaded corset.

OVER THE YEARS

ANGELA FISHER / CAROL BECKWITH

Dinka cattle camp at sunset.

ANGELA FISHER / CAROL BECKWITH