amateur photographer - 15 august 2015

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Saturday 15 August 2015

Passionate about photography since 1884

Into

light Jeremy Walker shows how to shootdramatic contre-jour landscapesFollow theswallow

David Tipling on

photographinghis favourite bird

th a one-inch sensor and 25 x zoom,

t

his the per fec t carr y-around camera?

Digital Armageddon Why your photo archive could be lost to future generations

Sony RX100 IV

A great compactgets even better

the

C a n o n G 3 X


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7da s A week in photography

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In this issue10 Into the light

Jeremy Walker shows youhow to shoot dramaticcontre-jour landscapes

22 DigitalArmageddon

Could we be heading intoa digital dark age as weface the limited lifespan

of storage media? ChrisCheesman investigates

30 Wildlife watch

The end of summer isa great time to shootmigrating swallows,explains David Tipling

32 Playing withperspective

Daniel Picard’s FigureFantasy series imaginespop culture icons ineveryday settings. Hetalks to Jon Stapley

36 Reader portfolio

Spotlight on readers’excellent images andhow they captured them

42 Evening class

Martin Evening sorts outyour photo-editing andpost-processing problems

46 Canon PowerShot G3 X

Canon’s latest enthusiastCSC offers a compellingcombination of a longzoom range and 1insensor. Andy Westlaketests it out

53 Sony Cyber-shot DSCRX100 IV

Sony set the bar high withits Cyber-shot DSC-RX100III, and the RX100 IVpromises to be even faster,says Michael Topham

Regulars 3 7 days19 Inbox44 Accessories57 Technical

Support82 Final Analysis

I recorded my eldest son’searly years on film, and have boxes full of prints of him.

By the time his brother camealong I’d switched to digital,

and most of his early photos are on harddrives. Can I be confident that both my kids will be able to see their pictures when they’remy age? Until recently, I thought the answer was yes – I have a Drobo storage solution thatstores my 2TB’s worth of images on multiple

hard drives. But then the drives startedfailing. ‘They don’t last for ever, you know,’I was reminded – and then it was pointed

out to me that my five-year-old Drobo wasitself getting on a bit. I’m now having torethink my entire archiving strategy. I knowthere are millions of others like me, andperhaps you’re even one of them yourself.If so, do take a look at our Digital Armageddon feature on pages 22-27.Nigel Atherton, Editor

Send us your pictures If you’d like to see your work published inAmateur Photographer , here’s how to send us your images:Email Email a selection of low-res images (up to 5MB of attachments in total) to [email protected] .CD/DVD Send us a disc of high-resolution JPEG, TIFF or PSD images (at least 2480 pixels along its longest length), with a contact sheet, to the address on page 20.Via our online communities Post your pictures into our Flickr group, Facebook page or the gallery on our website. See details above.Transparencies/prints Well-packaged prints or slides (without glass mounts) should be sent by Special Delivery, with a return SAE, to the address on page 20.

C O V E R P I C T U R E © J

E R E M Y W A L K E R

ONLINE PICTURE OF THE WEEK

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E N W A Y M A N

I M A G E S M A Y B E U S E D F O R P R O M O T I O N P U R P O S E S O N L I N E A N D O N S O C I A L M E D I A

Knowing how best toarrange the chaoticelements of a scenein order to create anengaging compositionis an important skill.

However, in thisshot by AP forumuser Ben Wayman,we see the other endof the scale: makingthe best use of emptyspace. The bank ofmist on the horizon

really helps to parethe scene down, andby shooting fromthis angle Ben hasensured that thetrees on the left andright act as strongcompositional andvisual anchors.

WastWater,Wasdale

by BenWaymanNikon D60, 18-55mm, 50secs atf/5.6, ISO 100

Each week we choose our favourite picture on Facebook, Flickr or the readergallery using #appicoftheweek. PermaJet proudly supports the online picture

of the week winner, who will receive a top-quality print of their image on the finestPermaJet paper. It is important to bring images to life outside the digital sphere, so weencourage everyone to get printing today! Visit www.permajet.com to learn more.

Win!


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Red

ross

chal

lenge

Canon DSLR prizes are up for grabsin the British Red Crosscompetition for photographersaged 25 and under. Organisers saythe event celebrates the‘extraordinary contributions’ youngpeople make to the lives of others.The closing date is 20 September2015. For details visitwww.redcross.org.uk/theaward.

Kenko convertersKenko has launched two teleconverters, initially available inCanon fit. Compatible wi th Canon EF and EF-S lenses, the TeleplusHD DGX 1.4x and Teleplus HD DGX 2x teleconverters cost £219 and£279.99 respect runique circuitrymaintain signalintegrity betweethe camera bodyand lens, allowinaccurate recordiof digital Exif da

Rights victorySinger Taylor Swift (pictured)has issued a revised contract for

photographers after complaintsabout previous ones. Lastmonth, The Irish Times refusedto publish photos of Swiftbecause her contract demanded‘perpetual, worldwide right touse the published photographsin any way she sees fit’.

CSC video on riseVideographers favour compact system cameras, such as the

Fujifilm X-T10 pictured below, over DSLRs when shooting movies,says market analystFuturesource Consulting.

European shipments ofDSLRs for professional

video use fell 41% in 2014as more videographersturn to compactsystem cameras.

4 15 August 2015 I www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I subscribe 0330 333 4555

Notting Hill Carnival‘The Notting Hill Carnival has become an institution,’

says travel photographer Craig Roberts. ‘First held in

1964 as an offshoot of the Trinidad Carnival, it’s now

the largest street festival in Europe. Held yearly on

the August Bank Holiday (this year on 2931 August),

it has become a spectacle of costumes, colour,

music, Caribbean food, extravagance and sheer

entertainment that rivals the carnivals that take

place in Brazil, with more than one million peopleattending over the weekend. You can expect to see

some 50,000 performers, so for the best viewpoints,

take the Tube to Kensal Green station and walk

down to Ladbroke Grove. This is where the floats

meet to start the procession and it allows you more

access than later on the route. Have fun, enjoy the

(loud!) music and above all, take plenty of pictures!’

1You want to keep your kitsmall, light andinconspicuous, so take

a DSLR or mirrorless camerawith wide-to-standard zoom.This will allow you to get innice and close to the dancersand other participants.

2You’ll find that the

participants are morethan willing to have

their picture taken and willoften pose especially for you.You’ll find plenty of otherphotographers here doingthe same thing, so you won’tbe the only one doing this.

NEWS ROUND-UP

WEEKEND PROJECT

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I R I L L K U D R Y A V T S E V / A F P / G E T T Y I M A G E S

© I S T O C K P H O T O . C O M / E D S T O C K

S O U V I D D

A T T A

Vivian Maier showPhotographs by US nanny VivianMaier, who created an archive

of 100,000 negatives andundeveloped rolls of film butdied before achieving fame, havegone on show in London. Maier’sascent from recluse to reveredartist is phenomenal, explainsthe Beetles+Huxley gallery,which is hosting the exhibitionuntil 5 September. Visitwww.beetlesandhuxley.com.

The week in brief, edited by Chris Cheesman © V I V I A N M A I E R / J O H

N M A L O O F C O L L E C T I O N / I M A G E C O U R E S Y B E E T L E S + H U X L E Y


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3A flashgun is useful toadd a splash of fill-inlight on overcast days

(it is a bank holiday!), or even ifit’s sunny, to fill in the shadowson people’s faces. It will alsomake their colourful costumesall the more vibrant.

4Use a wide aperture to

help isolate yoursubject, while a

telephoto lens will be useful toisolate individuals, as well asallowing you to crop in nice andtight when you can’t get closeenough, or if shooting from oneside of the street to the other. ©

C R A I G R O B E R T S

Many of the carnival’sparticipants will happilypose for pictures

Onlyphotographwhat you

loveTim Walker

British fashion photographer

b1970

Many of us have little or noexposure to the sport of

fencing. This is unfortunate,because the skill involved in thismost demanding of activities is an

astonishing feat. It also happens tobe a sport that, as we can seehere in this shot by KirillKudryavtsev, lends itself perfectlyto exciting and dramatic images.Here we see a long-exposureshot showing Japan’s Yuki Ota(left) vying with the USA’sAlexander Massialas (right) duringthe men’s individual foil final eventat the 2015 World FencingChampionships in July. Thespectacle took place in Moscow,Russia, and saw Ota take a gold

medal. Ota’s career is clearly onthe up, as he also took a silvermedal in the team foil at London2012 Olympic Games and anindividual silver at the Beijing2008 Olympic Games.

BIG

picture

10,700Images entered into theHasselblad Masters 2016, by

more than 4 ,000 photographers

Japan takes a gold

medal in the 2015 World

Fencing Championships

Words & numbers

5

S O U R C E

: H A S S E L B L A D


6/846 15 August 2015 I www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I subscribe 0330 333 4555

CANON has launcheda compact ‘multi-

purpose’ professional videocamera, built for ‘extremelylow light’ with a top ISO ofmore than 4 million.

The Canon ME20F-SH isdesigned for filming wildlifeat night, surveillance orastronomy, for example.

Its full-frame 2.26MPCMOS imaging sensordispenses with the needfor infrared illumination,so shooting in colour withreduced noise is possibleeven in low light, says Canon.

Canon added: ‘The abilityto install the camera in a

semi-permanent location,with remote-controloperability, also means thatfor documentary andnatural-history filmmakers,long-term projects andevents can be capturedwith minimum staffing.’

Prices and availability areyet to be confirmed, withCanon to release a list ofcompatible lenses soon.

Canon shows ‘4 million’ ISOvideo camera

Enthusiast quits job to

become Instagram star

Eelco Roos gained 454,000 Instagramfollowers with his typically Dutch photos

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E L C O R O O S

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Eelco’s ‘Reflectionsfrom Canada’ taken

with a Samsung NX1

A SELF-TAUGHT Dutchphotographer who left his job

in IT after more than a decade hasbecome one of the biggest hits onInstagram, gaining nearly half amillion followers.

Eelco Roos, who has been apassionate photographer sincehe was 16, quit his job at IBM inAmsterdam, the Netherlands, inApril 2014, aged just 39.

Ditching a stable job after morethan 10 years would count as ascary prospect for anyone, andEelco was no exception.

‘I had some sleepless nightsthinking about quitting and whatthat would mean for me and myfamily, for sure,’ he told AP.

‘The decision was not made lightly.I am the proud father of two boys,and my girlfriend and I have amortgage, so there are loadsof responsibilities.

‘After a lot of discussions with my

girlfriend, she eventually gave methe confidence to follow my heartand chase the dream.’

Before leaving IBM, Eelco hadsqueezed in some part-timecommercial photography work. But juggling this with a nine-to-five jobwas ‘far from ideal’.

He added: ‘It got to a point whereI had to buy vacation time to be ableto travel for commissions. This waspretty stressful on my family – anine-to-five [job], plus a lot of travel

for my photography.’So, what’s Eelco’s secret to

attracting such a vast number ofInstagram followers – 454,000 atthe last count?

‘I think I was lucky to be one of thefirst to embrace the [Instagram] appin the Netherlands. Because the

Instagram audience waspredominantly American in theearly days, I guess my typical Dutchphotos of cows and cyclists stoodout, which definitely helped megrow in the beginning.

‘After a good year or so, Instagramnoticed my feed and added me totheir suggested user list, which mademe grow insanely fast.’

For Instagram newcomers, Eelco

advises using popular hashtagsbecause this is ‘usually a good wayto get your work out there forothers to see’.

He continued: ‘For anyonecontemplating a similar move, ifyou feel you have a future in yourhobby’s field, go for it!

‘Make a plan on how you want toreach certain goals and then workfor it, hard…

‘I came to the conclusion thatI’d rather take a chance, jump inhead-first and fail miserably than

regret not even trying.’Eelco’s kit includes a Canon EOS

5D Mark III for commercial work,while for Instagram, he mainly usesan iPhone.

To view Eelco’s work visitwww.croyable.com. You can alsofollow him on Twitter eelcoroos.


7/84subscribe 0330 333 4555 I www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I 15 August 2015 7

FLICKR owner Yahoo has rolled outwhat it says is an improved version

of Flickr Pro to new and existingmembers, at a price of £32 per year.

Benefits include improved navigationand statistics when viewing photos, whichis aimed at helping users discover whichimages ‘hit the mark with their friends’.

For new members, Flickr Pro costs £4

per month or £32 per year. The originalFlickr Pro was discontinued for newusers in May 2013.

The storage limit for both the free andPro accounts is one terabyte.

Flickr states that existing Pro memberswill be automatically upgraded.

For details, members can visitwww.flickr.com/account/upgrade.

Dog Photographer of

the Year competitionDog Photographer of the Year is back! Time to snap some lovelyportraits of our canine pals. There are a few different categoriesto try out, so shop around and try your luck.

Take a landscape weekendWhy not give your photography the treat it deserves by planninga weekend away to reconnect and take some great pictures? Ourtechnique editor hasput together a greatguide on making themost of a weekendlandscape shoot,which you can readat the link below.

Collecting NowThe Scottish National PortraitGallery has acquired aselection of images from 20thcentury photographer PaulStrand, and will have them ondisplay among its CollectingNow exhibition.

Out of the BlueEnter this new ocean-focusedphotography competition,launched by the Prince ofWales, and you could stand achance of winning £5,000.You’ve only got a couple ofweeks, so get shooting.

Eden Project competitionYou can win an Asus laptop with thiscompetition by the Eden Project, theworld’s largest indoor rainforest. Snapyour best shot of some of the beautifulexotic plants on show, and post it onTwitter with the tag #edenphotocomp.

EVERYWHERE

EDINBURGH

SEA AND COAST

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P E R T U R E F O U N D A T I O N I N C , P

A U L S T R A N D A R C H I V E

© R I C H A R D S I B L E Y

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T E P H G I B S O N & T H E K E N N E L C L U B

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A U R E N W I L M S H U R S T

© P H I L H A L L

Until 13 March 2016, www.dogphotographeroftheyear.org.uk

Until 20 September,www.nationalgalleries.org

Until 6 September, www.outofthebluecompetition.com

Until 29 September,www.edenproject.com

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/weekend

The most interesting things to see, to do

and to shoot this week. By Jon Stapley

Flickr relaunches Flickr Pro

Nikon unveils three new lensesNIKON has launchedthree new lenses,

including the AF-S Nikkor24mm f/1.8G ED, priced£629.99.

The new 24mm f/1.8prime lens is built todeliver ‘exceptional imagequality and low-lightperformance’, and adds a‘cinematic feel’ to movies.

It is also compact andlightweight, so is ideal fortravel photographers,adds Nikon.

The FX-formatnewcomer boasts a

23cm. On a DX-formatDSLR its equivalent focallength is 36mm.

Nikon is also set torelease a new super-telephoto, the AF-S Nikkor200-500mm f/5.6E EDVR. This FX-format zoomis aimed at photographersshooting birds in flight,planes and sports.

Priced £1,179.99,the 19-elements-in-12-groups 200-500mmf/5.6 lens features Nikon’s

Sport VR mode, which isdesigned to deliver a stable

r

Launch dates for the24mm and 200-500mmhave yet to be announced.

Finally, Nikon hasoverhauled the mostwidely used zoom lens inits professional line-up: theAF-S Nikkor 24-70mmf/2.8E ED VR.

Nikon claims the new24-70mm f/2.8 lens isfaster, stronger andsteadier, thanks to its VRtechnology, and newoptical construction

The 24-70mm f/2.8EED VR is out on 27

For the latest news visit www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

Flickr Pro will give users better access to the viewing statistics of their images

Get up & go

The new AF-S Nikkor 24mm f/1.8G ED (left) and 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR (right)

Nikon’s new super-telephoto

AF-S Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR lens

CORNWALL

EVERYWHERE



New BooksThe latest and best books from the

world of photography. By Oliver Atwell

Schudeby Ryan Schude, Roads Publishing,£40, hardback, 192 pages,ISBN 978-1-90939-962-4

LA-BASED photographerRyan Schude is not knownfor his moderation. If youwill, imagine GregoryCrewdson with attentiondeficit disorder and thatshould give you a fair ideaof what to expect from

Schude’s prismatic and serried tableaux. That’s nota criticism by any means. Schude’s work is riotous inits extravagance, and is a beautiful exploration of popAmericana. Each image is exquisitely crafted. Theimages work almost in much the same manner as inwhich a magic-eye picture would reveal itself: themore you stare at Schude’s images, the more of thepicture is revealed. This is Schude’s first book, andwhile the image reproduction quality leaves a little tobe desired, it’s a fitt ing tribute to a man who worksevery detail to his utmost satisfaction.+++++

T H E V I E W S E X P R E S S E D I N T H I S C O L U M N A R EN

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Do you have something you’d like to get off your chest

Send us your thoughts in around

500 words to the address o n page 20 and win a year’s digital subscription to AP wo rth £79.99

Portrait Masteryin Black & Whiteby Tim Kelly, Amherst Media,£24.99, paperback, 128 pages,ISBN 978-1-60895-843-6

BOOKS by Amherst Media can varywildly in quality (their range of booksdetailing 500 poses for models wasa notable head-scratcher). However,once in a while the companyproduces a book or two that’s morethan worth looking into, and this isone of those titles. It may be a little

of an embellishment to refer to photographer Tim

Kelly as legendary (as it does on the cover), but lookingthrough Kelly’s images places you in no doubt that thisis a practitioner who understands his craft. There areplenty of books like this on the market – ones in whichwe are presented with an image and a diagram of howit was lit – but rarely are the images themselves soengaging. With that in mind, this is definitely one of thebetter titles of its nature on the market.+++++

© R Y A N S C H U D E

Not long ago I wrote in thismagazine that smart lensesthat connect to yoursmartphone, such as the

Sony QX series, the Kodak SL models orthe Olympus Air, were a solution lookingfor a problem. Considering there’s noscreen and only very few controls, relativelylarge dimensions and Wi-Fi-induced lag,they simply couldn’t rival similarly specifiedcompact cameras.

However, a smart lens has finally beenlaunched that I am very much lookingforward to using and testing. And perhapsit’s no coincidence that the mostinnovative approach yet in this productsegment hails from a company not knownfor its hardware. French software makerDxO Labs is best known for its raw imageconverter and as a provider of image-processing solutions to camera and

mobile device manufacturers, but its firstimage-capturing device, the DxO One,already looks like a winner to me.

So why is the One better than the othermodels mentioned above? There areseveral reasons, but the most obvious isits physical connection to the smartphone.All models we’ve seen until now use aWi-Fi connection to communicate withthe smartphone. In contrast, the DxO Oneuses the Apple iPhone’s physical Lightningconnector. This solution not onlyeliminates the annoying lag we’ve seen onthe Wi-Fi models, but also effectively

turns your iPhone into a premiumcompact camera with a useful swivel

screen that has some resemblance toearly digital cameras such as the NikonCoolpix P900 or the Casio QV-R300.

Thanks to clever lens design andsoftware correction, DxO has alsomanaged to fit a 20.2-million-pixel, 1insensor and six-element f/1.8 lens with a32mm equivalent focal length into a verysmall package. The One is still not smallenough to carry anywhere at any time,but remains smaller than competingdevices with a similarly large sensor. Addraw capability and an intuitively designedcamera app with full PASM modes into

the mix and you have a powerfulpocket-sized imaging tool.Unfortunately, there’s no optical image

stabilisation and when in video mode, dueto digital stabilisation, the focal lengthchanges to 44mm equivalent. So theDxO One might not be perfect, but itdefinitely takes us one step closer tocombining the image-capturing powerof a premium compact camera with theiPhone’s connectivity and ability to runapps. Hopefully, the established cameramanufacturers will have a close look atthe DxO model’s innovative concepts, too,

and smart lenses could become muchbetter in the near future.

Lars Rehm is a freelance photographer and writer, contributing to publications in the US, UK and Germany. In his former

role as part of DPReview’s testing team, he shot with countless digital cameras of all shapes and sizes, but nowadays he

captures most of his images with a smartphone. Visit www.larsrehm.com or follow him on Twitter @larsrehm

not boast image stabilisation, but thee is the first smart lens I actually wantuse. Here’s why…

w point rs Rehm

‘The DxO One has fitteda 20.2MP, 1in sensor andsix-element f/1.8 lens intoa very small package’


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Technique INTO THE LIGHT

KIT LIST

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10 15 August 2015 I www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I subscribe 0330 333 4555

Jeremy Walker shows how the contre-jour technique can breathe new life into your landscapes

I was in my early teens whenI first became interested inphotography and probably15 when I bought my first

SLR. As a keen youngster I wasenthusiastic and grateful for all the

advice I could get, yet as a noviceI was also very impressionable.

One of the first pieces of adviceI was given was: ‘Don’t shoot intothe light – always have the sun over your left shoulder.’ At the time I was young and naïve, and it seemedlike good advice – but it wasn’t. Inlandscape photography you willoften be looking for cross lighting to

bring out the texture and characterof the countryside. This is fine, butI would also advise trying yourhand at contre-jour, or to put itmore simply, shooting into the light.This technique creates a striking

backlight behind your subject and will help to emphasise lines,shapes and silhouettes.

As with any photographictechnique there are certain factorsto consider, the first and foremostof which is health and safety. No, you don’t need a high-visibility jacket and hard hat to shoot intothe light, but you should avoid

QualitylensesThe better the lens quality,the less chance of flare orghosting. The latest lenseswith anti-reflective coatingsshould therefore be theoptics of choice.

Primelenses

With less complicatedelement groupings thanzoom lenses, there willbe less chance of imagedegradation from flare.

Lightshades

looking into the sun with amedium-to-long lens for anyprolonged period of time, sincethis can damage your eyesight.

So, do you need any particular orspecialist camera kit to shoot into

the light? Well, yes and no. You onlyneed a camera and anything from a wide-to-long lens, depending on your subject matter. Quality lensesare a must, as you will often bepointing your lens straight intothe sun, or at least the main and brightest light source. Flare andghosting (non-image forming light) will be your enemy, so modern

Shooting into thelight can transformflat, formlesslandscapes intosomething muchmore striking


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▲ ▲

Quality lenses area must to avoid

the risk of flareand ghosting

Jeremy Walker

Jeremy Walker is an award-winningprofessional photographer and NikonAmbassador. He has many years’ experiencespecialising in high-quality landscape andlocation photography for corporate clients whoappreciate his meticulous approach and far-reaching vision. www.jeremywalker.co.uk

A L L P I C T U R E S © J E R E M Y W A L K E R

ND graduatedfilters

These hard or soft-edgedgrads are used for holdingback the exposure of thesky and balancing it withthe foreground, or fordarkening a sky for addedmood and atmosphere.

A ‘Hoodman’or loupe

If you are spending much timeshooting and looking into the light,your eyes will find it difficult to adjustto the small screen when you checkthe images on your monitor. Use aloupe with a magnifier that covers thewhole screen to see more detail.

lenses designed for the digital era with flare-resistant coatings, suchas Nikon’s Nano Crystal Coating, will certainly help with imagequality. Using prime lenses ratherthan zooms will also help reduce the

chance of flare, because the opticalconstruction tends to be lesscomplicated with fewer or simplergroupings of elements. From apurely aesthetic point of view, lenses with a nine-bladed diaphragm seemto create a better, cleaner, sharper‘ping’ or starburst when shootinginto the sun, which can be a usefuleffect. The more you stop down, the

better the ‘ping’, but be aware ofdiffraction at smaller apertures.

MeteringContre-jour can be a trickytechnique to meter and master, and

takes some practice, but the resultscan be well worth the effort andare highly rewarding.

Try taking light readings with amulti-pattern metering mode likeNikon’s Matrix metering, ratherthan spot metering, as it will be alittle more forgiving. The real key isto meter with the sun or mainlight source not directly in the




field of view, in order to retaindetail in the subject matter.

Simply compose your image andthen turn the camera away, so thesun or main light source is justoutside the main field of view. Thenmeter, recompose and shoot, and youshould then only need to apply minoradjustments – if any. Of course, thisis much easier if you are using atripod and I strongly recommendthat you do. If you are aiming for apure silhouette and do not wantdetail in the shadows, meter for the brightest part of the scene.

With modern DSLRs havingsuch a huge dynamic range andthe ability to retain shadow andhighlight detail, even in extremeconditions, you will soon be able toget the hang of what type of subject,light or effect does and does not work. When shooting into the light you have to consider the subjectmatter as well as the technique.Landscapes, architecture or even

people shots can be successful,provided the combination ofsubject, light and composition worktogether. The most important ofthese (as with many subjects) is thelight: its quality, colour, strengthand direction.

When talking about shooting ‘intothe light’, it is very easy to imagineshots backlit by bright contrastysunshine that cast long shadows.Certainly, this kind of strongdirectional light can be moodyand dramatic, but soft sunlightthrough mist, fog or clouds shouldnot be dismissed.

Techniques to tryIf you are photographing alandscape, there are two maintechniques to try when shootinginto the light. The first is to shootpre-sunrise or post-sunset when thesun is below the horizon and thelight can be soft and colourful with little contrast, especially

Shoot with agraduated ND filter to help balance theexposure of the scene

Look for strongshapes and outlines

when shootinginto the sun



USING a neutral density graduated filter is commonpractice for balancing the exposure from foreground tosky, especially in a big landscape. If you are shootingdirectly into the sun there is no reason why the sametechnique will not work. Meter for the foreground andthen use the grad to balance the sky. However, if you

are shooting into the light you will often find thatinstead of a 2 or 3-stop grad, you will be combiningfilters and shooting with up to 5 stops of graduation.The only downside to this technique is that you mayfind the upper corners of your image becoming alittle too dark.

Try this

Modern DSLRs havesuch a huge dynamic

range that you caneasily retain detail




JEREMY’S TOP FIVE TIPS

if there is a clear sky. Thinkof misty mornings, lakes or

coastal images. In this lightingsituation a neutral density graduatedfilter is advisable to help balance theexposure from foreground to sky.

The second technique, which isapplicable at sunrise, sunset or even when the sun is getting quite highin the sky, is to try to hide the sun,or at least part of it, behind a

structure, a tree or even a person.If you hide part of the sun you canshoot directly into it and minimisethe risk of flare and get a perfectstarburst effect. If shooting woodland, you will also backlightthe leaves and still have anilluminated foreground.

The amount of shadow detail willdepend on the density of the foliage.If you hide the sun just enough youcan meter for this kind of scene with the sun still in the image,

without it affecting the end result. With a little trial and error this willhelp you achieve excellent results.

Another simple but usefultechnique for contre-jour is to usesilhouettes to convey a strong senseof graphic shape and form. The suncan be either in the image or outsidethe main image area, but thetechnique is the same. You meter forthe brightest part of the image,

throwing everything else intoshadow. Ideally, you should beinterested in shape rather thandetail. This can work well with buildings or subjects with strongshapes and lines that you can putagainst the sun, such as palm trees.

The next time you are out with your camera, occasionally look inthe sun’s direction for shadows,shapes, form and colour to see whatmight work by shooting intothe light, but do it carefully.

Look for lines and shapesFind strong, bold lines and shapes that conveya story. Meter for the highlights and let theshadows go really dark. If the sun isn’t quitestrong enough a little post-productionprodding will help – increase the contrastand push the blacks slider along a little.

Shoot in the golden hourShoot into the light about 20 minutes beforedawn or after the sun has set. These areoptimum times when the light can be colourfulbut contrast is very low, revealing plenty ofsubtle detail. Choose the right conditions andyour image will never be flat and dull.

Reduce flaring effectsPartially hide the sun behind your subject toreduce flare. By stopping down to f/11 andbeyond you’ll create a ‘ping’ or starburst (alsowith starburst software but a nine-bladeddiaphragm prime lens produces better results).Note that stopping down increases diffraction.

One that didn’t work... or did it?SHOOTING into the light can be tricky, with metering, composition and flare all causing problems.Flare can be an issue, especially if you shoot straight into the sun, and it is usually something to avoid.Sometimes, however, flare can add interest to an image. While shooting in Death Valley in the USA(above), I managed to get flare across the image from the rising sun. I didn’t know at the time as I was usinga panoramic camera and there was no way of reviewing the image as I was shooting. Ask yourself whetherthe flare intrudes into the picture, or does it add a sense of oppressive heat and mood to the shot?

Right: Try stoppingdown your lens to enhance thestarburst effectfrom the sun

Far right: Usesilhouettes tointroduce a strongsense of shape andform to your shots


15/84subscribe 0330 333 4555 I www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I 15 August 2015

Work withweatherMist or fog willsoften the effectsof direct sunlight,or even hide thesun. Find a‘see-through’subject with simpleshape and form,

and use the mist.Meter for thebrightest part ofthe image. Mostmodern cameras’dynamic range willcreate shadowdetail anyway.

High angles, high contrastIf you have a high-angle viewpoint down ontowater and the sun is creating a strong highlight,meter for the highlight and even slightlyunderexpose it. The shadows and blacks will goreally deep and dark to create a high-contrastmonochrome effect.

Even once the sunhas dropped below the horizon, there’splenty of colour


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I

n the digital era I’ve hadHasselblad and Phase Onemedium format kit along

with DSLRs from Canon andNikon, but it was about four yearsago that I got a Fujifilm X100. Isaw it at Photokina in this glasscabinet and it was so beautiful andso retro. I could tell straight awaythat it was going to be a machinethat was lovely to use. I didn’t needit, I desired it and decided to buyit. I kept bringing it out at shootsand it just transformed the way I worked. It felt totally natural, whilethe fixed lens meant I didn’t haveany decision-making to make.

I then added the X-Pro1 with18mm, 35mm and 60mm lenses.Its first proper outing was my roadtrip covering the full length ofRoute 66. My finance director

(Julie, my wife) wouldn’t let me putthe X-Pro1 camera purchasethrough the business as it was not

an absolutely necessary expense,saying “You have a perfectly goodCanon camera kit already” so Ipaid for the Fujifilm X-Pro1 kit outof my own savings. It felt evenmore special for that.

The X-Pro1 was a joy to use andthe images it gave me matched myCanon EOS 5D MkII for quality. Inever picked up the Canon againand I eventually sold it once I had bought the 14mm f/2.8 prime toreplace my Zeiss 21mm on theCanon system.

I’m now using the Fujifilm X-T1for all my day to day shooting.There’s lots to love about it but theflip-out screen on it is perfect forme. I like to shoot from the hip,

and use it like a waist-lev el viewfinder. It allows me t communicate with my

without having this g in front of my face.

All the Fujifilm amazingly sha r that’s where I of the time. Th rapidly gainin It’s great at f/ portraits with controlled bok

The Fujifilm the system is image quality a joy to use. T

photography hthe kit I’m usimore creative I’ve said goodbygood.

Making the switch

Renowned photographer and lighting guru Damien Lovegrove

explains why he gave up his DSLRs for Fujifilm’s X-series cameras

For further information, and special offers and competitions visit www.amateurphotog


17/84

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

These shots were taken by Damien during his workshop at the Fujifilm X-perience day at the AP offices. At tendees hadthe chance to shoot with a host of Fujifilm kit under the expert guidance of Damien and fellow X-Photographers PaulSanders and Matt Hart. If you’d like to attend future events, please email [email protected]

The Fujifilm XT1

apher.co.uk/fujifilm-x

Make a connection: Connect with theperson you’re photographing. Put thecamera aside, have a cup of tea, have a cupof coffee, have a laugh with them. Reallyget to know them and then bring thecamera into the frame.

Perspective: The perspective in a portraitisn’t related to what lens you’ve got on thefront of the camera. A wide-angle is going

to be the same as a telephoto in deliveringperspective, but what matters is yourelative to your subject. If you use a longtelephoto lens, you’ll find to get a mid-shot you’ll have to shoot from quite a long way back. It’s flattering, but you don’t get thatconnection, that intimacy. You need to work at just beyond arms length to getsomething really really beautiful. I’m working with the 60mm, 35mm and23mm and only go to the 56mm if I wantsomething a little bit tighter.

Plan your style: Decide on the look you

are aiming to achieve from the outset,such as high-key, rim lit or moody. Once

you know what you hope to achieve fromthe shoot and have a clear idea of the look you’re after, it makes the rest of the processthat much easier.

Review: Review each shot using thecamera’s screen. Does the picture have thelook you want? Is the contrast right? Whatcould make the shot better? Zoom in andcheck the detail. Is there enough shadow

information? Is the shot sharp? Are thehighlights clipped? Get it right in-camera.

Damien’s top portrait tipsDAMIENLOVEGROVEPORTRAITDamien hasforged asuccessful careeras a high end

wedding andportraitphotographer


18/84

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Inbox

Club hubAt the City of London andCripplegate PhotographicSociety, we place great

emphasis on being aphotographic society ratherthan ‘just’ a camera club.Maybe this is partly becauseof the adverse press aboutcamera clubs, as HarryKitchen’s letter (AP 25 July)demonstrates, and partlybecause of our long history,of which we are proud.

At our most recent Tuesdaysession, I canvassed new andnearly new members, to askthem whether they found us

friendly, but really, I knewalready from unsolicitedcomments that we are indeeda welcoming group. As we arelocated in central London, ourmembership comes in wavesas people move in and out ofthe city, but we have some

people who have beenmembers for decades andtravel from afar. People whoare interested in photography

need more than magazinesand online forums to flourish.Perhaps if there were moreencouragement for clubs inthe specialist press andorganisations like the RPS,more people would benefitfrom the encouragement ofother enthusiasts.

At CoL&CPS, we are soappreciative of the experts whofreely give their time to visitand speak on their subject.We’d warmly welcome any

interested AP readers. Jean Jameson, London

I was really interested, and nota little saddened, to read HarryKitchen’s letter regarding hisencounter with camera clubs.Unfortunately, my story will

only serve to substantiatehis experience.

On one of my first eveningsat a local club there happened

to be a prize-giving ceremonyand a photograph was neededfor the local paper. Upstepped some long-servingcommittee member with hisnewly purchased ‘pro’-gradeCanon gear and promptlyproceeded to fiddle with allmanner of buttons while hegot ever-more frustrated. Inthe end, someone stepped inwith a compact (sacrilege!)took the picture and statedwith some sarcasm, ‘There

you go. All done.’ Said ownerof the Canon stormed outmuttering to himselfsomething about ‘upstarts’and the ‘proper procedure’.

The point I’m trying to makeis that things have tochange, and if

Email [email protected] and include your full postal address

Write to Inbox, Amateur Photographer, Time Inc. (UK), Blue Fin Building, 110 Southwark Street, London SE1 0SU

LETTER OF THE WEEK

In AP 25 July we asked…Have you ever updated the firmwarefor your camera?You answered…A Yes, I update whenever firmware is available 59%

B Yes, when I remember 15%

C No, I have no idea how to do it 13%

D No, I’m scared in case I break my camera 7%

E No, I had no idea I could do this 6%

What you said

‘With my Fujifilm X-series cameras it makes sense toupgrade firmware with both my bodies and lenses. Youwouldn’t drive a car and not get it serviced regularly’

‘I’ve updated the firmware on two cameras. It’sreasonably straightforward if you’re a bit of a techie,but it can be a bit daunting to someone who isn’t.Just one example from the Canon EOS 5D Mark IIinstructions: “Please download the compressed,self-extracting file that matches your computer’soperating system and extract the contents… to createthe firmware update file” would perhaps put some off’

‘If I become aware of it, yes I’d update the firmware.As almost all my kit was bought second-hand, I’m noton the manufacturers’ mailing lists, so I generally onlyfind out when I have a problem’

Join the debate on the AP forum

This week we ask

Is there a future for camera clubs?Vote online www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

Articles in recent issues of AP havecommented on using film to gain a fullerunderstanding of image control and creation.

After shooting on film for more than 35years, including about 10 years of homedarkroom processing and printing, I retiredmy film cameras and darkroom equipmentand, moving with the times, switchedentirely to digital photography.

However, perhaps as a nostalgia trip or asa simple challenge, I’ve recently returned toshooting 35mm and 120mm film and sentthe exposed film to labs for processingbefore scanning and printing from theprocessed negatives.

Then the penny dropped – I canhome-process film without needing adarkroom. I aim to process monochromeonly, but colour processing is possible withthe right chemicals and a well-controlled

temperature regime.After scanning my negatives I revertto conventional digital

processing (I use Adobe PhotoshopElements 11) and I take the processeddigital images to a local digital service forprinting, although I’m considering buying aninkjet (dye or pigment ink) printer suited tobest-quality monochrome printing.

Take the plunge and give film a try. Evenif you send the film off for processing(the wait for the film to return is in itselfa nostalgia trip), you’re never sure ofsuccess until you hold the processednegatives in your hand.Graham Lockerbie, Australia

I had a similar epiphany a few years agoand regularly developed my black &white negatives at home, hung them todry and was scanning them within acouple of hours of shooting. It doesn’tquite have the immediacy of digital, but

if you enjoy shooting film it’s a goodcompromise and very straightforward to do – Richard Sibley, deputy editor

Every other week we post an old AP cover on ourFacebook page and all you have to do is guess theissue date (day/month/year). To guess the date of thiscover (above), head over to www.facebook.com/Amateur.photographer.magazine. Forum memberscan also enter via the Forum.

Win!

The camera in AP 25 July was a SigmaSA-1. The winner is ‘Kirsty aka BooDevoto’ from Essex, whose correctguess was the first drawn at random

Guess the date



INBOX

ContactAmateur Photographer, Time Inc. (UK), Blue Fin Building,110 Southwark Street, London SE1 0SUTelephone 0203 148 4138 Fax 0203 148 8128Email [email protected] returns: Telephone 0203 148 4121Email [email protected]

SubscriptionsEmail [email protected] 0330 3334555 or +44 (0)330 3330 233 (overseas)One year (51 issues) UK £150.55; Europe e259;USA $338.99; Rest of World £221.99

Test ReportsContact OTC for copies of AP te st reports. Tel: 01707 273 773

AdvertisingEmail [email protected] telephone 0203 148 2929. Fax: 0203 148 8158Display telephone 0203 148 2516. Fax: 0203 148 8158Inserts call Innovator on 0203 148 3710

Editorial teamGroup Editor Nigel AthertonGroup Editor’s PA Christine LayDeputy Editor Richard SibleyTechnical Editor Andy WestlakeDeputy Technical Editor Michael TophamTechnical Writer Callum McInerney-RileyFeatures & Technique Editor Phil HallSenior Features Writer Oliver AtwellNews Editor Chris CheesmanProduction Editor Lesley UptonChief Sub Editor Meike AbrahamsArt Editor Mark JacobsDeputy Art Editor Sarah FosterDesigner Antony GreenStudio Manager Andrew SydenhamPicture Researcher Rosie BarrattOnline Manager Karen SheardOnline Production Editor Paul NuttallDigital Art Editor Simon WarrenDigital Production Editor Jacky PorterStaff Writer Jon StapleyVideo Production John LaytonPhoto-Science Consultant Professor Robert NewmanSenior contributor Roger Hicks

Special thanks to The moderators of the AP website Andrew Robertson, lisadb, Nick Roberts, The Fat Controller

AdvertisingAdvertising Director Mark Rankine 0203 148 2516Advertisement Manager Felix Barlow 0203 148 2508Account Manager Simon Gerard 0203 148 2510Production Coordinator Dave Smithers 0203 148 2674

MarketingMarketing Manager Samantha Blakey 0203 148 4321

Publishing teamChief Executive Officer Marcus RichManaging Director Paul WilliamsPublishing Director Alex RobbGroup Magazines Editor Garry Coward-Williams

Printed in the UK by Polestar GroupDistributed by Marketforce, Blue Fin Building, 110 SouthwarkStreet, London SE1 0SU. Tel: 0203 148 3333All contributions to Amateur Photographer mus t be original, not copies or duplicated to otherpublications. The editor reserves the right to shorten or modify any letter or material submitted.Time Inc. (UK) or its associated companies reser ves the right to re-use any submission sent to theletters column of Amateur Photographer magazine, in any format or medium, WHETHER PRINTED,ELECTRONIC OR OTHERWISE Amateur Photographer ® is a registered trademark of Time Inc. (UK)© Time Inc. (UK) 2015 Amateur Photographer (incorporating Photo Technique & Camera Weekly)Email: [email protected] Website: www.amateurphotographer.co.uk Time Inc.switchboard tel: 0203 148 5000 Amateur Photogra pher is published weekly (51 issues per year) onthe Tuesday preceding the cover date b y Time Inc. (UK), Blue Fin Building, 110 Southwark Street,London SE1 0SU. Distributed by Market force (UK) Ltd, Blue Fin Building, 110 Southwark Stre etSE1 OSU. ISSN 0002-6840. No part of this publica tion may be reproduced, stored in a retriev al ortransmitted in any format or medium, whether printed, electronic or otherwise, without the priorwritten permission of the publi sher or the editor. This is considered a breach of copyright andaction will be taken where this occurs. This magazine must not be lent, sol d, hired or otherwisedisposed of in a mutilated condition or in any authorise d cover by way, or by trade, or annexed toany publication or advertising matter without first obtaining written permission from the publisher.Time Inc. (UK) Ltd does not accept responsibility for loss or damage to unsolici ted photographsand manuscripts, and product sampl es. Time Inc. (UK) reserves the righ t to use any submissionssent to Amateur Photographer Magazine in any format or medium, including electronic. One-yearsubscription (51 issues) £150.55 (UK),e259.99 (Europe), $338.99 (USA), £221.99 (rest of world).The 2015 US annual DEU subscription price is $338.99, airfreight and mail ing in the USA by namedAir Business Ltd, c/o Worldnet Shipping Inc, 156-15, 146th Avenue, 2nd floor, Jamaica, NY 11434,USA. Periodicals posta ge paid at Jamaica NY 11431. US Postmaster: Send address changes toAmateur Photographer, Air Business Ltd, c/o Worldnet Shipping Inc, 156-15, 146th Avenue, 2ndfloor, Jamaica, NY 11434, USA. Subscriptions records are mainta ined at Time Inc. (UK), Blue FinBuilding, 110 Southwark Street, London, SE1 0S U. Air Business Ltd is acting as our mailing agent.

organisations, and thepeople who make up an

organisation, find it impossible,or choose not to, then they willdie a natural death. Much likethe independent camera shophas had to find new ways of

offering a different kind of‘value’ to its customers, somust the humble camera club.David Richards, Dorset

I feel I should speak up for thegroup I was lucky enough to join two years ago.

The photography bugreally bit in early 2013 and Idecided to try to increase myknowledge, so joining a clubseemed like a good idea. Aquick internet search broughtup a number of local clubs,and I duly contacted them.

Several did not bother toanswer my emails and onetelephone enquiry ended whenthe membership secretary toldme, ‘We are a Canon-onlyclub, so don’t bother coming ifyou use another make.’ Finally,I received a welcoming andvery positive reply from LowBarns Photography Group.

I could not have been luckier

in my choice. Not only domembers use a wide range ofmakes and styles of camera,but they also offered, in myfirst winter of membership,a beginner’s technical course.I learnt a lot and made somegood friends. The second

winter they offered a monthlyintermediate course. Myphotography has improvedno end. I enter the monthlycompetitions, and althoughI have yet to win or even beplaced in one, I feel my imagesdon’t look out of place on theclub wall.

The range of my hobby andmy enjoyment have beenmuch enhanced by being amember. While I’m aware thatnot all clubs are friendly, I’drecommend joining one –and if you’re unlucky in yourchoice, try another.

Geoff Dabbs, Co Durham

We had a huge response toHarry Kitchen’s letter oncamera clubs in AP 25 July.It’s produced a lot ofdifferent reactions, but I’mpleased that many people

have found clubs they enjoy.Another question is, what

is the future for cameraclubs? Is there still a placefor them when a youngergeneration relies so much on

the internet? Why not haveyour say in this week’s poll(page 19)? – Richard Sibley,deputy editor

Gull-y goshIn response to your Big picture of a gull flying alongside theRed Arrows (AP 27 June),here’s my image (above) tocomplete the air show. This

time a gull flew in front of theRed Arrows synchro pair, atScotland’s National Airshowon 25 July. I used a NikonD2Xs and Nikkor AF-S VR70-200mm f/2.8 lens tocapture the shot.Gordon Dewar, via email

Panasonic

umix

DMC-GX8The successor to the GX7 has arrived,

bringing with it a new 20-million-pixelsensor and 4K video capture

Hollywood style amien Lovegroveexplains how to mimicclassic Hollywoodportraits with a fewlighting tricks

Antarcticwildlife

avid Tipling exploresthe bird and animal lifeon South Georgia

VoigtländerMFT 10.5mmf/0.95 NoktonDamien Demolder testsa Micro Four Thirds-system wideangle lens with a huge aperture

In next week’s issue O ale Tuesday 18 August

Gordon Dewar’s shot of a gull joining the Red Arrows synchro pair

© G O R D O N D E W A R


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22/8422

Print it or lose it – that’sthe stark warning fromthe Royal PhotographicSociety (RPS) and Photo

Marketing Association, after Google vice-president Vint Cerf recently warned of a ‘digital dark age’, wheredata stored on computers will belost forever. Speaking at a meetingof the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Jose,California, Cerf said, ‘When you thinkabout the quantity of documentationfrom our daily lives that’s captured

in digital form, like our interactions by email, people’s tweets and all the[information on the] World Wide Web, it’s clear that we stand to losean awful lot of our history.’

Turn the clock back 175 years to when the emerging photographic trendof the day was more salt-print thanselfie. Photography pioneer WilliamHenry Fox Talbot was busy churningout prints from the earliest form ofpaper photography. Yet Talbot’s worklives on today, bringing history to lifein a recent exhibition at Tate Britain

that documented daily activities andkey mid-19th century moments, likethe building of Nelson’s Column.

These days, the zillions of photoslanguishing unsorted on computerhard drives and mobile phones are indanger of being lost forever if notproperly archived. Such concerns

DigitalPhotographers have been warned they must

print images they want to preserve or treasured

photos may become unavailable to future

generations when digital storage media

becomes obsolete. Chris Cheesman investigates

Armageddon

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PRINT YOUR DIGITAL IMAGES

of 10-20 years and CDs/DVDsaround 10-25 years, and USB flashdrives perhaps 10,000-plus read/ write cycles,’ he asserts.

Pritchard’s view is one echoed byGeorgia McCabe, CEO of the PhotoMarketing Association (PMA),a trade body based in the USA.McCabe recently warned that ‘themost photographed generation will

have no pictures in ten years’, andcalled on the photo industry to‘figure out’ a way to convince thepublic that their photos must beproperly stored. Although she doesnot go so far as advocating ‘everyoneprint everything’, she says mobilephones are particularly vulnerable,

especially where the user haschanged phone, or accidentallydamaged it without saving theirimages elsewhere. And whathappens if ‘your hard drive goeskaput?’ she asked rhetorically,during an interview publishedon the PMA website.

Digital photos under threat

Even if your hard drive is fully fit,McCabe stresses that new gadgets bring design changes that are not allgood. Unlike older models, the latest Apple MacBook Pro, for example,does not have a built-in DVD drive,so you’ll need an external DVD drivefor storage.

Photo archiving The Royal Photographic Societyadvises printing digital picturesEdit down your digital files to a small number that you

really wish to preserve. Ideally, make traditional black& white prints (even from digital files) and ensure theprints are properly processed and washed, and thenstore them in archival boxes, in a controlled environmentat less than 21°C and in a relative humidity of 30-50%. Realistically, for most of us, make prints usinggood-quality inks, on the best-quality rag paper andstore them in archival sleeves and boxes away fromextremes of heat/cold and in a dry environment, withpencil captions on the back (remember the [image file]metadata is important) too.

Digital-to-film optionFirstcall Photographic operates a digital-to-film service.Customers can send in up to 36 digital images as TIFFor JPEG files, on a CD, for transfer to film and return bypost. It costs £22.50 for a roll of black & white film, £25for colour negative and £30 for recording on colour-slide film (students can claim a £2.50 discount). Fordetails, visit www.firstcall-photographic.co.uk.

WE ALL know the tripleback-up method, butI have always been a

little more relaxed.Unfortunately, thismeans I’ve almost been

caught out a few times. These days,I have a more advanced foolproofsystem for safeguarding my images.

For a start, everything goes on to ahard drive direct from site. My Nikon ispretty much always tethered and myFujifilm gets backed up right aftershoots. Images go on to my portableSSD and stay on my SSHD hard driveon the laptop. Next, I upload my 10 or sosafety files to SmugMug. So whateverhappens I have files to work from. If Ionly have my phone, I upload 10 or themost important images. If I have fastWi-Fi, I’ll try to get as many as I canonline. As I shoot, Lightroom will tether,plus I’ve got the added storage of theSmugMug app and the LightroomSmart collection. Each time I ‘five-star’

an image, it gets backed up in real time.Through the Client login end on my site,my clients can also see these files real

time via the web. The files are backedup, safe and where they need to be.

As for making physical back-ups,I don’t tend to use RAID (RedundantArray of Independent Disks) storage.I have a couple of drives that are linkedin such ways, but most drives are storedin Buffalo’s DriveStation Duo - HD-WIU2/R1*. I’ve never had a problemwith them, and the two units have beenrunning now for six years non-stop.

Any time I’ve had a problem, it’s beenwith smaller portable drives. They’veranged from static friction, or ‘stiction’as it’s also known, to troubles withsoftware controllers and PSU problems.To fix my last drive – a small portabledrive with stiction – I used a wonderfulcompany called Data Wreck**. Theysaved my bacon. The last time I hada problem it was another drive, but stillan off-the-shelf type. I’m not sure what

have been collectively voiced bythe photographic industry for

years, but the message carries extraresonance now that a Google ‘biggun’ has fired a warning shot acrossthe digital bows.

‘Google’s Cerf highlights a realconcern for historians,’ observesRPS director-general MichaelPritchard. ‘We’re still looking atTalbot calotypes from the 1840s andI suspect we will still be able to enjoythese and today’s photographs, ifthey have been properly printed, inanother 200 years.

‘I would be much less confidentabout anyone being able to viewmost amateur digital files, createdtoday, in 200 years. How we archive,preserve and make available digitalimages (and other digital files) forthe future is a real concern fororganisations such as the BritishLibrary and the National Archives,and should be a concern for alldigital photographers.’

Pritchard points to three areasthat pose a threat: the durability oftoday’s storage media – ‘Will mediasurvive in their environment?’ heasks; second, the accessibility ofstorage media – ‘Will they still work when played?’; and third, Pritchardquestions whether machines of the

future will be able to play backdigital files, rendering them obsolete.‘The best estimates suggest that

magnetic media [such as computerhard drives] have an average lifespan

Dave Kai-Piper’sNikon is tethered toa hard drive, so hisphotos are backedup on site. A firm

called Data Wreckonce helped save hiswork when ‘staticfriction’ blighteda small hard drive

Dave Kai-Piper offers his thoughts on back

‘Magnetic media such as computer hard drives have an average lifespan of only 10-20 years’



‘How many people remember VHS?’ wonders McCabe. ‘One thingthat has maintained consistency forhundreds of years is something youcan hold in your hands, put on a wall or even stick in a shoebox.Something that isn’t subject totechnological change.’

McCabe worries that preciousphotos of her granddaughter will oneday be lost in cyberspace, never to beseen again. She explains that her sonhas 2,000 pictures of the child, ‘butthey are in the cloud’ and she is

afraid that companies operatingcloud storage services will not bearound forever.

‘I asked my son, “What happensif [the cloud] just blows up?” Hereplied, “Come on, Mum. Appleisn’t going away.”’

But McCabe is fearful. ‘Did you

the problem is this time, but I think it ’s asoftware issue. I will get the data off itwhen I have the spare cash. Most of the

important stuff was backed up on theother drives, but there was some stuffwhich I have edited versions of onlineand high res. I have the important stuffonline, although I do need to re-thinkmy storage since I have over 53 drives:some old, some new, some portable.

Recently, my partner and I went tosee her mum. We were looking for anold family photo and spent the rest ofthe day giggling at baby photos. I likedthat. This is what photography is allabout. From now on I ’m going to havea drive that I store all my edited files oneach month, then print them. Whenthey arrive I’m going to get a box andput them under the stairs. Then I knowthey’ll last forever, and at some point inthe future someone will be looking forsomething and then spend a daylaughing like we did.

The next thing my mind leads me to,somewhat morbidly, is the fact that atsome point I’m going to die. So what willhappen to my neatly arranged back-updrives? And who will remember not toformat that drive – if, indeed, they are

still using drives in the future? Who’sgoing to know my password?My work will be lost – gone – so I

urge you to print. Make books and usepaper like the old days. This is the onlyway to safeguard your photography.

* www.buffalotech.com/products/desktop-hard-drives/drivestation/drivestation-duo-hd-wiu2r1** www.datawreck.co.uk

ever think we’d drive down Lake Avenue [in Rochester, New York]and see Kodak buildings that have been dynamited? Did we ever thinkthat the 58,000 who were employedthere would be down to 3,000-5,000people? Never. No one could haveever imagined that a name and

ing up your images

company that led this industry would be where it is today. And so,for me, these moments in time areprecious. I’m just scared that asavoured memory is going to endup in a digital landfill in the sky.’

Printing may be one answer, buteven prints are not future-proof.

On its website, London lab MetroImaging tells customers thatFujicolor Crystal Archive paper, forexample, has a stability of more than200 years, although only when keptin total darkness and under certain

atmospheric conditions.The RPS’s Michael Pritchard

points out that a number oforganisations now make ‘traditionalprints of key digital assets because

black & white silver-gelatinprints are still seen as the

best medium to preserve

Discs may seemlike a safe option,but rely onequipment beingable to access themin years to come

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images for the long-term’. But

he cautions: ‘Obviously, not alltraditional processes are stable, withthe best example being colour C-typeprints, which have frequently fadedor colour-shifted even in 20-30 years. Even new methods of printing,such as inkjet prints, only havelimited lifespans.’

The prophecies of doom overdigital storage have not bypassedtraditional film and paper suppliers.Firstcall Photographic, a UKsupplier of darkroom kit, has gone back in time, offering a now

sought-after service to convertdigital images to black & white film,

What methods do youuse to back up your

digital images?I have triplicate copies ofall my data. I keep onecopy at the office ready

to back up and the other at a remotelocation and swap over periodically. Thatway there’s always at least one fairlycurrent copy kept at a separate address.It’s a fairly simple JBOD (‘Just a Bunch ofDisks’) solution. But whenever I considerupgrading a hard drive, I have to considerpurchasing three similar drives. Whenworking on an important project I usecloud servers to store copies that I back

up daily, so all the data is retrievable.Cloud data storage for image files is

unrealistic if you have lots of images.How many days/weeks would it take todownload, let alone upload, in order torecover from a crisis compared toswapping over a hard drive? I used toback up to DVD, but with the volume ofdata these days that’s just not practical.

Which method is most effective?The JBOD triple-copy system is themost effective and fastest way torecover from a disaster or data loss.

Are you vigilant about backing up?Yes, it’s a concern. A digital archive hasto be curated and nurtured for the datato remain viable. That means upgradinghard drives every few years or so. Withdrives costing so little now, it ’s not sucha problem while I’m around to manage

the system. I am fairly vigilant about allthis, but I can’t pretend I back up every

week. Sometimes I go a month withoutbacking up, but I’m mostly quite focusedon keeping the system working.

Google VP Vint Cerf has warned of a‘digital dark age’ where data storedon computers will be lost foreverHe’s right. It ’s all very well maintainingthe scheduling and replacing drives,but what about after I die? Unless mydaughter is prepared to maintain thearchive I built up, most of what I havenow will eventually disappear. That’s upto her and future generations to decide

if it’s worth maintaining. For importantphoto collections by masterphotographers, I think continued printsales can make it viable for archivists tobe employed beyond the artist’s deathto continue archive maintenance.

Have you lost any of your work?Yes, I’ve lost a few images. Mostly stuffI shot and edited about 20 years ago.Unbeknown to me, the files gotcorrupted and I backed up thecorruption to overwrite the goodback-ups. It’s easier to check a file’s

integrity now thankfully.

Do you ever print to archive?Yes, and I have lots of print booksand family print albums. I am sure thosewill survive longer. We’ll see, or ratherI won’t, as I’ll be dead. But maybe someof my work just might survive.

Martin Evening discusses his thoughtson a potential digital ‘dark age’

Martin Evening sayshe ‘can’t pretend’

to back up everyweek. Althoughfairly vigilant, amonth can passbefore backingup. He once lostimages when heinadvertentlybacked up somecorrupted imagefiles, overwriting

the good ones.Evening reckonshis prints will lastlonger than hisdigital files (left)

‘Look aer your prints using the best papers and inks, archival sleevesand acid-free archival boxes’

© M

A R T I N E V E N I N G


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PRINT YOUR DIGITAL IMAGES

subscribe 0330 333 4555 I www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I 15 August 2015 27

AS PHOTOGRAPHERS,

both amateur and pro,we often spend crazyamounts of money onour cameras and lenses,go to great lengths to

reach a location, and take time to applyour skills to making images. We areoften covering international conflicts, ordemos and riots closer to home, andrisking life and limb – only to trust ourprecious images to a single hard drive.As any IT professional will tell you, harddrives fail; it’s just a question of when.So for me, it’s essential to have aback-up strategy to ensure all myimages, video and audio remain safe.

I use a combination of , off-site andcloud back-up. I have several terabytesof hard-drive storage, which is thenduplicated at an off-site location. Theimportant work and finished files are alsobacked up in the cloud. If I’m working ona long-term project, or if I’m on a foreignassignment, I also back up the materialonto small portable SSD drives, whichI carry on me until the work is fullybacked up both on and off-site and

delivered to the client. Hard drives arestill the most effective method. Optical[such as DVD] doesn’t work as it fails withtime. Hard drives do break, though, somultiple copies are essential, kept in twophysically different locations to safeguardagainst disaster.

I back up my work immediately. Assoon as it’s downloaded, I makeback-up copies. If I’m on a fast-breaking news assignment and I only

often despised by photographers, as

backing up is time-consuming andoften overcomplicated by devicemanufacturers. This results in manyphotographers simply leaving theirimages on hard drives or entrustedto third-party cloud-storing serviceproviders.’

He has a point. When did you last back-up your photos to a separatehard drive, let alone print them?

Printing your photos ortransferring them to film delivers asense of permanence in the same way that a self-winding, fully

mechanical watch may be a saferoption if you still want to tell thetime in years to come.

Less could be said of the tech-heavy Apple Watch, for example, which is dependent on yet moreexisting technology for it to work, namely an iPhone.

the firm’s sales director Rodney

Bates in a letter to Amateur Photographer , in reaction tocomments by Google’s Vint Cerfand PMA’s Georgia McCabe.

‘The conclusion from these twohighly experienced and eminent

experts in their field isthat we are sleepwalkinginto a photographic Armageddon,’ he claims.

‘The housekeeping ofdigital images is

have time to import a few key shots to

wire quickly, the full import and back upwill happen later in the day. In thesesituations I always keep the CF or SDcards on me at all times. I find the ThinkTank Photo Pixel Pocket Rocket* idealfor carrying the cards and they slipeasily into a pouch or my pocket.

Since drives can fail, get damagedthrough accident or be stolen, I thinkyou have to be vigilant and spend thefew minutes required to back up. Datarecovery is a slow, expensive process,often without any results.

Thankfully, I’ve never lost work, butearly in my career I did have a CF cardfail with an important assignment on it.However, I managed to get the imagesfrom the card – after some panic! Myethos is that hard-drive failure should just be an annoyance, never a disaster.

There’s a recent trend to print workfor archiving and, even more so, forenjoyment. It’s a good idea and I oftenmake prints for collectors or exhibitions.Looking after these prints is important,so make sure you use archival sleevesand acid-free archival boxes. Using the

best papers and inks is also crucial.If there is a ‘digital dark age’ thensociety will have collapsed on a globalscale, so our images won’t be ourpriority – survival will be. Institutionsshould be safeguarding photographs forour cultural future, but for individuals,our priorities will be massively different.Let’s hope the day never comes.www.terakopian.com*www.thinktankphoto.com

colour negative or colour slide film.

‘This niche service has provedextremely popular with a resurgenceof interest in analogue, andpeople understanding theseriousness of future-proofing theirimages,’ wrote

Photojournalist Edmond Terakopianshares his tips for backing up

Fears over digital

storage promptsome to transfer their images to film

© E D M O N D T E R A K O P I A N

© I S


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KIT LIST ▲

▲

There are plentyof opportunities to be had withfledglings

Telephoto lensA lens of at least 400mm is recommended.Shorter lenses with the use of a remote trigger

may be useful for photographing nesting swallows.

SwallowsThe end of summer and beginning ofautumn is a great time to shoot thesemigratory birds, explains David Tipling

IF I WERE a bird, I’d like to be a swallow. Itseems very appealing to spend the winterunder the warm South African sun beforelazily making my way back north, arrivingat my favoured breeding site in spring justas it begins to warm up.

However, the reality is much moreharsh, with swallows having to undergo anarduous annual journey across seas anddeserts that involves them covering manythousands of miles on the wing.

HabitatYou’ll find swallows in areas where thereis a ready and accessible supply of theirmain diet, which is small insects. A goodplace to find these birds is in open pasture

with access to water, as it offers a goodfood source, while quiet farm buildingsnearby offer the perfect place to nest.

Towards the end of the summer monthsthrough to the start of early autumn, largereed beds can be excellent places to lookfor pre-migration roosts as they preparefor the flight back to Africa.

Best time to shootSwallows can be photographed at anytime from spring to autumn. I find thatthe best opportunities on offer arebetween May and June when birds arebreeding, and then when they start togather to migrate from late Augustthrough September.

WILDLIFE WATCH

Try to pre-focus on a point to have any hope of a sharp flight shot

FlashgunSwallow nestsare rarely sited inwell-lit corners ofbuildings, soa flashgun willalmost certainlybe required.

David TiplingDavid is one of the most widely publishedwildlife photographers in the world. Hispictures appear on hundreds of book andmagazine covers, and have been used inmany other forms, from wine labels tolarge projections across New York’sTimes Square. www.davidtipling.com

Shoot from aparked car to avoiddisturbing the birds

Adult swallows willhover in front of their young in

order to feed

A L L P I C T U R E S © D

A V I D T I P L I N G



Technique

In flightSwallows tend to fly low to the groundwith an easy free-flowing flight. Their sizeand speed does make them quitea challenge for flight shots against anopen sky, but when flying against thelandscape they’ll really test your panningskills and your camera’s autofocuscapability, so be prepared to practise.

Pre-focusOn cool days when flies are in shortsupply, you’ll find that swallows will oftencongregate over reed beds or bodies ofwater where there may be food. To have

any hope of a sharp flight shot, I try topre-focus and then track the out-of-focusbird as best I can in my viewfinder, beforefiring off a burst of shots when the swallowbegins to come into focus. I havesuccessfully photographed swallowsplucking flies off the surface of a poolclose to home using this method.

NestlingsDuring the breeding season flight shotsare on offer as birds feed their young inthe nest. Nestlings make great subjects asthey lean over the rim of the nest beggingfor food. Once on the wing, the young willstay close to the nest to continue to befed. Further photographic opportunitiesare to be had when fledglings are perchedon a fence or on low vegetation, as adultshover in front of hungry mouths deliveringfood. But don’t get too close, as you couldput the adults off feeding their young.

Mobile hideBy September swallows will startgathering in readiness to fly south for thewinter. While flocks often like to perchalong telegraph wires, they can also befound lined up along fences or on lowvegetation. To avoid disturbing them,a parked car makes the perfect mobilehide and will allow you to shoot quietly.

Swallows can

be found across

most of Britain

Swallows are small birds with dark, glossy-blue backs,red throats, pale underparts and long tail streamers.● Location The swallow is a traditional harbinger of spring and

is our most widespread summer migrant. Found throughoutBritain, they are most common in regions where cattle are grazed.● Size 17-21cm including tail.● Nesting The nest is a mud cup built inside outbuildings.● Diet Flying insects. Swallows often feed by flying lowaround livestock, picking off flies.● Population Increasing slowly since the late 1990s, andestimated to be around 860,000.

About theswallow

Shooting advice

amateur photographer - 15 august 2015

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