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BLACK + WHITE THE MAGIC OF PRINT
PHOTOGRAPHY
W
hile photobooks and galleries offer excellent ways to see
and enjoy great photography, another important area for
EDITORIAL the presentation of brilliant work is magazines.
Mark Bentley In the first decades of the 20th century, magazines such
email: markbe@thegmcgroup.com
as Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung in Germany and Vu in France led the way
Scott Teagle in showing photographs. Vu, which ran from 1928 to 1940, attracted some
email: scottt@thegmcgroup.com
of the very best photographers in Europe, including Brassaï,
Designer Toby Haigh Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa and André Kertész.
ADVERTISING As technology improved and the excitement about magazine
email: gmcadvertising@thegmcgroup.com photography spread, more magazines sprung up. In the US, Life
tel: 01273 402855 magazine had been running as a general title since 1883 but in 1936 it
PUBLISHING relaunched as a photography news magazine and became a huge seller.
Publisher Jonathan Grogan Among the many outstanding photographers featured were Harry
Benson, Margaret Bourke-White, Gordon Parks and W Eugene Smith.
MARKETING
Indeed, the legendary Family of Man exhibition curated by Edward
Digital Marketing Sophie Medland
Marketing Executive Anne Guillot Steichen included more than 100 pictures from the Life archives.
email: anneg@thegmcgroup.com In the UK, Picture Post was first published in 1938. One of its founders
was photographer Kurt Hübschmann, who left Germany in the 1930s
PRODUCTION
Production Manager Jim Bulley and is now better known as Kurt Hutton. He was joined by other
Origination and ad design GMC Repro talented photographers, including Bert Hardy, Thurston Hopkins
Printer Buxton Press Ltd and Grace Robertson – and you can read more about the fascinating
Distribution Seymour Distribution Ltd story of Picture Post on page 32.
SUBSCRIPTIONS In the post-war years, titles such as Vogue, National Geographic
tel: 01273 488005 and the Sunday Times Magazine (to name just a few) have all published
email: pubs@thegmcgroup.com outstanding pictures that have become key works in the history of
photography. Today we can also see a vast number of pictures online,
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SUBSCRIPTION RATES B+W
Subscribe from £26.95 (including free P&P) but the sheer number of images can be overwhelming. The tactile nature
Save 10% with 6 issues of magazines, the high quality of design and production, means they are
Save 15% with 12 issues
Save 20% with 24 issues still a wonderful way to enjoy photography.
Plus UK subscribers can save an extra Enjoy the issue.
10% by choosing direct debit.
Cheques should be made payable to GMC Mark Bentley
Publications Ltd. Current subscribers will
automatically receive a renewal notice
(excludes direct debit subscribers)
08 32
© Neil Burnell
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© Paddy Summerfield
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© Lee Frost
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© Karol Srnec
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TECHNIQUE A lens flare app saves the day for TESTS & PRODUCTS 74 SMARTSHOTS
56 TOP TIPS Tim Clinch, as he struggles with 84 B+W LOVES A stunning showcase of your
Lee Frost wraps up warm and the high quality of new lenses The Sony A7 IV grabs the headlines best black & white images
heads off in search of winter in this month’s gear releases
landscapes with a stark simplicity INSPIRATION 78 SALON
48 TRY… 86 CHECKOUT Discover Karol Srnec’s charismatic
62 BEYOND THE Constanza Isaza Martínez A round-up of the best 50mm portraits of local and exotic bird life
RULE OF THIRDS introduces us to the beginner- prime lenses for your money
Tim Daly explores the many friendly world of the cyanotype 90 HOW TO GET PUBLISHED
NEW and varied compositional YOUR BLACK+WHITE We want to see your work
SERIES
guidelines 68 ONE-DAY PHOTO PROJECTS 40 SUBSCRIPTION OFFER
Eddie Ephraums looks back at a Save up to 30% and get 96 NEXT MONTH
72 SMART GUIDE contemplative pre-Covid shoot Black+White Photography B+W 260 is on sale
TO PHOTOGRAPHY in the Isle of Harris delivered to your door 23 December
© Ray Jennings/The 12th Epson International Pano Awards
NEWSROOM
Edited by
Kingsley Singleton
PORTRAIT GIFT
The University of Oxford’s Bodleian
Libraries has restated its commitment
to photography with the appointment
of a Curator of Photography and the
donation of a landmark collection.
The post will care for and develop the WONDERFULLY WIDE
libraries’ photography collections, Each year, the Epson International Pano Awards awards and open to amateurs and pros alike, prizes
and has been created thanks to a celebrates the best in wide-format photography. included thousands of pounds in cash as well as
£2 million endowment from the Founded in 2009 by Australian landscape Epson printers and projectors.
Bern Schwartz Family Foundation. photographer David Evans, this year, the Monochrome work was well represented in the
The foundation has also donated its competition received 5,378 entries from 1,245 contest and you can see all the winners and highly
photographic archive. professional and amateur photographers across commended images at thepanoawards.com. In fact,
Though working primarily 97 countries. one of this year’s special prizes, The Nikon Australia
in colour, American portrait Broadly split into nature, landscapes and built Award, was won by this striking image from Ray
photographer Bern Schwartz’s environment categories, but also including special Jennings, shot at Walcha, New South Wales.
relaxed, informal style has something
to offer any exponent of social
portraiture. Working in the 1970s,
04 he shot famous sitters from around
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the world, including artists, writers,
politicians and royalty, before his
untimely death. The collection
includes around 50,000 pictures, some
existing only as negatives, along with
copious diaries and notes.
Find out more at bodleian.ox.ac.uk.
FOUNDLING PHOTOS
In a landmark project, the
Foundling Museum, Bloomsbury,
has commissioned portraits to
commemorate children given into
care. Five photographers have each
created a portrait of a former pupil of
the Foundling Hospital, which took in
more than 25,000 children between
1741 and 1954. It was the UK’s first
children’s charity and continues
today as Coram. The artists include
Jillian Edelstein, Mahtab Hussain,
David Moore, Ingrid Pollard and
© Kikuji Kawada
Wolfgang Tillmans. These images will
hang together with paintings of the DARK BEAUTY
hospital’s governors and benefactors, In 1965, on the 20th anniversary of the This new edition from Mack is a facsimile of the
giving care-experienced children destruction of Hiroshima, Japanese photographer priceless original maquette, now in the New York
visibility and voice. Accompanying Kikuji Kawada produced Chizu, translating as Public Library, and is published in collaboration
the project is a documentary film, ‘The Map’. It’s a photobook of high-contrast with them. It comprises two volumes set in a
The Sitting, directed by Gilly Booth. monochrome images that captures the damage hardback slipcase, with accompanying booklet
Visit foundlingmuseum.org.uk and horror, both physical and psychological, and extended interview with the artist, and runs
for details. of post-war Japan, as well as its complicated to 272 pages, many in gatefold format.
relationship with the US during reconstruction. It’s available now at £100 from mackbooks.co.uk.
Collage of Lady Sitwell by Cecil Beaton
CELEBRATED SALE
Shedding rare light on early
20th-century portraiture,
a collection of antique
prints from revered British
photographers, including Sir
Cecil Beaton, has gone on
sale at Dreweatts auctioneers
(dreweatts.com). The collection,
owned by the famous Sitwell
family and featuring a host
of luminaries from the time,
included portraits of artist
Pavel Tchelitchew, musician
Violet Gordon-Woodhouse,
pianist Frederick Dawson and
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numerous members of the
family, including a Beaton
print of Edith Sitwell, the
original of which is in the
V&A’s permanent collection.
© Aliki Braine
Among other objects showing
the family’s artistic leanings EXAMINING THE ISLAND
are three framed photographs As part of London Art Fair 2022, Photo50: No Place the medium with sculpture, performance,
of Georgia Sitwell by Hay is an Island sees photographic artists responding movies and sound. Included among the 14 artists
Wrightson, Maurice Beck and to the fantasy of isolation, both geographically featured is Aliki Braine with her work Where Two
Helen Macgregor, who worked and in terms of photographic possibilities and Seas Meet, made at Skagen, Denmark, in 2018,
as chief photographers for connectivity. The exhibition, at the Business Design a northern coastal town famed for its sandbar
British Vogue magazine. Centre in Islington, runs from 19-23 January, headland where the North and Baltic seas collide,
with a preview on 18 January. and wherein negatives are folded along the line
Installations will showcase photography as where the waters mix.
part of a wider sphere of art and cultures, mixing Find out more at londonartfair.co.uk.
HOME MOVIE
Paddy Summerfield
With an essay by
Patricia Baker-Cassidy
Dewi Lewis Hardback, £30
FEATURE
All images
© Hana Gamal
THE LIVES
OF OTHERS
Egyptian photographer
Hana Gamal describes her
series We’re All Fugitives as a
journey into her soul, ‘driven
by a desire to connect and
an equally strong desire
to withdraw’. Donatella
Montrone investigates.
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hen a part It started on the 25 January 2011. That day saw the rebirth of a nation – an
of you is A Tuesday. Tens of thousands of people uprising of one formidable, collective voice
crumbling, descended on Tahrir Square that morning that made Hana want to rediscover her
colour doesn’t and it swelled quickly, the roars of protests homeland and her sense of place. ‘It brought
› really mean reverberating throughout Egypt in me closer to my people, closer to the streets.’
anything.’ Hana deafening waves. It marked the beginning Suddenly, everything Hana understood
Gamal spoke of the end of Hosni Mubarak’s government, about herself was called into question.
those words and from that moment, both Egypt and She had been studying psychology and art
during our interview, when I asked why she Hana would be changed forever. ‘I felt therapy at the American University in Cairo
made We’re All Fugitives in black & white. something beautiful and strange happening. and changed her focus to photography. ‘I
I’ve been reflecting on them since, because It’s an indescribable feeling, one that only started taking photography courses to learn
to understand the series, one needs to the people who were there can comprehend. more about its history and the technical
understand Hana. I was witnessing history and I wanted the aspect of taking pictures. It quickly became
We’re All Fugitives was a healing memory to stay with me forever, so I took my passion, but I didn’t truly find my voice
journey for Hana, born of a time of pain out my phone and started taking pictures – until after I graduated. There were times
and questioning. She says it was both and I haven’t stopped since.’ when I felt so lost and unsure if I had made
‘introspective and retrospective, a death the right decision. There were long phases
and a rebirth’. The images were made over of frustration, feelings of failure. So many
a number of years, during which Hana lost
‘I was witnessing history and people were telling me to leave photography,
herself in Cairo’s bustling streets in search I wanted the memory to stay with to keep it as a hobby and find a stable job
of succour. Hours of wandering turned into me forever, so I took out my phone instead, but the voices inside my head were
a journey of discovery – one that led Hana much louder than theirs. So, I listened to
to better understand the city of her birth and started taking pictures – and my heart, not knowing where photography
and, importantly, make peace with herself. I haven’t stopped since.’ would take me.’ ›
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hotography became an escape – ‘Whenever I was feeling low, I would connected to others with no fear of hurt,
an escape from the trappings of a go outside and start taking pictures that no fear of being found. That’s why I am
› conventional lifestyle, an escape could possibly capture how I was feeling.’ emotionally attached to photography
from the misguided career advice She would roam the city streets, lost – I can’t imagine life without it.’
of others and, not least, an escape from an among strangers, exchanging pleasantries
emotionally ruinous relationship. We’re and listening intently to their stories. fter witnessing social unrest
All Fugitives was made at a time of
overwhelming upheaval in Hana’s personal
life. ‘One of the major things was trying to
heal myself from an emotionally abusive
relationship. It took me a long time to
She was ‘endlessly inquisitive’ about
their lives, and as they got to know Hana
better, she was invited into their homes.
‘With open wounds, and a constant
search for home, I was losing and finding
A in her homeland over several
years, while simultaneously
experiencing turmoil in her
personal life, Hana began to question
the concept of home and belonging.
forgive myself for making my soul go myself in their lives, like a fugitive,’ she ‘This is when my real journey began.
through so much trauma. Around the same explains. ‘It was, and still is, incredibly Everyone is running from something,
time, my father had also been diagnosed therapeutic. It allowed me to be intimately or someone, or maybe searching
with cancer, and seeing him in pain shook for something. We’re all fugitives –
me deeply. It affected me in many ways, fugitives from what has been, what
of course, but mostly it affected the way ‘So many people were telling is, and what might be. Fugitives from
I perceive life. What’s important, what’s me to leave photography, to lost hopes and dreams, from hidden
not? What’s real, what isn’t? Making We’re wounds, from memories, from the
All Fugitives was my escape. I wanted keep it as a hobby and find reality of our lives. Fugitives from our
to run away from my life and the people a stable job instead, but the fears, from the void, from love – and
I knew and immerse myself in other sometimes even from ourselves. Home
people’s lives. It was like connecting
voices inside my head were isn’t merely a place, it’s a feeling, and
and disconnecting at the same time. much louder than theirs.’ ›
we are all in constant search of it.’
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› In making the series, Hana became want the viewer to feel it, not just see it.’ Hana Gamal graduated from the American
enveloped by countryfolk eager to open As a visual artist, Hana finds beauty in University in Cairo with a double degree in
their hearts. They let her in, on her terms, that which is unseen. ‘They say change is psychology and mass communication and
allowing her to be present in their lives the only constant in life, but sometimes media arts, and has recently completed a
from the other side of the lens. ‘There is it’s hard to deal with or accept change. post-graduate degree at the Danish School of
something magical about holding a camera Maybe you’re too fragile to face it. Maybe Media and Journalism in Aarhus. Her work has
– it gives you an excuse to be there, wherever you’re not ready. Accepting change is often been exhibited internationally, including at
you are, to connect with your subject in an fraught with the pain of the experience the Crypt Gallery, London, Beirut Photography
almost raw, intimate way. I become fearless that makes it necessary. A kind of pain Festival and Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris.
when I am shooting. I like to take my time, that rips you apart and breaks you down,
to get to know the person and make them forcing you to rise again. To me, this kind To see more of Hana’s work,
feel comfortable. When I take a picture, I of rebirth is beautiful – achingly beautiful.’ go to hanagamal.com
NEWS ON SHOW
Celebrating the best in contemporary portrait photography, the Taylor Wessing
Photographic Portrait Prize 2021 is now on show at Cromwell Place, a new
arts hub in London. Tracy Calder takes a look at some of this year’s top entries.
T
here is something about is played out in those eyes – eyes! Looking at Jack’s open, teenagers that went on a bit
Tony Kearney’s image whatever you’re feeling when unmasked face suddenly feels longer than I would’ve liked.
Jack (from the series you look at this portrait is refreshing, and hugely necessary. This year, however, things feel
Artist[s]) that really reflected right back at you. Kearney’s image of Jack is a bit different: there’s a sense
moves me. It might be the Perhaps the reason his eyes just one of 55 striking portraits of inclusivity, diversity and
gloriously bushy beard that feel so important is because on display at Cromwell Place, openness, and the competition
cascades from Jack’s chin, or we’ve all been wearing face a new arts hub in central is all the better for it.
the way his head seems to be masks for so long. In July 2020, London, as part of the Taylor There are three international
floating above his shoulders in the Guardian published an Wessing Photographic Portrait photographers on the shortlist
a strange god-like fashion but, article featuring advice on how Prize 2021 exhibition. The (by the time you read this,
in truth, I think it’s his eyes. At to communicate through a exhibition is usually held at the the winner will have been
first glance, it looks as though he mask. ‘Genuine smiles come National Portrait Gallery in St announced): Katya Ilina,
is smiling, but if you cover up his from “creased” eyes (known by Martin’s Place, but the building Pierre-Elie de Pibrac and David
eyes with your hand, you’ll see psychologists as a Duchenne is currently closed for major Prichard, each selected by a panel
that his mouth is a horizontal smile),’ it suggested. ‘Smiles redevelopment works. Global of judges from 5,392 entries.
line – neither happy nor sad. which are posed tend to be law firm Taylor Wessing has Ilina was chosen for her portrait,
If you cover up his mouth, displayed more by the mouth.’ sponsored the awards for 14 David, which is taken from a
however, his eyes tell a different I have lost count of the years now, and the show has been series celebrating positive body
story. There is joy there, but number of times I have passed a staple in my events calendar image and questioning notions
also determination and even strangers in the street, smiled for even longer than that. of masculinity and femininity.
sadness. It’s as though an artist at them under my mask and In the past, I have to admit that ‘The series, entitled
has emptied tubes of paint on wondered if they can tell I’m I’ve had a love/hate relationship Rosemary & Thyme, subverts
to a palette and swirled them trying to communicate empathy with some of the photographs time-honoured tropes of
around to form a complex or compassion. I guess I will selected by the judges – there representation in western art by
18 soup of colour. Every emotion have to practise creasing my was a distinct fashion for grumpy depicting male sitters in poses
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Jack, October 2020, from the series Artist[s] by Tony Kearney Untitled, September 2020, from the series Languor by Donavon Smallwood
© Hady Barry © Kymara Akinpelumi
traditionally found in portraits and collaboration. There are no based photographer David be expressed in their physicality.
of females,’ explains the NPG. grab shots here and no sense of Pritchard and his portraits ‘I wanted to produce portraits
The image has a rich, voluptuous ‘dark tourism’. ‘Each portrait of First Nation women who that were dignified, strong and
feel, with colours, textures and emanates from long discussions spent their working lives on beautiful, and worthy to represent
a pose that we might usually I had with my subjects about cattle stations in Far North these women today and into the
associate with traditional a painful event in their lives,’ Queensland. The work they future,’ said Pritchard.
paintings of women. says Pibrac. ‘In all the pictures, undertook – from homestead
‘From Velázquez to Ingres, I forbid any movement, as if they chores to maintaining the welfare
painters have portrayed men are trapped by their surroundings of livestock, often on horseback
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in positions of power, or as with no visible escape.’ To me, – would have been physically SEE THE PICTURES
muscular heroes in battle, they feel like film stills, as though demanding. The gruelling and Taylor Wessing Photographic
whereas females are often life has carried on either side of repetitive nature of this lifestyle Portrait Prize 2021 is on show at
pictured naked and reclining, the frame, but the individuals are can be read on each of their Cromwell Place, London, until 2
communicating softness, frozen, unable to move forward. faces: these are tough, resilient January 2022. To find out more,
weakness and openness to gaze,’ Finally, we come to Sydney- women, but their past seems to visit npg.org.uk/photoprize.
says Ilina. ‘I wanted to borrow the © Hady Barry
so-called feminine body language
from those paintings and
juxtapose it with male sitters.’
Pibrac, on the other hand,
was selected for his large-format
portraits made in Japan, where
he spent eight months travelling
to some of the country’s most
troubled regions. Here, he
captured individuals who have
shown fortitude in the face
of adversity.
‘In Fukushima, he
photographed residents still
exiled from their contaminated
homes following the nuclear
meltdown a decade ago,’ says
the NPG. ‘Other portraits were
taken in the former mining
town Yubari, once known as the
country’s capital of coal, now
devastated by colliery closures
and depopulation.’
These images are the result of
hours of conversation, revelation Contemplation II, September 2020, from the series Wearing the Inside Out by Hady Barry
NEWS IN THE FRAME
If you would like an exhibition included in our listing, please email Mark Bentley
at markbe@thegmcgroup.com at least 10 weeks in advance. Edited by Tracy Calder.
Please check with your chosen venue before visiting as dates are subject to change due to the ongoing situation with Covid-19. | ONL Online only
RPS HOUSE
SCOTLAND
To 12 December SCOTTISH NATIONAL
Pink Lady Food Photographer PORTRAIT GALLERY
of the Year To 23 January 2022
Celebrating the world’s finest Thomas Joshua Cooper:
food photography and film. The World’s Edge
337 Paintworks, Bristol rps.org Images of the most extreme points
and locations surrounding the
Atlantic Ocean.
WALES 1 Queen Street, Edinburgh
nationalgalleries.org
NATIONAL MUSEUM CARDIFF
To 16 April 2023
The Rules of Art? Subscribe to Black + White
Five hundred years of painting, Photography magazine
drawing, sculpture, photography,
film and ceramics posing
A Patient and Two Nurses, Midlands, 1969 questions about representation,
APERTURE GALLERY © Ian Berry/Magnum Photos identity and culture.
To 22 December To 27 March 2022
Ian Berry: The English and Beyond David Hurn: Swaps
Images from Berry’s classic 1970s series, The English, alongside more Highlights from the David Hurn
recent work exploring the complexity of English and British identity. collection, focusing on exchanges See page 40 for details
17a&b Riding House Street, London W1W apertureuk.com with his Magnum colleagues.
CO M M EN T
susanburnstine.com
AMERICAN CONNECTION
The real Cuba lies not just in Havana but in the endeavour of the island’s
All images
rural farming community, as Richard Sharum discovered while working
© Richard Sharum
on his latest documentary project. Susan Burnstine reports.
or the past 17 years, island is rural and composed Campesinos as the majority of of his career. ‘They expressed
F
documentary of Campesino families who are Cubans, based on the fact that to me numerous times that they
photographer Richard rarely photographed. Initially they occupy the majority of were very grateful that someone
Sharum’s aim has Sharum’s intent for this work was the island, and that they are a came to see and know them, to
been to create work to create a historical document warm and beautiful people,’ he spend quality time, instead of
that highlights the of a disappearing lifestyle, says. ‘They are also kind and going to Havana like everyone
lives of those often unseen or culture and people, but what he honest and believe in direct else. Most of the places in the
overlooked. He’s documented ultimately created was a more communication – saying what book are extremely difficult to
homeless children attending nuanced perspective of a people. you mean while being respectful.’ get to, where they don’t see many
or attempting to attend school, After arriving in Cuba in He believes people in the strangers, much less ones with a
paediatric cancer, the town of 2016, Sharum learned that a United States could learn quite camera from a hostile land.’
Sandbranch, Texas, and the considerable number of young a bit from the Campesinos, as
S
aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. men were renouncing life in the their sense of community is far harum was raised in a
And his most recent series, countryside for the cities, thus more advanced. ‘The strength in multi-ethnic family in
Campesino Cuba (GOST Books), abandoning traditional farming the Cuban people I encountered Corpus Christi, Texas,
is his most poignant and affecting techniques. Consequently, this was palpable, even though they with working-class
exploration yet. imbalance is worsening the lived in guano huts with dirt parents and an older sister.
It explores the lives of Cuban country’s difficulties with food floors. They were also some of the Topics of identity and culture
farmers, known as Campesinos, production and availability. happiest people I ever met.’ became a constant presence
widely regarded as the backbone Sharum’s deep admiration Sharum considers the high level in his life and subsequently
of their country. While the great and respect for the Campesinos of hospitality the Campesinos fundamental to his work. His
majority of imagery created resonates in every image showed him was beyond what he mother was white and father
by non-Cubans in Cuba is produced. ‘The overall mission had experienced anywhere else half-white, half-Hispanic, and
produced in Havana, 85% of the of the book is to convey the in the world during the course thus, his sister had brown skin,
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EXHIBITIONS
USA
CHICAGO
Art Institute of Chicago
Until 17 January 2022
André Kertész: Postcards from Paris
artic.edu
NEW ORLEANS
New Orleans Museum of Art
Until 6 February 2022
Ishimoto Yasuhiro: Centennial Selections
noma.org
ST LOUIS
Contemporary Art Museum
St. Louis
Until 13 February 2022
Farah Al Qasimi:
Everywhere There Is Splendor
camstl.org
ST PETERSBURG
Dali Museum
Until 2 January 2022
Lee Miller: The Woman Who
Broke Boundaries
thedali.org
STANFORD
Stanford University
Until 29 March 2022
Exquisite Reality: Photography and the
Invention of Nationhood, 1851-1900
events.stanford.edu
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FEATURE
All images
© David Magee
T
his story begins last spring,
when I was invited by a friend
to celebrate his birthday at
Rathfinny Estate, a vineyard
in the south of England. On
the slopes of the downland,
the vines grow in parallel
lines in sight of the sea. It’s
a beautiful place to be on a spring evening
and the restaurant serves exquisite food.
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But as we arrived in the reception area,
I became completely distracted by a large
and imposing image hanging on the wall. It
was a black & white photograph of the Seven
Sisters – a nearby location, but probably
one of the most photographed landscapes
in the UK. However, there was something
about this majestic image that compelled me
because there was something about it that
stood out from the many photographs of the
place I have seen over the years. Eventually,
my companions had to call me away into the
dining room, but there I discovered another
similar seascape image, equally imposing.
Throughout the meal, I found myself
glancing over my shoulder to take another
look. I won’t say it spoilt my meal or the
enjoyment of the conversations, but it was
certainly a distraction.
The pictures stayed vividly in my mind
and wouldn’t go away, so the next weekend
I returned to Rathfinny to find out more
about them. I discovered they were the
work of an Irish photographer named David
Magee. I asked myself what it was about
them that intrigued me, and the only answer
I could come up with was that they conveyed
a sense of emotion, as though I was seeing
the place through the eyes, and feelings,
of the photographer. ›
SEVEN SISTERS STUDY
› I began my research and discovered that
he grew up in West Cork (where he still
has a house) and had a love of the sea – and
that his work was meticulously carried out.
Eventually, I made contact with David and
we arranged to meet up for an interview.
FALLEN GUARDIAN
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FLAT CALM
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MECOX STUDY
avid studied fine art and graphic
›
D design at Glasgow School of Art
where, in 1982, he encountered
Thomas Joshua Cooper, who ran
the fine art photography department and
who was to be the trigger that set him on
a lifelong photographic path. ‘He planted
the seed in my becoming totally absorbed
in the world of photography as an art form,’
he explains. But David’s work is essentially
about self-expression: ‘I first and foremost
make the work for me,’ he says.
While fine art photography has been his
passion for the past 25 years, David has
combined this with running an award-
winning graphic design studio in London.
He has also travelled extensively – in India,
Sri Lanka, Greece, Japan, England, USA and,
of course, Ireland – making his distinctive,
long-exposure images whose commonality
exists in their essence rather than their
specific content. An image from Japan, for
instance, can sit comfortably beside a shot
taken in India or USA. But in recent years
he feels that maybe what he is looking for
lies closer to home, in Ireland: ‘Despite
having travelled the globe in search of
“that elusive image”, I have come to realise
KILBRITTAIN that the work I am happiest with, and the
30 environment that I like photographing in
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most, was within easy reach all along.’
TRANSCENDENT
FEATURE EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY
For two decades, Picture Post published some of the most important social
All images
documentary photography about life in Britain ever taken. A new feature-length
© Getty Images documentary, Picture Stories, explores the iconic magazine’s legacy.
Hulton Archive
Nick Smith talks with its director Rob West.
I
was looking into the story of Picture months of the presses rolling, it was selling to the British in a fundamentally new
Post magazine a few years ago,’ says 1,700,000 copies per week and is, with way’. Picture Post’s photographers cast
Rob West, ‘when someone made the some justification, seen by photojournalism light on the lives of ordinary people at
comment that within its pages is a whole historians as the UK’s direct equivalent to home, on the street and unposed in a
generation of forgotten photographers.’ Life magazine in the US. With its liberal, way they had never been seen before.
West, who is the director of the anti-fascist and populist editorial axis, West says that in making Picture Stories,
feature-length documentary Picture Picture Post quickly became a bestselling he wanted to bring Picture Post to life in
Stories, says that, on looking deeper magazine during the Second World War a way that made both the magazine and
into the subject, he was ‘surprised’ and was hugely influential for years after. its contributing photographers relevant to
that no-one had made a film about According to West, it not only revolutionised modern audiences. ‘Many of the things we
Picture Post for a generation, and sensing an the way in which magazines were presented take for granted in photography, and our
injustice, he set out to put it straight. ‘What to the public, but it also showed ‘Britain understanding of photographs and picture
I wanted to do was look at Picture Post layout, started with Picture Post. Many of
through the eyes of modern photographers, ‘What I wanted to do was look our ideas about British society were forged
to get a sense of what that tradition of by Picture Post and its unique group of
photography means to them today.’
at ‘Picture Post’ through the creators. So, it was important also to bring
It’s hard to imagine in our post-digital eyes of modern photographers, this to younger audiences that may know
world quite how much influence Picture to get a sense of what that nothing about this magazine and make it
Post had during the years spanning the relevant to them. And although the context
Second World War, starting out in 1938 tradition of photography of taking and publishing photographs has
and coming to an end in 1957. Within two means to them today.’ changed a lot, today we’re in a world where
how we display content and combine words day and is almost certainly worth looking at.’ structure tells the story of the magazine
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with images to tell a story is still important, Picture Stories combines commentary by from its inception in 1938 – founded by
albeit often on an internet page. I think one modern photographers and photography photojournalist and social campaigner
of the interesting things about this film experts, with archive footage of interviews Lorant, friend to Winston Churchill and
will be how people react to the fact that with Picture Post photographers such Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany – ‘to
innovations in the way that we use text as Stefan Lorant, Tom Hopkinson and when it came to its knees in 1957. And we’re
and images today to tell stories have their Humphrey Spender. The documentary’s telling it through the photojournalism: in ›
origins in Picture Post and still resonate.’ © Thurston Hopkins/Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
T
hree years in the works and running
at 74 minutes, Picture Stories
comes from the independent
production company Ship of Life,
and is advertised as a film that explores
the magazine that shaped British culture.
West says that to get the project off the
ground he approached Getty Images and the
Hulton Archive that own the copyright to
the images themselves. The back story here
is that Sir Edward Hulton, owner of Picture
Post, had established the Hulton Press
Library in 1945 in response to the growing
sense of the importance of the magazine’s
assets as a historical resource, while, at the
turn of the millennium, Getty digitalised
the entire archive following the acquisition
of the collection a few years before. Says
West: ‘Literally hundreds of thousands of
images are gathered together in that archive.
In fact, the published photography is only
a small proportion of what was produced.
There are negatives, contact sheets and so
on, much of which hasn’t seen the light of A trio of Jamaican immigrants in Birmingham, 1955, by Thurston Hopkins.
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The elder daughter of a large family polishes shoes on the doorstep, 1945, by Kurt Hutton.
© Kurt Hutton/Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
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An unemployed man leaning against a wall in Wigan with two children looking on, 1939, by Kurt Hutton.
© Kurt Hutton/Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
© Bert Hardy/Getty Images
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Above A couple relaxing in a basement in Elephant and Castle, London, 1949, by Bert Hardy. Opposite Alfred Smith, one of the 1,830,000 unemployed, 1939, by Kurt Hutton.
› other words, selecting some of the iconic ‘The fact that the small team politicians or the more established subjects
stories and talking about what was behind of magazine photography’.
them. We’re just trying to tell the story of
on ‘Picture Post’ was able to When it comes to the photography itself,
the life and death of Picture Post through its produce the range of content to the sheer breadth of editorial coverage can
photography.’ the quality that it did under be seen in the contrast between two covers.
One of the reasons West wanted to make On 25 February 1950, there is Churchill,
the film is that ‘in its heyday, Picture Post such difficult circumstances every inch the statesman in his morning
was a superior product. If you take any is a huge achievement.’ coat, watch chain and spotted bow tie; a year
individual edition of the magazine and later, on 3 February 1951, four working class
P
examine it, the quality of the photography, hotojournalism on the pages of women in aprons, boots and shawls stand
layout and editorial content and the Picture Post became the currency of on the broken surface of a terraced street
thinking behind it is extraordinary.’ More social information, and what fired the with the cover line ‘Why is our fish so dear?’
so, he continues, when you consider that imagination of the massive readership The image of these fishwives, says West, ‘is
this was a product that for the first years of was ‘the combination of images, the selection archetypal Picture Post. It’s working-class
its production cycle was produced during of the photography, the construction of the life; everyday life. It’s all about the intimacy
a global war: ‘There were bombs going stories, the interplay of the photographs and of ordinary people in the street. It is
off all around their offices. There were their captions. These images were powerful emblematic of the idea that Picture Post
paper shortages, ink shortages, wartime – and not just explicitly the war photos. seemed to convey of deprived people as
censorship… The fact that the small team What we’ve tended to focus on in the film having an heroic quality and that they
on Picture Post was able to produce the are images of ordinary people doing are worth putting on the front cover of a
range of content – week after week – to ordinary things.’ And West sees a ‘strong magazine. Images like these have these days
the quality that it did under such difficult degree of connection’ between the reader become something of a visual cliché, but at
circumstances is a huge achievement. The and subject matter that wouldn’t have the time they were unique and extraordinary.’
magazine published images that remain existed if the editorial remit had been For further information, visit
extraordinary to this day.’ to cover narratives ‘about celebrities, picturestoriesfilm.com
© Kurt Hutton/Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
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FEATURE 60-SECOND EXPOSURE
Contemporary artist Diana Nicholette Jeon talks to Tracy Calder about
All images © Diana taking risks, being mistaken for an entertainment critic and the
Nicholette Jeon
importance of believing in yourself and your ideas.
What does photography Tell us your favourite they’re making what they make. was an undergrad, he made me
mean to you? photographic quote. Tools, to me, are icing on the cake. sit up and say, ‘Aha, bingo’ when
I can’t answer that question all ‘Be daring, be different, be You might be surprised at what he talked about the importance
that well, and it doesn’t bother me impractical, be anything that will you can do with a lack of tools, but of media as an integral part of
that I can’t. Simply this: I like it. It assert integrity of purpose and it’s not surprising when someone his work. That lecture changed
allows me to say something I want imaginative vision against the who doesn’t understand why they my view of art and how I go about
to communicate with my art. play-it-safers, the creatures of do what they do fails to make work making it.
the commonplace, the slaves that inspires.
Describe your style of the ordinary.’ What is your worst
in three words. – Cecil Beaton Who would you most like to photographic habit?
Eclectic, forlorn, content-driven. collaborate with? Not organising and correctly
What’s the biggest risk you have Doug and Mike Starn, because cataloguing images soon
What is your favourite taken as a photographer? I love the aesthetic they cultivate after shooting – it always
photographic book? Almost all of my work is a risk in (messy, torn, taped etc), as well leaves me hunting around
Transformational Imagemaking: some way. I change what I do to as their willingness to push for the image I want.
Handmade Photography Since suit the idea, which many people boundaries. Aline Smithson,
1960 by Robert Hirsch. think is unwise. For me, however, because her work is beautiful and Tell us one thing most people
the interaction between concept, personal. Ann Hamilton, because don’t know about you.
Tell us about a photographic content and media is crucial. she makes the most fabulous I used to live and work in the
opportunity you have missed. installations. Process is an integral Silicon Valley. My then boyfriend
Missing deadlines for a Name one item (aside from part of her work (as it is for mine), and I attended a Jay Leno show
show I wanted to enter, not a camera) that every and she seamlessly crosses at a comedy club in the East Bay
having yet applied for a photographer should own. different media. Lynn Yamamoto, Area of San Francisco. When we
Guggenheim [Fellowship], not It’s not an item, but it is something because she makes installations joined the line to get in, the person
38 finishing the application for I feel every photographer or artist about issues dear to my heart. checking off names pulled us
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a residency I would’ve liked should have. It’s a strong sense of And Enrique Martinez Celaya. out of line and ushered us to the
to get… to name a few. who they are as an artist and why When I heard him speak when I front row centre seats. Jay played
to us all night, interacting with
me several times, but avoiding
everyone else at the same table.
We couldn’t figure out what had
caused our great fortune, so my
boyfriend asked about it on the
way out. The door person looked
at me and said, ‘Aren’t you the
entertainment critic for the San
José paper?’ Someone had
obviously made an error. Jay and
his management must have been
disappointed that the critic, who
probably didn’t have great seats,
never wrote up the show.
Diana Nicholette Jeon is an award-winning contemporary artist who lives and works in Honolulu. Her work has been shown in both solo and group
exhibitions nationally and internationally. Diana has an MFA from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and writes a weekly column called
‘Poignant Pics’ for One Twelve Publications. Diana has been featured in LensCulture, Diffusion, SHOTS Magazine and the Art Photo Index, among others.
To see more, visit diananicholettejeon.com and Instagram @diananicholettejeon.
COOL, CREATIVE AND CONTEMPORARY COOL, CREATIVE AND CONTEMPORARY
ISSUE NO.259
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TECHNIQUE TRY…
MAKING CYANOTYPES
All images Accessible, affordable and infinitely creative, cyanotype printing is a beginner-friendly gateway
© Constanza Isaza to alternative analogue experimentation. Photographic artist Constanza Isaza Martínez
Martínez unless stated
guides you through the process’s storied history and fascinating intricacies.
T
he cyanotype process is a wonderful introduction to the that allows for creative experimentation. They can be bold and graphic
world of hand-coated alternative process printing. While or subtle and tonal, and if their Prussian blue colour is not appropriate
many alternative processes are expensive, difficult or to the work, they can be easily toned and otherwise manipulated.
use toxic chemicals, cyanotype is a simple, Cyanotype printing can be as simple or as complicated as you
inexpensive and low-toxicity process. would wish to make it, and the availability of pre-mixed kits and even
It is possible to make very simple cyanotype prints pre-coated paper makes the process accessible and easy. If you
using low-tech and even cameraless set-ups, making are looking to master the process, the chemicals can be purchased
the process perfect for teaching complete beginners individually and digital negatives can be carefully calibrated to produce
and even children. Conversely, it is also possible to make technically prints with a full tonal range. As well as making photographic prints, the
accomplished prints from digital negatives. Cyanotypes can be made on process is often used to make photograms, prints from hand-drawn
paper, fabric, wood and glass among other materials, providing a flexibility negatives and abstract work.
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SAFETY EQUIPMENT
Cyanotype chemicals are relatively benign,
particularly when diluted. However, most
chemicals in powder form can cause irritation
if touched or inhaled. It is advisable to wear
nitrile gloves and safety glasses when handling
chemicals either dry or in solution, and an
appropriate mask when handling dry chemicals.
PAPER
Cyanotype works well on many papers, but
papers that are ‘buffered’ or ‘acid free’ (soaked
in alkaline solution to counteract the aging
Constanza Isaza Martínez, from the Prussian Blue series, cyanotype on watercolour paper, 56x56cm, 2010. effects of acidity on paper) will not work well.
This is because the emulsion is very sensitive
to alkalinity, which will bleach it over time.
Many lower-cost watercolour papers are not
buffered and will therefore work very well.
Some recommended papers are Fabriano
Accademia, Canson Mix Media and even
brown kraft paper.
NEGATIVES OR OBJECTS
You can use film or digital negatives, or
alternatively make photograms using objects
placed directly on your sensitised paper. Flat
objects such as plants, feathers or lace work
very well when pressed down with a sheet of
glass, but you can also experiment with bulkier
objects to create interesting compositions
– we used human bodies as ‘negatives’ in
our Ultraviolet cyanotype. Alternatively, take
inspiration from architectural blueprints and
make your own negatives by drawing on clear
acetate with permanent markers or tracing
paper with pencil.
CHEMICALS
Solution A: dissolve 10g potassium
ferricyanide in 50ml distilled water. Make up
to 100ml and store in a brown glass bottle.
Solution B: dissolve 25g ferric ammonium
citrate (green) in 50ml distilled water. Make up
to 100ml and store in a brown glass bottle.
NB You can expect to pay about £20-30 for
the materials required to make hundreds
of prints, though you can also purchase the
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chemicals pre-mixed as a kit. Andrés Pantoja, Folding Light #13, cyanotype on Japanese paper, 7x14cm, 2015.
A simple
printing
UV LIGHT SOURCE frame
You will need a source of UV light to expose your prints, such as a UV
exposure unit, which will hold your negative flat against the paper. For a
low-tech set-up, you can use the sun and a simple contact printing frame
made from a heavy sheet of glass, a sturdy sheet of card or foamboard,
and some clamps or bulldog clips. If you’re making photograms of
bulky objects, there’s no need for a printing frame at all.
THE PROCESS
COAT AND DRY
Rinse your brush and squeeze out any
excess water.
Tape the corners of your paper to your
coating table.
Measure out equal amounts of solutions
A and B and mix them together in a small bowl.
Dip your brush in the cyanotype solution and
use it to coat your paper with a thin, even layer
of sensitiser. Try not to let the solution pool on
the surface.
Let your paper dry thoroughly in the dark – it
should be completely dry before exposure.
EXPOSE TO UV LIGHT
Place your negative or objects in contact
with the sensitised paper, in your exposure
unit or contact printing frame. Expose using
Measuring solutions A and B. a predetermined exposure time on exposure
unit, or by inspection using sunlight. Your
print is fully exposed when the shadows have
darkened fully and begun to lighten again.
PROCESS
Place your print in a tray of tap water
and agitate.
Change the water several times until it
runs clear and the print shifts towards a
turquoise-blue colour.
Optional: place the print in a bath of 1L
52 tap water and a capful of 3% hydrogen
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peroxide for about 30 seconds to intensify
the blue colour.
Wash again in several changes of
clean water.
Hang your print to dry.
TONING
Toning works best on prints that have
dried at least overnight.
Mixing solutions A and B together. Wet your print in a tray of tap water
before toning.
Optional: a pinch of sodium carbonate in
a tray of tap water can be used to bleach your
print before toning (bleach it quite strongly – it
will come back in the toner). Be sure to wash
your print well after bleaching.
Black, rooibos and green teas all give very
good results simply by making a tray of strong
tea and immersing your print in it for a few
minutes to several hours. Keep an eye on the
gradual colour change by lifting your print out
and inspecting it often. The change will be
gradual or rapid depending on the type
and strength of your chosen toner.
Other toners you can try: tannic acid,
red wine, boiled oak bark or galls, tea made
from any plant containing tannic acid
Once you are happy with the colour shift,
transfer back to a tray of running water
and wash thoroughly.
Hang your print to dry.
Coating paper.
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STAGES OF PROCESSING
Top Clockwise from top left: after exposure, in the first water
bath, after washing, after hydrogen peroxide bath.
Right Constanza Isaza Martínez, from the Fabrica series,
cyanotype on Kozo paper, 30x45cm, 2018.
RECOMMENDED
If you can, it’s worth making the trip to see Photographs of British Algae by Anna Atkins. It is held in a number of collections,
including the Science Museum, the Natural History Museum and the Horniman in London, as well as the New York Public Library.
ABOUT CONSTANZA
Constanza Isaza Martínez is a visual artist, printmaker and art historian based in London, working with historical photographic processes.
Her photographic work focuses on still life and abstraction, with an emphasis on the materiality of the print. She is co-founder of Lux
Darkroom, where as well as teaching processes including platinum/palladium, photogravure, and cyanotype, she also prints editions in these
and other processes for a wide range of clients.
Visit constanzaisaza.com and luxdarkroom.co.uk
TECHNIQUE
TOP TIPS THE WINTER LANDSCAPE
All images Winter is the perfect season for black & white because often that’s all you get!
© Lee Frost
Lee Frost goes in search of stark simplicity.
O
f all the seasons we get As for the weather, we either get aspects of winter and look at it for what
to experience every year, swamped by snow or frozen to death. Just it really is, you'll quickly realise that it’s
winter has to be the least getting the car off the drive each morning an incredibly photogenic time of year.
favourite for most folk. Our can be like a military exercise, and if you There are few sights more captivating
perfectly tended gardens commute by train, you’d better wear your than the landscape covered in a layer of
turn into a hideous thermals, because there’s no guarantee crisp white snow, or the sun slowly rising
muddle of fallen leaves and rotting foliage, of what time you’ll finally make it to work. over a frosty landscape. Personally, I can’t
the landscape is stripped to its bare bones, Wrong kind of snow, they say. It was leaves get enough of winter – it’s an amazing time
temperatures drop to ridiculous levels and on the tracks just a few weeks before! of year for landscape photography, no
day and night seem to merge into one. However, if you ignore the negative matter how cold it is!
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Glencoe, Scotland
The snowy mountains against the stormy sky caught
my eye while I was shooting on Rannoch Moor, so
I fitted a telezoom to my DSLR and homed in
on the most dramatic part of the scene.
Canon EOS 5DS with 70-300mm lens,
ISO 400, 1/500sec at f/5.6
4
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4 KEEP IT SIMPLE
Snowfall simplifies the winter landscape by obscuring details. Only big, bold features remain Rannoch Moor, Scotland
after heavy snow – trees, pylons, walls, telegraph poles, fence lines and buildings. Low-level This simple composition literally appeared before
features are buried from view. This provides the perfect ingredients for stark, simple landscapes. my eyes when low cloud dispersed and the mountain
Use a telezoom lens to isolate a single feature, such as a bare tree in the middle of a snowfield behind the trees appeared. I isolated the scene
or a fence arching over the top of a snow-covered hill. Try to distil the image until all you’re left with a 300mm focal length.
with are simple shapes and tones. It’s surprising how little you need to create a successful Canon EOS 5DS with 70-300mm lens,
composition, and the simplicity of the winter landscape is ideally suited to this approach. ISO 100, 0.8sec at f/16
5 WINTER EXPOSURE 5
Underexposure is common when shooting
snow or frosty scenes because your camera
tries to record the white as a midtone grey –
the ‘average’ tone it’s calibrated to correctly
expose. To prevent this, you need to increase
the exposure. The amount varies depending
on the situation, but what you must avoid is
overexposing the snow, otherwise it will come
out pure white with no detail recorded.
Increase the exposure in 1/3-stop increments
using your camera’s exposure compensation
and check the histogram for each shot as
well as the preview image. You’ll see the
histogram gradually shift to the right. Keep
increasing the exposure until the histogram is
as far to the right as you can get it before the
brighter highlights start to overexpose. In some
situations, you may reach this point with 2/3-1
stops of exposure compensation, but in others
you may need to increase the exposure by
more than 2 stops. It doesn’t matter how much
you increase the exposure by, providing you
don’t blow the highlights.
‘Underexposure is common
when shooting snow or frosty
scenes because your camera tries
to record the white as a midtone
grey – the ‘average’ tone it’s
calibrated to correctly expose.’
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Budir Church, Iceland B+W
As most of this scene features snow, I needed to dial
in 1.5 stops of exposure compensation to prevent
the image from being underexposed.
Canon EOS 5DS with 24-70mm lens,
ISO 400, 1/100sec at f/11
6 CRACKING UP
After a freezing-cold night, a sheet of ice often
forms over still water in lakes, lochs, ponds and
puddles and offers great potential for pattern 6
and detail images. Trapped air forms millions
of tiny bubbles while the movement of water
as the ice forms results in graceful curves and
swirls in the ice. The repeated freeze-thaw
that occurs as temperature rise during the day
also creates amazing patterns that resemble
shattered glass, and one stretch of riverbank or
lakeshore can be the source of many different
images. A macro lens is ideal for real close-
ups, but a standard zoom or a 50mm prime
lens also works well. Just one obvious word of
warning – people die every winter when they
fall through ice into freezing water, so don’t take
unnecessary risks for the sake of a photograph.
8
8 FOREGROUND INTEREST
Nothing beats a big, dramatic wideangle
scene for capturing the drama and beauty
of winter, so keep your eyes peeled for
suitable candidates. Foreground interest
is particularly important. Look for snow-
covered boulders, footprints in the snow
and patterns in ice or water flowing around
frozen rocks, then get in low and close with
your widest lens to exaggerate perspective.
If you stop down to f/11 or f/16, you’ll be able
to record the whole scene in sharp focus. For
added drama, turn your camera on its side
and shoot in portrait format.
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10 DRESS CODE 10
The best method of staying warm and dry
in winter is to wear lightweight thermal
layers followed by a long-sleeved shirt or
lightweight fleece, a heavier fleece or down
jacket, and finally a decent wind/waterproof
jacket. Avoid jeans and instead wear thick
cotton or thermal trousers. Wearing a hat not
only keeps your head warm but your whole
body, as less heat will escape, while gloves
and boots will take care of your extremities.
In wet or freezing weather, wear waterproof
overtrousers.
A
remarked: ‘Consulting the While digital photography has made design background, these rules can
rules of composition before it easier for us to understand the basics seem baffling, arbitrary and irrelevant.
taking a photograph is like of shooting and editing images, our Few of us explore alternative visual
consulting the laws of gravity visual skills and knowledge of framing techniques employed by lesser-known
before going for a walk’. Like and composition has remained largely photographers and visual artists, so for this
Weston, I’m ambivalent to the importance based on two fairly ancient schemes: project, I’m going to encourage you to refresh
placed on Renaissance-era composition the rule of thirds and the golden ratio (or your approach to composition through
grids, but it’s best to understand their section). For many photographers who’ve practical shooting and reviewing tasks.
1 INFORMAL PRACTICE
REALLY HELPS
Having looked at paintings and photographs
for over 50 years, I’ve absorbed, adapted and
downright stolen many great compositional
schemes. A great way to improve your own
knowledge is to get into the habit of making
informal shoots, much like an artist treats
drawing as a preparation for painting. Keeping
up your creative fitness is what it’s all about,
not seeking perfection. Shoot this assignment
in your garden, local park or high street and
focus on experimentation. An even easier
method is to use your smartphone together
62 with a 3x3 grid overlay to practise composition
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in a more informal, less pressurised manner.
SECTION 1:
GRID SYSTEMS TO EXPLORE
INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE 1 GOLDEN RATIO/SECTION
‘Self-conscious artiness is fatal, but it certainly would not hurt to study OR FIBONACCI SPIRAL
Perhaps the most baffling to non-
composition in general. Having a basic understanding of composition
mathematicians is the golden section – that
would help construct a better organised image.’ beautiful but slightly unsettling spiral often
Berenice Abbott seen online overlaid above images of the
Mona Lisa or the Parthenon. The scheme
2
isn’t intended to provide us photographers
with a compositional grid, although there are
plenty of images on the net that have been
retrospectively measured against it (many
rather bafflingly using distorted or cropped
spirals to better argue their case).
Without delving too deep into the underlying
geometry, the ratio is effectively a rectangle
divided into a square, with the remainder also
subdivided into a square and so on, producing
a ratio of 1:1.6. Of course, the aspect ratios of
our modern-day DSLRs are different at 1:1, 3:2,
4:3 and 16:9, so arguably the two schemes can
only be fully unified by post-process cropping
(see Section 3). Above all, the golden ratio
is about proportion and volume rather than
positioning at intersections, as this uncropped
example shows, broken down into a square on
the right and a thinner column on the left, itself
further subdivided into a smaller square.
3 4
2 GOLDEN TRIANGLE artist’s frame is divided into two overlapping all is called dynamic symmetry, a complex
A much lesser-known grid is called the golden squares, each of which is subdivided by two grid scaffolded by multiple diagonal lines and
triangle. Here, the rectangular frame is sharply diagonal lines into four equal triangles. The triangles. Looking at first like a string artwork
divided by a diagonal line running from opposite scheme isn’t proposed as a compositional from the 1970s, this grid contains the most
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corners. Next, two further diagonals are drawn framing device, instead Westhoff claims lines of all and can be visually distracting
from the two remaining corners at right angles many well-known artworks contain important in use. Essentially, it’s a guide to achieving
to the diagonal. This grid is especially useful elements placed on the diagonals. It’s symmetry across multiple zones in your image
for street or event photography or any situation a fascinating theory and one that you and can be terrific fun to play with, especially
where there is a dynamic interplay between could easily look for in your own library when shooting scenes out on location, as
shapes and lines. As this situation moved into of photographs, like this example using this example shows. Set as a DIY overlay in
place, I adjusted my shooting position to take Lightroom’s similar Diagonal grid. camera, dynamic symmetry is incredibly
advantage of the diagonals. By lining up the useful if you are shooting interiors or studio
subjects against the grid as far as possible, 5 DYNAMIC SYMMETRY still life, as the grid lines tell you exactly where
I was able to turn a static, posed scene into Perhaps the most complicated scheme of to position props and objects.
a much more interesting shot.
3 RULE OF THIRDS
Much used by artists and draughtspersons
over the centuries, the ancient rule of thirds
offers a simple but structured way to organise
your photographs. The rule dictates that
an image should be divided into nine equal
sections, using two horizontal and two vertical
lines, with the most important elements
arranged at the intersections of these lines. In
principle, this sounds much more complicated
than it is in practice, but if you can lock the
main elements of your image on to any one
of these points, you can be guaranteed an
effective and pleasing result like this. However,
not all intersectional points need be filled.
4 DIAGONAL METHOD
This alternative to the rule of thirds was
developed by Dutch teacher and photographer
Edwin Westhoff. Here, the rectangle of the 5
SECTION 2: SHOOTING WITH GRIDS
Improve your compositional awareness by practising with grids.
1 WITH A SMARTPHONE better compose your scene. Best viewed on tempered glass or peel-off clear plastic. With
If you’ve got a basic smartphone, chances your DSLR’s rear LCD preview screen, search the screen protector affixed, switch the camera
are it’ll have a simple grid overlay that you can for Framing Grid (Nikon), Grid Display (Canon) on and with a fine permanent marker, place a
easily switch on. For Android phones, go to or Grid Line (Sony) in your camera settings dot in each corner of your chosen aspect ratio.
Camera > Settings > Grid Lines. For iPhones, menu. Some cameras, such as Panasonic’s Next, draw a rectangle from the dots and then
go to Camera > Settings > Grid. Usefully, when S1 (Sheer Overlay) and Nikon Z bodies draw your desired grid overlay on top. Great
you change the capture ratio settings (e.g. (Multiple Exposure > Overlay Shooting), even for exploring lesser-known grids such as the
from 4:3 to 16:9 or wider), the gridlines adjust allow you to use your own images as custom golden triangle and dynamic symmetry.
64 to the new shape. As smartphones have much viewfinder overlays. Make these active and
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higher-quality displays than the rear monitors compose your scenes using the grids as a
on our DSLRs, they offer a great way to practise guide. This Nikon Z 5 has a 4x4 framing grid.
screen-preview shooting as an alternative
to squinting through your DSLR viewfinder. 3 DIY OVERLAYS
If you like improvising with more complex grids,
2 WITH A DSLR a good way to explore these is to modify a
Like the etched ground-glass viewing screens screen protector on your smartphone. Available
of vintage field cameras, many modern-day from all internet auction sites for a couple
DSLRs provide screen overlays so you can of pounds, protectors are made from thin
2 3
SECTION 3: POST-PRODUCTION GRIDS
Lightroom Classic has a largely hidden cropping grid to help you review or rejig less-than-perfect compositions.
1 2 3
2 CROP-GRID OVERLAYS
To change the grid style, go to Tools > Crop
Guide Overlay and select one of the eight
options from Grid, Thirds, Diagonal, Centre,
Triangle, Golden Ratio, Golden Spiral or Aspect
Ratios (the latter is mostly used for unifying a
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set of images to a fixed proportion). You can
also use a keyboard shortcut (O) to cycle grid
overlays one after another and also Shift + O
to reorientate the overlay, the latter especially
useful for the golden spiral.
4 FINAL OUTCOME
For this task, I’ve reviewed some of my existing
images and found some surprising results, like
this shot which seemingly fits perfectly into
the golden section.
USEFUL RESOURCES
James Cowman’s informative website has a
free downloadable set of dynamic symmetry
grids – over 200 in total –and they are great
fun to play with in Photoshop or Lightroom.
the-art-of-composition.com
Edwin Westhoff’s diagonal method
diagonalmethod.info 4
COMMENT
A FORTNIGHT AT F/8
A bittersweet moment of clarity sees Tim Clinch ignore his own advice
All images and eschew his professional persona in favour of a more personal
© Tim Clinch
approach that allows his inner artist to roam freely.
ou’ve all known me strange noises I now make particularly badly affected. I’d been recommended to a
Y
a long time now when bending over to tie my In fact, it’s been almost client by someone I’ve worked
and I like to think shoelaces, the inability to drink impossible. In-flight airline with for many years for a
that while I may as much as I once did. No, magazines, for many years one five-day interiors/lifestyle/
very occasionally I’m talking about my attitude of the mainstays of my picture advertising shoot at a big and
seem a little to photography; my attitude sales, have pretty much ceased very glamorous marina in the
grumpy and curmudgeonly, I towards what, for all my to exist. I have wasted a lot of Adriatic. Organising it seemed
hope I have never come across working life, has been my job. time wondering whether I’ll to take forever and there were
as a moaner and never (in this Bear with me for a minute ever get commissioned for a big endless Zoom meetings with
column at least) been prone to or two. I’m not expecting any job again; whether I’ll ever get very earnest young people, all
self-pity or wasted any words sympathy, but times during that buzz I’ve always got when with different ideas for the
on you while freewheeling Covid have been tough. someone trusts me enough shoot. There were discussions
down Poor Little Me Street. Everyone has been badly professionally to handle a big with the producer about my
But a few things that have affected. Photographers, budget, organise a complicated lighting requirements, choice
been happening recently especially ones like myself shoot and deliver the results of models, styling options,
have left me feeling a little who specialise(d) in travel exactly as the client wanted. choice of locations etc. I went
melancholy and contemplative photography, have been Well, imagine my surprise into professional mode (this
about my life in photography. particularly hard hit. Travel recently when a big job did was, after all, something I’d
First of all, I’m getting itself, obviously, has been finally come my way again. done countless times before),
older. It’s something that is safe in the knowledge that it
happening to all of us and the ‘It was sometime in the morning of day two that would all be fine. I flew down
changes that it brings about the realisation hit me: I’m done; through with it. to the location, installed
are a constant surprise. I’m myself into my hotel and had
66 not talking about the physical In the words of the wonderful song by one of a couple of drinks with the
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side: the aches and pains, the my heroes, BB King, ‘The Thrill is Gone’.’ (charming) clients and crew.
timclinchphotography.com | @clinchpics | clinchpics
67
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I
t was sometime in the on the deck of a superyacht I watched the stylists running as the make-up ladies fussed
morning of day two that clutching their perfectly styled around ensuring that the and fretted, touching up lips
the realisation hit me: I’m G&Ts and chatting away like jumper draped casually round and eyes as they went, I realised
done; through with it. In they were all the best of friends the shoulders of one of the that, possibly for the first time,
the words of the wonderful even though they’d all just met male models had just the right I didn’t want to be doing this.
song by one of my heroes, BB up an hour previously, and as amount of casual elegance and So, I am not in any way falling
King, ‘The Thrill is Gone’. out of love with photography
In the classes that I run online THE PICTURES – far from it, it is my lifelong
with a fellow photographer This month’s selection is from the shoot I mentioned in the main text passion – but if the experience
friend (two-photographers.com), (as are the pictures in my column about smartphone photography with Covid has taught me
I am always banging on about on page 72). I’ve always struggled with the difference between my anything it is that I have spent
how, as photographers, we don’t personal life and my professional life. When I’m working, I often far too long taking pictures
actually learn that much just by photograph luxury and privilege, but in my personal life, I live in a tiny I don’t like, or (whisper it)
taking pretty pictures. That’s village in the foothills of the Balkans in Bulgaria and am never happier sometimes even care about,
the easy part. We learn and than when out walking with my dog. other than professionally, and
improve by pushing ourselves, These pictures remind me of something my great friend John Mason from now on I will be firmly
taking pictures we would not would say. John was a car photographer, which, like what I do, can ignoring my sage advice and
normally take and getting sometimes be glamorous but often means a lot of standing around in concentrating on what I and
out of our comfort zones. car parks waiting for the rain to stop. I’ve visited John on location many I alone want to do. Behind this
However, as I took another times and as the hours drag by and the rain keeps on falling, there hard-bitten professional facade
picture of a load of perfectly will inevitably come a point when he will look my way despairingly as is an artist struggling to get out
dressed models pretending to be everyone realises they are probably not going to get the shot done and he needs all the help and
millionaires swanning around today and utter the immortal words, ‘You see life in this job, man.’ encouragement he can get!
INSPIRATION
ONE-DAY PHOTO
A CRAFTY CONNECTION
PROJECTS Searching for the vital link between individuality and community, Eddie Ephraums
All images concludes that collaboration is the key to unlocking new skills and achieving levels
© Eddie Ephraums
of refinement that would otherwise be beyond our abilities.
T
his month’s project environment. Revisiting these craft plays in today’s digital printing presses introduced
looks back on a images has got me thinking photography and in what affordable photobook making.
pre-Covid one-day about craft and the loss I way, like tweed, it weaves a For many photographers
location shoot on sometimes feel for traditional connection with our subject. like me, producing one-off,
the Isle of Harris in analogue photography. The While the arrival of digital handmade or short-run books
the Outer Hebrides. darkroom was a very hands-on inkjet printing brought about has taken the place of the
The photographs are about environment that informed my the demise of traditional darkroom. The crafted stages
the craft of weaving tweed and image making. In comparison, analogue print making, so the of book making provide that
its connection with the local I’m wondering what role introduction of short-run digital vital, holistic connection with
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The inspiration
A Harris Tweed loom in action. The cloth is produced in a rugged landscape that provides both the raw woollen material and the inspiration for the fabric’s many designs.
The practice of weaving makes me think about the role of craft in today’s photography and how the traditional darkroom processing used to inform and feed back into
my image making. In contrast, watching a print come out of an automated inkjet printer can feel somewhat detached.
69
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The Idea
Many of Harris Tweed’s designs are influenced by the local environment and the elemental forces that shape it. I wanted to reflect this in my landscape images here,
using movement to emphasise those processes at work and to echo the action of the weaver’s loom. If a location such as this were to inspire a tweed design, what
would that pattern look like? While photography tends to represent the world literally, tweed does so in an abstract manner. What might we learn from this?
image making that also puts ‘I’m wondering what role craft plays in today’s making, I also find myself
a personal stamp on what is now collaborating with other
produced. Craft also makes it
digital photography and in what way, like tweed, people and my craft has
hard for others to simply copy it weaves a connection with our subject.’ greatly benefitted from this
our efforts, should they wish less individual approach.
T
to do so. speak to changing demands in here are useful lessons The printer I work with has
Just as analogue fashion. The cloth has found to be learned from an intimate understanding
photographers had to evolve new ways to place itself in a Harris Tweed that can of his digital printing press
their photographic practice in worldwide market. Some of the be applied to today’s that allows me to experiment
response to digital, so Harris highly original designs have photography. Like many of with unusual papers. His
Tweed making has had to even become part of a catwalk us, weavers work alone from knowledge has also enabled me
respond to changing times. couture that values craft and home, but the process involves to combine unlikely papers with
Originally, the tweed was authenticity over surface image, a community of dyers, blenders, unconventional ways of running
valued most for its functional and just like tweed, fashion is carders, spinners, warpers, the machine. The result is
qualities, but its warm, rugged looking to be more in tune with finishers and inspectors of bespoke solutions that I could
and waterproof attributes didn’t the environment. the cloth. With photobook ›
not have achieved by myself.
70
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The Realisation
Digital photography, and in particular computer post-processing and automated inkjet printing, has removed much of the time-consuming and sometimes unpredictable elements
of photography. Some would say this is for the better. But in trying to make things easier, has digital removed a very human need to be physically engaged with our creative practice?
And just like Harris Tweed, might our best images come from a more intimate – physical as well as mental – relationship with the world we photograph?
› Similarly, working with ‘I wonder about the usefulness of yet more However, it’s easy to confuse
an expert typographer has this sense of excitement
introduced a new level of images of faraway places or whether they with a genuinely informed
refinement to the important merely satisfy a personal desire to travel.’ engagement with the subject,
design aspect of my photobook like a traditional weaver has
making. The typographer might And what about Harris question: in what circumstances between their craft and their
see something in my layouts that Tweed’s all-important is it appropriate to travel for surroundings. If we follow their
needs emphasising or altering to connection with place? In these our photography? I wonder lead, we will create uniquely
properly reflect what I am trying hopefully post-Covid times, about the usefulness of yet more crafted images that are as
to communicate. All of this is it has become easier for us to images of faraway places or intimately connected with place
for the better, like working with travel with our cameras again. whether they merely satisfy a and as individual as the cloth
a binder who knows precisely But like many photographers personal desire to travel. designs they produce.
which glue to use for which in these more climate-aware I’d be the first to say it can
particular job and why. times, I find myself asking the be very stimulating to travel. envisagebooks.com
SUTHERLAND & CAITHNESS – PORTFOLIO WORKSHOP
I O WO
UD R
T
KS
OS W
HOPS –
–O
www.openstudioworkshops.com SC
info@openstudioworkshops.com OTLAND
TECHNIQUE SMART GUIDE TO PHOTOGRAPHY
Ever felt the urge to add a flock of ducks to your images at the touch of
All images a button? Tim Clinch has – and he’s regretted it ever since. Thankfully,
© Tim Clinch
phone photography has come a long way in the intervening six years.
72
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THE PICTURES
T
here are few things I’m photography changed, but lenses
ashamed about from Not what I would have chosen, but what my client wanted, they are have also made leaps and bounds
my time working for this all before-and-after pictures with flare added in afterwards at the as well. I pointed my cameras
wonderful publication, but post-production stage using the Lens Flare Optical Effects app. directly into the bright sun and…
one thing I wrote about at the dawn Do I like them? Not really, but the reality of being a working nothing. Zilch. Nada. Barely a
of this column around six years ago photographer is that you are very seldom shooting for yourself. hint of flare from iPhone, Huawei,
still leaves me feeling very uneasy. Canon or Fuji. Lenses these days
In those six years, things have Over the years, we have all jobs on my iPhone, had several are just too good!
changed substantially in the world grown up a bit and, as the good magazine spreads and a handful What to do? Well, back in
of smartphone photography. When book says, ‘Put away our childish of covers all using this remarkable the gimmicky days, I vaguely
I started, it was all about apps, things’. Anything I shoot on my capture device. remembered an app that added
seemingly fiendishly clever things iPhone these days can still be However, I recently came up all sorts of flare wherever you
that could make your pictures look summed up in one word, and against an unexpected problem wanted it. A quick Google search
like something they weren’t. You I’m delighted to say that word which had me searching through found exactly what I was looking
could make your portraits look is ‘photography’. all the apps I’ve deleted. I had for: an app called Lens Flare
like old sepia ‘Wanted’ posters After all these years, I have been commissioned to shoot Optical Effects was the answer to
from your favourite Western. You narrowed the number of apps some pictures at a very exclusive my prayers. Cheap, effective and
could make your landscapes look I use (and have on my phone) yacht marina in the Adriatic. It easy to use, it did the job perfectly.
like they were painted by Van to four or five and 99% of the was hyper-expensive and hyper- Now, please remember, I was
Gogh on old sacking. There were pictures I take on my phone glamorous (all the things I am not), not taking these pictures for
apps for all sorts of nonsense can be described as straight and one of the things they were myself – they were what my client
that made your photos look like photography, the thrill being the after for their social media were wanted (don’t ask why, the world of
one thing and one thing only: constant availability, the ease pictures with flare, the well-known commercial advertising works in
iPhone pictures. Back then, of use, the brilliant processing sunburst effect we all know from mysterious ways) – but if you ever
the mobile photography world software (Snapseed, of course) shooting directly into the sun. do need or want to add flare to your
could be pretty much summed and the ability to share my work Simple, I thought. I was wrong. images, it works a treat. Frankly, I
up in one word: gimmicky. instantly. I have shot several Not only has phone will probably never ever need to do
timclinchphotography.com | @clinchpics | clinchpics
73
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this again, but should you insist, app in those days, hopefully long so marvellous), a flock of ducks, a forfend) suggesting you might
there is almost certainly an app for forgotten, called Add Birds, which murmuration of starlings, a colony use it. My only defence was that
everything under the sun. enabled you to add to your picture, of gulls or an exultation of larks. I tried to mention a few new apps
So, back to the first sentence and at the touch of a button (and this It was truly a dreadful thing every month and must have been
the thing that I still cringe about… gives me a chance to use all and I apologise unreservedly for seriously scraping the bottom of
Well, dear reader, there was an these collective nouns which are mentioning it or even (heaven the barrel. Please forgive me!
SMARTSHOTS
Whatever camera you
have, we want to see
the pictures you take
when the moment
is right. We have
three Samsung
EVO Plus 64GB
MicroSDXC cards
with SD Adapters
(worth £25.99)
which have up to
100MB/s Read and
60MB/s Write speed to
give away each month
to three winners.
76
B+W
© ANTJE FINDEISEN
77
B+W
samsung.com/memorycard
YOUR B+W SALON
In our search for some of the best work by Black+White aficionados
we discovered Karol Srnec’s work. He captured these charismatic
and emotional portraits of local and exotic birds on the banks of the
Little Danube and in Bratislava Zoo, Slovakia.
78
B+W
I have been a photographer for more than 25 years and love black & white photography.
I always entertain the idea of converting my colour images to black & white, which seems
to elevate them into a more pleasing picture. Until recently I worked as editor-in-chief of
the internet portal ephoto.sk. However, along with so many people, my situation changed
dramatically through the Covid pandemic, and I am now building my own photography business.
I like to test out new equipment along the banks of the Danube and Little Danube. In the heart
of Bratislava the rivers are places of natural refuge, with visiting pelicans, swans and ducks.
LOVES
white 86x108mm borders. The printer is also
84 compatible with Fujifilm’s own cameras, including
B+W
the recent X-S10. Using Instax Wide film, the
Link Wide prints in around 12 seconds and will BENRO ROADTRIP PRO
produce about 100 prints per battery charge. For greater stability and versatility on your
£129.99 instax.co.uk NEW PHOTOGRAPHY travels, check out Benro’s new RoadTrip Pro
GEAR IN THE SHOPS tripods. These 6-in-1 models can be used as
a tripod, monopod, selfie stick, a full-height
AND ONLINE stand or as a ground-level or tabletop support,
the latter coming via an internal low-level leg
set, stored in the centre column. Available in
aluminium (£170) or carbon fibre (£225) and
weighing 1.37kg and 1.64kg respectively, they
have a maximum capacity of 8kg. Top height
is 152.5cm, folded length is just 38.5cm
and they come in black, silver or blue.
uk.benroeu.com
NIKON Z DX 18-140MM
F/3.5-6.3 VR WD ELEMENTS SE SSD
This all-in-one zoom for Nikon’s crop sensor If you’re on a short photo trip away from home,
(DX) mirrorless Z cameras offers an equivalent backing up is important, or you might need
24-210mm view and weighs just 315g, making large files to work with on the move. Either
it a great partner for the lightweight Z 50 or Z fc way, Western Digital’s Elements SE Solid State
bodies. It’ll also mount on full-frame (FX) bodies, Drive could be a great solution. Measuring just
although at reduced resolution thanks to the 64.5x64.5x8.7mm and weighing 27.2g, it’s
smaller image circle created. The 7.8x zoom genuinely pocket sized, but fast and affordable,
range is certainly versatile, and it can deliver a with read speeds up to 400MB/s – much
close focus of 20cm wide or 40cm telephoto, faster than a traditional HDD – and capacities of
while 5-stop vibration reduction allows sharper 480GB, 1TB and 2TB. It’s pre-formatted for Mac
pictures without the need for IBIS. and Windows and comes with a USB 3.0 cable.
£599 nikon.co.uk From £89.99 shop.westerndigital.com
TTARTISAN LIGHTMETER
Fans of keeping their photography as traditional
as possible should check out this hotshoe-
mounted lightmeter from TTArtisan. As you’d
expect, the meter has dials for ISO, aperture and
shutter speed, and a series of LEDs indicate
when correct exposure has been set. These
dials run from ISO 25-6,400, f/1 to f/22 and 1sec
to 1/2000sec respectively. Made from aluminium
and with a 60-hour battery life, it measures SONY A7 IV
40mm square and 13mm high and comes in Still arguably the leader in mirrorless camera tech, image stabilisation (IBIS) that offers up to 5.5
either silver of black to match your camera. Sony has updated its ‘generalist’ full-frame range stops of advantage, and the body now features a
£65 ttartisan.myshopify.com with the new A7 IV. The A7 models are designed fully articulated LCD, where the A7 III’s only tilted.
to offer an excellent mix of functions without the It has dual SD slots, one of which can also take a
specialised elements of the A1, A7S, A7R and A9 CFexpress Type A card, measures 131x96x80mm
series, but based on spec, the MkIV looks to be and weighs 658g, so should be a nicely portable
an incredibly capable camera in its own right. model. The A7 IV will be available from December
The A7 IV sees an upgrade in resolution – perfect for your Christmas list.
with a new back-illuminated 33MP sensor, up £2,399 sony.co.uk
from the 24MP chip on the MkIII. It also has a
85
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stated dynamic range of 15 stops, which is very
impressive. A new Bionz XR processor, the
same as used in Sony’s flagship A1, is also on
board, giving a native ISO from 100-51,200,
expandable to 50-204,800.
It can shoot at up to 10fps, and for AF it sports
759 phase-detection AF points covering 94%
of the frame, which functions with Sony’s Real-
time Eye AF mode for perfect focus in portraits
and candids. Bird and animal eye tracking has
been added to that mode, too.
For working handheld
in low light, the A7 IV
has five-axis in-body
SAMYANG AF
24-70MM F/2.8 FE
Celebrating its 50th year in optical design
and engineering, Samyang has launched a
landmark lens in the shape of the AF 24-70mm
f/2.8 FE. Designed for Sony E mount, this is the
company’s first-ever zoom and has a fast f/2.8
aperture. It fits both Sony full-frame and APS-C
format cameras, where it’ll give a 36-105mm
equivalent and uses a linear stepping motor for
smooth, quick and quiet AF. A useful minimum
focus of 35cm gives magnification at 0.27x. It’s
weather sealed, measures 128.5x88mm, weighs
1,027g and takes 82mm filters.
£829 samyanglens.com
TESTS AND
PRODUCTS
CHECKOUT
With a focal length that roughly reflects the perspective of the human eye,
50mm primes also offer the benefit of fast maximum apertures.
Here’s our selection of nifty fifties to suit every budget.
SIGMA 50MM F/1.4 DG HSM ART
Pro-spec glass with numerous mounts
Taking its place in Sigma’s acclaimed Art series of professional-
level optics, the Sigma 50mm is available in a variety of mounts
including Canon EF, Nikon F, Sony E and L-mount for Sigma, Leica
and Panasonic full-frame cameras. Weighing 815g, the 50mm is a
solidly built optic that can take the rigours of everyday professional
use. A minimum focusing distance of 40cm means photographers
can get in close to their subjects, which is especially useful when
trying to capture cropped-in portraits.
Packing Sigma's HSM (Hyper Sonic Motor) technology for fast
and accurate autofocus, which broadens this lens’ appeal to
videographers as well as still shooters, the 50mm Art features 13
elements in eight groups to pack in SLD (Special Low Dispersion)
CANON EF 50MM F/1.4 USM glass to minimise axial chromatic aberration.
A rounded nine-blade diaphragm design means the Sigma
A golden oldie that still shines 50mm Art will offer plenty of attractive bokeh, especially when
While the EF 50mm f/1.4 may be as old as the hills, launching used at the maximum aperture of f/1.4. Photographers shooting
way back in 1993, it still offers Canon DSLR shooters a clever in high-contrast lighting will appreciate the inclusion of Sigma’s
compromise that bridges the gap between price and quality. Super Multi-Layer Coating technology, which reduces flare and
This is because while the lens costs under £400, it delivers an ghosting, while the professional-level credentials of the lens
ultra-fast maximum aperture of f/1.4, something rarely seen are backed up by its rugged construction which uses both a
in lenses at this price point. Featuring an eight-bladed circular high-precision brass bayonet mount and TSC (Thermally Stable
86 diaphragm for impressive bokeh, the EF 50mm switches up to Composite) to keep the lens light yet strong.
B+W
80mm when used on APS-C DSLRs such as the 90D and 7D MkII.
Despite the fast f/1.4 maximum aperture, the lens remains
lightweight, tipping the scales at just 290g and measuring 73.8 x
50.5mm. The USM in the lens’ name stands for Ultra Sonic Motor,
a nod to the speedy motor that controls the focusing mechanism.
This is a simple lens design with an AF/MF switch on the side
of the lens barrel and thin zoom ring. The 50mm f/1.4 does
includes a clever touch in the shape of a physical focus length
display which measures from 45cm (the lens’ minimum focusing
distance) to infinity. Remember, although this may be an older
lens and one for EF-mount DSLRs, photographers using newer
RF mirrorless cameras such as the R5 can add this optic to
their set-up by pairing it with an adaptor.
LIKES LIKES
Fast maximum aperture Impressive build quality
Value for money Acclaimed image quality
Lightweight Close minimum focusing distance
DISLIKES DISLIKES
Older motor design Heavier build
LIKES LIKES
Huge focus ring Ultra-fast maximum aperture
Weather sealing Premium image quality
Premium image quality Weather sealing
DISLIKES DISLIKES
Slower maximum aperture A little pricey Expensive
Call now on
01273 402855
Or email
gmcadvertising@thegmcgroup.com
CO
OL,
CREAT
IVE
AND
CO
NTE
MP
OR
ARY
ISSUE NO.259
Y
ORAR
TEMP
CON
AND
TIVE
CREA
L,
COO
All images: © Shutterstock
ISSUE
NO.2
59
ISSU
E NO
.25
9
LIKES LIKES
Excellent value for money Fast STM motor
Simple design Value for money
Lightweight Lightweight dimensions
DISLIKES DISLIKES
Small filter size Slower maximum aperture
90
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SMARTSHOTS
Whatever camera you
have, we want to see
the pictures you take
when the moment
is right. We have
three Samsung
EVO Plus 64GB
MicroSDXC cards
with SD Adapters
(worth £25.99)
which have up to
100MB/s Read and
60MB/s Write speed to
give away each month
to three winners.
This month’s winner is Corinne Palm from Belgium, who wins a 20x24in print dry-mounted
on to Foamex, an exceptional quality and highly rigid foamboard. Corinne can choose
from a range of four digital and seven fine art papers for printing.
Do you have a single image that you Shoot with any camera and send in your pictures – you could be one of three lucky winners
would like printed big and hung on your each month who wins a Samsung EVO Plus 64GB MicroSDXC card. Upload your pictures to
wall? Send the file to us and you could our website, via Twitter by tagging us @BWPMag and using the hashtag #smartshots. If you
win just that. are successful we will request high-res files.
91
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facebook.com/blackandwhitephotog
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER
@BWPMag
FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM 78 79
@bwphotomag B+W B+W
PRIVACY
If you win a prize (Last Frame or I have been a photographer for more than 25 years and love black & white photography.
I always entertain the idea of converting my colour images to black & white, which seems
to elevate them into a more pleasing picture. Until recently I worked as editor-in-chief of
Smartshots) you agree we can give the internet portal ephoto.sk. However, along with so many people, my situation changed
dramatically through the Covid pandemic, and I am now building my own photography business.
I like to test out new equipment along the banks of the Danube and Little Danube. In the
heart of the city the rivers are places of natural refuge with visiting pelicans, swans and ducks.
your contact details (address, email All images © Karol Srnec | karolsrnec.sk
Leica M10-R £7200 inc. VAT Leica M10-P Black or Silver £6490 inc. VAT Leica M-Monochrom (body only)
Black or Silver £7400 inc. VAT
Leica Q2 Monochrom £4990 inc. VAT Leica M-A Black or Silver £4100 inc. VAT Leica MP 0.72 Black Paint or Silver
£4100 inc. VAT
Leica SL2 £5300 inc. VAT Leica Q2 £4390 inc. VAT Leica D-Lux 7 £1030 inc. VAT
Please check our website for full list. All new Leica products are covered by usual manufacture’s guarantee
Pre-owned
Leica 35mm f2.5 Summarit-S CS + hood (boxed) Mint- Leica 90mm f4 Elmar Collapsible Exc++ £350
£2390
Leica 45mm f2.8 Summarit-S CS (boxed) Mint- £2390 Kinoptik Paris 100mm f2 Apochromat (Converted to M
Mount by us) Exc+ £3990
Leica 70mm f2.5 Summarit-S CS + hood (boxed) Mint- £1590
Mint-
Leica Screw Mount
Leica 180mm f3.5 Apo-Elmar-S CS + hood (boxed) £2390
Leica IIIg Chrome Canadian (Just been serviced by us) Exc++ £850
Leica Multifunction Handgrip S with Battery Exc £320
Leica IIIg Chrome Exc++ £750
Leica M-Monochrom (typ246) (boxed) Exc++ £3290
Leica I Black Paint with 5cm f3.5 Elmar (Nickel) Exc £990
Leica M6 0.85 TTL Black Mint- £2790
Leica IIIf Black Dial Exc+ £270
Leica MP 0.72 Black Paint (Boxed) Exc++ £3490
Leica IIIf R/D D/A just serviced by us Exc++ £420
Leica MP 0.72 A La Carte Black Paint (Boxed) As new £4290
Leica IIIc Exc++ £320
Leica M2 Chrome Exc+ £890
Leica 5cm f3.5 Elmar Red Scale L39 Exc++ £290
Leica Motor-M Mint £250
Nikon 5cm f1.4 Nikkor-S.C Nippon Kogaku L39 Exc+ £590
Lenses (M Mount) Leica 9cm f4 Elmar L39 in Lens keeper Exc++ £130
Contax 16mm f8 Hologon T* + V/finder & filter Mint- £990 Leica 9cm f4 Elmar L39 Exc+ £110
Leica 16-18-21mm f4 Tri-Elmar-M + Finder (boxed) Mint £3290 Leica 10.5cm f6.3 Elmar (Mountain-Elmar) + hood Exc £570
Leica 21mm f2.8 Elmarit-M ASPH + hood Mint- £1790 Leica 13.5cm f4.5 Hektor L39 - good optics User £80
Minolta 28mm f2.8 M-Rokkor + hood Exc £390 Leica R7 Black Exc+++ £420
Leica 28mm f2.8 Elmarit-M + hood 3rd Version Exc++ £790 Leica 28mm f2.8 PC-Super-Angulon-R Exc+ £790
Leica 28mm f2.8 Elmarit-M ASPH + hood 6 bit Exc+++ £1050 Leica 28-70mm f3.5-4.5 Vario-Elmar-R ROM + hood Mint £490
Leica 35mm T2 Summicron-C (Cine Lens) Mint £7900 Angenieux 35-70mm f2.5-3.3 (Leica R mount) Exc+++ £750
Zeiss 35mm f1.4 Distagon ZMT* Black Mint- £1050 Leica 35-70mm f4 Vario-Elmar-R ROM + hood Mint- £650
Leica 50mm f1.4 Summilux Chrome 2nd Vesion Exc+ £1350 Leica 50mm f1.4 Summilux-R 3 Cam Exc £990
Leica 50mm f2 Summicron Chrome Rigid Exc++ £1050 Leica 50mm f2 Summicron-ROM Exc+++ £790
Leica 50mm f2 Summicron-M Exc+ £950 Leica 60mm f2.8 Macro-Elmarit-R ROM (boxed) Mint- £690
Leica 50mm f2.8 Elmar Chrome scratchy front glass Exc+ £350 Leica 90mm f2 Apo-Summicron-R ASPH ROM “RARE” Mint- £2750
Leica 50mm f2.8 Elmar -M Black + hood Exc++ £550 Leica 180mm f2.8 Elmarit-R 3 Cam User £250
Leica 90mm f2 Summicron Chrome Canadian Exc+ £550 Leica 180mm f3.4 Apo-Telyt-R 3 Cam Exc++ £650
Leica 90mm f2 Summicron-M Built in hood (boxed) Exc++ £850 Leica 280mm f2.8 Apo-Telyt-R 3 Cam with Flight Case Mint- £2390
Leica 90mm f2 Summicron-M Built in hood Mint- £990 Leica Extender-R 2X Mint- £120
Leica 90mm f2 APO-Summicron-M ASPH Mint- £1990 Leica Motor-Winder R8 Exc++ £80
We are always keen to purchase your pre-owned cameras and lenses either outright or through part-exchange.
96
B+W
© Diana Bloomfield
F UJ I F I L M -X .CO M
IMAGE TAKEN BY CHINA X-PHOTOGRAPHER JI GUO
‘Best Photo Lab Worldwide’
Awarded by the Editors of 26 International Photography Magazines
TIPA World Award 2013, 2017, 2020 and 2021
Suxing Zhang
WhiteWall Ambassador
WhiteWall Ambassadors are among the most respected, talented, and influential
professional photographers in the world, and they rely on WhiteWall‘s gallery
quality services for their exceptional artworks. Discover unique photo products,
made in-house at our facility in Germany, such as the original photo print
under acrylic glass with floater frame from our in-house manufacture.
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