2020-11-01 Digital Camera World

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Issue 235 • www.digitalcameraworld.com

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23 photography
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23,745 Alistair Campbell

Print 19,530 Digital 4,215 Welcome

Jan–Dec 2019 W e all have periods in our photographic journeys
A member of the Audit Bureau of Circulations when things go a little flat, and some fresh
inspiration is required. So if that’s how you’re
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Editorial
Editor Niall Hampton [email protected] this month, try Photo Active (p16) and its 10 all-new
Contributing editors Marcus Hawkins & Claire Gillo
Technique editor Alistair Campbell projects, plus more in Stay at Home (p43). Wildlife lovers
[email protected]
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Imaging labs manager Ben Andrews
[email protected] are one of your passions, discover how Sandro Vannini

Senior art editor Warren Brown [email protected] photographed some of the treasures of the Pharoahs,

Contributors on p134. Also this month, don’t miss our verdict on the
Jon Adams, Benedict Brain,Louise Carey, Jon Devo,
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Quintin Lake, Matthew Richards, James Paterson
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Contents ISSUE235
NOVEMBER 2020

7YINOWVUAIGRYOSPTRHOAOTTEOS

124 Budget full-frame cameras _ We
compare mirrorless and DSLR models
to find the budget full-frame champ

74 64 Practical Photoshop _ Discover a
new way to edit colour in PhotoLab,
plus four more post-prod projects

Photo skills Regulars Gear & tests

10 One to One 39 The Art of Seeing 108 Panasonic Lumix S5
Take your camera for a walk An exciting new full-frame mirrorless
Join Dave Kai Piper on a visit to the
Black Country as he shows how to 86 Shot of the Month 112 Hasselblad 907X 50C
bring history to life in pictures A giant step forward for medium-format
Fine-art photographer Lexi Laine
16 Photo Active creates an underwater fantasia 116 Olympus E-M10 Mk IV
Update of popular travel camera
Fresh inspiration this month with 10 88 Hotshots
fantastic projects to choose from, plus 120 Nikkor Z 70-200mm
more top techniques from the pros Our pick from this year’s Wildlife The best 70-200mm in the world?
Photographer of the Year contest
121 Sigma 100-400mm
43 Stay at Home 98 Perimeter A telephoto for Sony and L-mount
Quintin Lake’s photo walk
Get hands-on with practical projects 122 Canon RF 100-500mm
to tackle at home, plus best buys and Premium optic for Canon RF-mount
the best reader images of the month
123 Rotolight Vlogging Kit
64 Practical Photoshop 100 In Focus Light up your life with this bargain bundle
Learn editing skills in Photoshop, Hot new photographic gear.
Camera Raw and Affinity Photo plus Remembering Wildlife 124 Group Test: Budget
full-frame cameras
74 Invigorate your photos 106 Jon Devo column Affordable models from Canon and Nikon
Two new full-frame mirrorless marvels
Enrich your photography with seven 132 Canon Pro-300
ways to go deeper and shoot richer, 134 Sandro Vannini Amazing A3+ photo printing
more rewarding images Visit the Valley of the Kings with
this master photographer

94 Photo Answers 146 What the f/stop!
Pit your brains against our expert
Your questions answered, including
silhouettes and high-key lighting

4 DIGITAL CAMERA NOVEMBER 2020 www.digitalcameraworld.com

Subscribe and HURRY Contents
get a great WHILE
camera bag! STOCKS
Page 40 LAST!

This
month’s
contributors

134 Sandro Vannini interview _ Following in the footsteps of Harry Burton, Sandro Vannini
Sandro has spent decades photographing treasures from Egypt’s Valley
of the Kings with high-end technology and painstaking craftsmanship Photographer

SPECIAL Sandro has become famous for
SECTION his stunning photos of Egypt’s
recovered treasures. Find out
Including a how much work goes into
reader photo every shot on page 134.

gallery! Dave Kai Piper

43 Stay at Home _ Home is where the art is as we look at indoors photography. Photographer and filmmaker
This issue, use a prism to shoot abstract colour, build a photo portfolio
website, and get inspired by photography-centric TV, podcasts and movies Dave shoots across a variety
of genres, but on a visit to the
16 Photo Active _ 10 all-new photography projects to draw inspiration from, Black Country, we find out how
and to try yourself. Create an epic scene with smoke grenades, bring he photographs heritage
vintage book covers to life, and create a landscape from your duvet! buildings. See page 10.

Margot Raggett

Wildlife photographer

Margot’s photographic career
has seen her expand into a
charity fighting to preserve rare
species. Discover Remembering
Wildlife on page 104.

Jon Devo

Photographer and writer

Our new columnist has been a
photographer for 18 years and is
also a fan of technology. Discover
his thoughts on the latest full-
frame cameras, on page 106.

Benedict Brain

Photographer

Ben restlessly explores the
potential of his photos through
a variety of creative projects. He
explains how you can invigorate
your own work on page 74.

Ire Akinfisoye

Commercial photographer

Ire’s passion for footwear has
seen his established fashion
and portrait portfolio evolve
into a whole new direction.
Meet Ire on page 22.

NOVEMBER 2020 DIGITAL CAMERA 5

Your gifts 32 Light Leak
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23 photography cheat 9 all-new tips cards Buyer’s Guide ebook
sheets for your phone
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keep in your kit bag, then refer to of the latest
Quick reference whenever you need settings info. camera and
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OMFINVIU7D5TEEOS CAMERA SKILLS
The art of seeing, with Ben Brain

PHOTOSHOP PHOTOSHOP PHOTOSHOP PHOTOSHOP
Create light leak effects Create a glitch effect Combine a foreground and background Recreate the infrared look

Watch any FILE & VIDEO BRIDGE CAMERA RAW/LIGHTROOM PHOTOSHOP
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8 DIGITAL CAMERA ANUOGVUEMSTBE2R0128020 wwwwww..ddiiggiittaallcameraworld.com



Alistair Campbell ootnnoee

A journey
ǣȇɎȒ‫ژ‬ǝǣɀɎȒȸɵ

One of Dave Kai Piper’s ongoing projects is chronicling
abandoned dwellings in Ireland. He shares his tips for

shooting historical buildings with Niall Hampton

³ǝȒȒɎ ɖȸƫƏȇ ɯǣɎǝ (Əɮƺ kƏǣ ¨ǣȵƺȸ

Dave Kai Piper

Photographer

Dave shoots a wide variety of
photographic genres, as well as
videography, and specialises
in digital mixed-media solutions
for start-ups and small businesses.
Find out more at davekaipiper.com

rom little acorns do But the land can’t meet the
mighty oaks grow… employment needs of everyone
in rural communities, so Ireland
F here at Digital has seen many young people
Camera, we always depart to built-up areas. This
recommend having migration has helped swell the
one or more number of abandoned rural
photographic projects in houses to an estimated 230,000,
progress at any one time. They’re many of which could be restored
a great way of honing your skills to habitable standards. Set
and developing a style, not to against this, there are around
mention keeping motivated if 6,000 homeless people in
your creative batteries have Ireland, and Dave hopes that his
run low and need recharging. work documenting these houses
Photographer Dave Kai Piper will raise awareness of this issue.
has many well-strung bows in his
quiver, as a look at his website will “Ireland is a beautiful country
attest. And while you’re there, with some of the most warm and
you can also see his photography kind people you’ll find, but this is
that documents the ‘forgotten one aspect of a larger picture,”
homes’ of Ireland. he says. “There are some deep
While travelling around the changes and challenges facing
countryside on his motorbike or Ireland’s rural population. It’s
by car, Dave kept coming across under threat from modern
derelict cottages and houses; disadvantages such as slow
with his initial curiosity piqued, he internet and a lack of work.”
reached for his camera. Pausing
to appreciate these forlorn Digital Camera had hoped to
buildings, and how he could best join Dave on another of his visits
capture them, Dave built up a to Ireland to see at first hand
series of images collected from how he approaches this kind of
various trips to the Emerald Isle photography, and to discover
– a nation that, as he notes in more about how he developed
his blog, “has a deep cultural his visual aesthetic for this type
connection to the land.” of work. Covid-19 and travel
restrictions put paid

ootnnoee

Dave chooses his
shooting angles with

care to minimise
post-production.

Dave’s top tips for to that, unfortunately, so Dave came up with “The Black Country Living Museum is like a
a viable alternative – a day spent shooting ready-made film set,” Dave tells me as we
career success at the Black Country Living Museum. This take a socially distanced walk around the site.
open-air space in Dudley, near Birmingham, “Rural Ireland has many charms, one of them
“Take photographs of subjects you like tells the story of how industrialisation being a unique aesthetic – especially in places
and that you want to learn more about. transformed this part of England – the like Kerry or Connemara – that is not so
Documenting things of interest with a country was known as ‘the workshop of the dissimilar to some of the buildings around the
camera will naturally draw you in to learn world’ in Victorian times – through displays of BCLM. There is a real, lost-in-time element
more about them. Once you peel back the industrial environments as they would have here that is quite pleasant. When the weather
layers, you can start to understand what looked in the 19th and 20th centuries. is better, it’s normally picture-perfect.”
is happening and start to get into it all.
Take every image you can – never pass The museum is laid out as a series of areas Indeed. Despite visiting in the middle
up any opportunity to get a photograph.” spanning different points in modern history; of August, the day we had chosen was a
many of the buildings were dismantled at washout – if nothing else, it would be a good
Photography on two wheels other locations, then rebuilt at the BCLM. test of the weather seals on our cameras and
“Getting out and about on my motorbike lenses. Following a context-establishing
seems to connect me more with the world Take every image you browse of the museum’s main exhibition area
as it goes past. There seems to be an can – never pass up a in the Rolfe Street Building, we inspected the
extra layer of adventure, although when it chance to get a photo collection of vintage cars that were built in this
comes to photography there is an extra part of the world before most of the factories,
cost – keeping things dry and charged up and their historic marques, disappeared.
is harder, but there are ways around it…”
Pausing at the Racecourse Colliery in the
Special thanks to our location middle of the site, Dave spotted a single-
storey brick building that seemed a good
The Black Country Living Museum offers match for one of the abandoned buildings
photo opportunities galore. To discuss he had photographed in Ireland. This part
permissions, contact www.bclm.co.uk of the museum is built around an old mine
shaft, one of 40 under the BCLM.

Shooting on a tripod-mounted Sigma fp
full-frame mirrorless with a Sigma 24-70mm
f/2.8 lens, Dave started to compose his
scene. He has two rules he likes to stick
to, so that he can get his horizontals and
verticals sorted in-camera (although he’s
not averse to correcting them in post-
production afterwards): shoot straight-on to
the buildings, to produce a focus inside the
frame, or at 45 degrees to them. Checking the
image on the rear of the camera, the building
could well have been shot in Ireland, given
the damp, overcast conditions and puddles
standing in the foreground. (Apologies
for besmirching the Irish climate.)

12 D I G I TA L C A M E R A NOVEMBER 2020 www.digitalcameraworld.com

1.55pm Camera Sigma fp
2.23pm Lens Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8
Exposure 1/400 sec at f/2.8, ISO 100

Camera Sigma fp
Lens Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8
Exposure 1/60 sec at f/2.8, ISO 100

www.digitalcameraworld.com NOVEMBER 2020 DIGITAL CAMERA 13

ootnnoee

21 Our next stop was the Rolling Mill, adjacent to
4 the Dudley Canal and a regular location for
3 shooting films and TV dramas. Dave set up
next to the Brass Foundry, which dates from
Dave Kai Piper’s photo table 1869 and was removed from Shaw Street in
Walsall to be reconstructed at the BCLM. The
Camera kit that packs away easily to be carried by motorbike foundry would have been worked by two men,
reproducing brass items from lead patterns.
1 Sigma 4 Three With a hole in the roof, and a derelict structure
fp Legged on the side of the building, Dave was attracted
Thing Pro 2.0 to its dilapidated appearance.
Dave says: “The size of the Leo tripod
For this shot, Dave tried the other approach
camera versus the quality of he favours: shooting at a 45-degree angle.
Composing with a shaft of sunlight in the
the file is quite amazing. It “3LT tripods have been an top-left corner of the frame, Dave’s contre-jour
shot juxtaposed sunshine and grey sky
makes the perfect choice for essential part of my setup bookending a decaying building, to good effect.

me to use when I’m out and for years. A stable shooting Around the corner, Dave set up another shot,
of a heap of coal used to fire the brass foundry
about – especially when platform is vital to any and the nearby forge. Sitting on his camera
bag this time, Dave shot from the same level
all my kit has to fit on a landscape photographer; as the wheelbarrow, taking care to compose
around the chain that protected the exhibit.
motorbike. For me, the most plus, they double as lighting 2.41pm
Regarding how he approaches composition,
important aspects of the stands for flash units or even Dave revealed that he tries to work with the
Rule of Thirds where possible, as well as the
camera are that it gives great coathangers in muddy fields Golden Ratio or the Fibonacci Spiral. Pausing
for a well-deserved hot drink and a welcome
files and it’s hard-wearing.” when not holding a camera.” break from the damp conditions, I asked Dave
about his future plans for this ongoing project.
2 Sigma Sigma
24-70mm 23mm f/1.4 DG “I don’t see an end date in mind – maybe I’ll
f/2.8 DG DN | A HSM | A have a fresh look at it after a few years,” he
replies. “There are at least 30 more locations
“I find this lens to be ideal: it “If I know that I need to be that my partner and I have yet to visit, so we will
shooting close to this focal be back to the West Coast of Ireland as soon
gives me a little extra reach if length, then this is my as we can navigate Covid-19. Let’s see what
favourite lens, for sure.” sort of scope the project has after that.”
• View the project at: www.davekaipiper.com/
Sealskinz Journal/The-Forgotten-Homes-of-Ireland
ɯƏɎƺȸȵȸȒȒǔ ɀȒƬǸɀ
I want to save on walking, or
“A decent pair of Sealskinz
to photograph something are worth their weight in gold Dave’s camera bag
to me. If you’re out exploring helps him to stay
that’s behind a locked fence.” on a motorbike or on foot, it’ll
be a miserable experience if steady for this shot.
Lee your feet are cold and wet.
3 ‫ ׎׎׏‬ˡǼɎƺȸɀ Unlike travelling by car, I
never have a place to get out
“I didn’t really use any today, of the rain, so staying warm
and dry is very important
but a good set of filters can yet also hard to do.”

change an image from good

to awesome. Editing is great,

but there’s no substitute for

something like a 15-stop filter

to give movement in a sky or

to add a dynamic twist. Grads

are great for ensuring sky

detail on cloudy days, too.”

14 D I G I TA L C A M E R A NOVEMBER 2020

Camera Sigma fp
Lens Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8
Exposure 1/50 sec at f/2.8, ISO 100

Shoot heritage buildings like Dave Kai Piper How to edit like Dave

Some ways to develop a uniform style when photographing historic architecture “These images are not documentary images
but a relieved, reimagined, re-told story of a
1 Dave says: “Framing is important, and 4 “Don’t overlook the rule of thirds. building. They are dressed up for attention.
All the images taken at the BCLM have
that includes the height at which the It is a pretty handy method of digital skies, mostly because using grads in
image is taken. Keep the camera low and ensuring that you get a good composition.” the rain is not a wise idea. If I was out in the
constant across all your images: that will field I would simply pause until the rain has
help develop a style for the project.” 5 “It’s good practice to make sure that gone, then wait for better weather. As we
didn’t have that option on the day, I took off
2 “Stick to similar focal lengths while your verticals are vertical. This is the grads and did a digital sky replacement.”
especially important when you are trying to
producing the work. This does not see how particular buildings have aged over
preclude some being a little different… the years. Try using the Transform tools in
Just avoid jumping from 12mm to 600mm your chosen software editor – programs
in the same set. Use the aesthetic of a focal like Lightroom can help with this.”
length as part of the overall project.”
6 “Overcrop your images. If the
3 “Always use a tripod when you are
previous point was about cropping
photographing a project on buildings. and transforming elements of images,
This will slow you down and also help to then over-cropping will ensure that you
keep a constant level and framing style.” have room in your image to do this.”

www.digitalcameraworld.com NOVEMBER 2020 DIGITAL CAMERA 15

10 things to shoot, edit or
create this month, including
travel portraits, silhouettes
and smoke grenades

1 | CREATIVE

Brought
to life

Claire Morris reveals
how she makes the
characters on vintage
book covers come
alive through her lens

t was inspiring to discover

I the photographer Thomas
Allen’s work, where he
cuts out then photographs
the characters from the
front of pulp fiction books. I have always
had an interest in photography and love
creating pop-up books, and this concept
brings both of these together.
My own inspiration comes from the
illustrations on vintage fiction books, with
their iconic-looking characters. There is
something so appealing and individual
about them. I enjoy the creativity of
working out how to set and light them
in a scene in a way that highlights their
emotions, while also telling their story.
www.clairemorris.photography

Find out how Claire
produced this shot

Claire shot and edited Imagining Under Milk
Wood as a private commission; turn over
to see how she created this image

16 D I G I TA L C A M E R A NOVEMBER 2020 www.d. igitalcamerraworld.com

Claire Morris

www.digitalcameraworld.com NOVEMBER 2020 DIGITAL CAMERA 17

Get crafty

2 Decide which angle you want to shoot the book

character from. Use a sharp craft knife to partially
cut around them, leaving them attached to the
book so you can prop them up to stage them.

For this image, ‘Imagining Under Milk Wood’,
the customer specifically wanted the book cover
with Dylan Thomas’ profile incorporated. Using
an additional cover with him reclining on a chair,
looking deep in thought, brought out the story
of his creative process. The prose that he is
gazing up at was chosen from the same book,
to reflect the client’s favourite passages.

Getting started The setup

1 The first step is finding the 3 It is time to set up your camera (I used a Nikon

right book. Have a look on your D750 with a 50mm lens), then play around with
bookshelves or in charity shops different compositions and lighting. I find using
for books with covers that you think handheld LED torches best to dramatically
would photograph well; matt-finish light the small paper characters. It creates
ones are easier to light. Here is a the effect of a 3D image, and gives the
worked example of a commission impression of the figure coming to life.
I was asked to do for a customer’s
favourite book, Under Milk Wood I underexposed the shot (shutter 1/10 sec,
by Dylan Thomas. ISO 250), then used two small LED torches: one
lighting Dylan Thomas’ larger profile, and one
shining down at an angle to cast a shadow of
him in his chair, giving depth to the image. The
spotlight effect also lights his face up nicely as
he reclines and imagines the prose. I generally set
the camera’s self-timer and handhold the torches
to experiment with which lighting works best.

An f/13 aperture was used to give a wide depth
of field and to get the text in focus, as this had
a special meaning for the customer.

Post-production

4 I brought the shot into Lightroom and adjusted Highlights,

Shadows, Exposure, Clarity and Contrast. For this particular
picture, Saturation was reduced slightly to create an almost
black-and-white effect. I used brushwork to bring out the
highlights on the contours of the faces, just as you would
for a real-life face you’d photographed.

I then exported the image and opened it in Photoshop.
I used the Clone Stamp Tool to remove all the creases and
print marks from the characters, so they looked as clear
and clean as possible. I would also perhaps make some
further general adjustments, and apply Unsharp Mask.

18 D I G I TA L C A M E R A NOVEMBER 2020 The finished product

5 All my work is printed on Giclée Hahnemühle German Etching

paper: it has the look and feel of a page of a book, although as
it marks so easily, it is hard to work with. Luckily my framers
are skilled in working with this paper. My work is framed
with Clarity glass, which is nearly reflection-free, bringing
a greater visual depth to the finished product.

www digitalcameraworld.com



2 | ABSTRACT

Create a bedscape

Roddy Llewellyn is inspired by a recent trip to create his own
landscapes in the comfort of his bedroom, using his duvet

fter a recent trip to After some trial and error, I found Portrait or landscape format?
that portrait-orientated shots
A Brimham Rocks in were more effective, both from While you’re shooting it’s easy to overlook trying different
Yorkshire, an area of a sense of perspective and orientations of the photos you’re taking. We can get too comfortable
rock formations that for creating depth-of-field by if always shooting in the portrait or landscape formats. I took most
were carved during the Ice Age, focusing on the background. of my duvet shots in a portrait orientation, but also achieved some
I started thinking about how I interesting results by rotating the camera 90 degrees. Here
could create rock formations. Using a dark duvet with a I scrunched up the duvet to create a ravine-style effect; with
My brainwave was to sculpt simple texture on it added to the top cropped off in the image, it creates a pleasing composition.
my own rock formations at home the effect of rock strata I was
by using a duvet – with a little aiming for. The shots didn’t
creative thought, it’s amazing look right in colour, but a quick
what you can come up with mono conversion brought much
from the simplest of ideas. more impact to the images.

1 Consider the colour and texture Roddy Llewellyn
of the duvet or sheet you want
Use manual focus
to use; a simple plain dark sheet with
a little textured pattern works well. Switching to manual focus
Scrumple the sheet up into little gives you more control. With
formations, creating lots of folds a small aperture, I focused on
and creases, to produce shadows. the central area of the image,
which gives a decent depth-of-
2 Think about what sort of field effect. Make sure your
background would work best lens is also switched to
manual if it has that option.
for your shots. I shot mine against
a plain white wall, to give focus and www.digitalcameraworld.com
attention to the sheet itself, so the
viewer can concentrate on the
‘formation’ created by the duvet.

3 Using manual focus, I focused
on a small area of the duvet to

give a depth-of-field effect. A strong
overhead bedroom light was used
here, to create strong shadows and
contrast. A wide aperture was used
to lend some soft focus to the images.

20 D I G I TA L C A M E R A



f/8 1/200 ISO
sec 100

3 | PRODUCTS

Best foot
forward

Ire Akinfisoye
shoots for the sky
with his new love for
product photography

y journey into

M photography is
an interesting
one because it

was completely

accidental. I had dreams of

becoming a music video

director, and wanted to focus

on a career in videography.

I soon discovered that I didn’t

really enjoy it – and that I wasn’t

actually very good at it. Despite

this disappointment, it became

clear that I was naturally gifted

at photography, and I found

a joy in photography that I

didn’t get from videography.

My work has always been

focused on portraiture and

editorial fashion. Portraiture

has always been interesting to

me because I’ve always been

fascinated by faces; I believe

everyone’s face tells a story and

the ability to capture that story

is what draws me in. Similarly,

editorial photography is about

a narrative; what I love about 1 Shoot with natural light 2 Be clear with colour 3 Invest in the right equipment
I favour the use of natural light The colours in my work really I shoot on a Canon EOS 5D
editorial work is the fact that I get
over artificial in my photography: there just depend on what I’m trying to Mark IV, an absolute workhorse of a
to create the story. But recently is just something about how natural achieve, or what my initial vision is. camera. My favourite aspect of it is its
light shapes an image, and that has I treat every shoot individually and versatility – I remember researching
my love of footwear has meant always drawn me in. Shooting with love to play around with different for months and coming to the
natural light was a massive part styles and to experiment – to conclusion that this was the best
that trainers are often the of my development, and shapes discover what works for a particular body for what I wanted to do, and for
my imagery to this day. set of images and what doesn’t. the images that I wanted to capture.
subjects of my work, and I’ve

developed a product portfolio.

www.ire-akinfisoye.

squarespace.com

22 D I G I TA L C A M E R A NOVEMBER 2020 www.digitalcameraworld.com



Before

Jocelyn Gale

After

4 | PHOTOSHOP 1 Eliminate 2 Adjust

Create an To start this tutorial, open your chosen image of a With the main image open, drag and drop in another
lightbulb in Photoshop and duplicate the Background photo containing the subject that will fill the lightbulb.
illusion layer to avoid permanent mistakes. Select the Spot This could be anything, so get creative! In order to
Removal Tool and trace over the filament to eliminate position the content within the lightbulb perimeter,
Jocelyn Gale shows it from the image; adjust the size and opacity of the reduce the new image’s opacity to around 30%,
how to create a visual tool to achieve the precision you need. which enables you to see both layers.
illusion by changing
the perspective in 3 Shape
Photoshop with
only a lightbulb To blend the two images,
you are going to remove any
eady to create new excess image that expands
over the lightbulb’s
R worlds beyond the borders or that isn’t
confines of reality and your desired subject
let your imagination matter. Create a
go wild? With these Layer Mask for this
three quick and simple steps, you’ll top image; with the
learn how to transform any image Brush Tool selected,
into a miniature scene within the make sure your
realm of a lightbulb – or any semi- colour swatch is
transparent object you like. black, then start to
To obtain the perfect image of your shape and remove
selected object – a lightbulb – use a any unwanted area
lightbox as a backdrop to reduce the by brushing over it.
chances of shadow, otherwise the
editing process can become fiddly.
There is an element of patience in
reaching the best results. Keeping
your subject simple will help.

24 D I G I TA L C A M E R A NOVEMBER 2020 www digitalcameraworld.com



5 | PHOTOSHOOT

Up in smoke

Alistair Campbell uses smoke
grenades to create a vibrant
editorial-style scene

his is something I’ve wanted to try for

T a while. A few years ago, I was doing the
lighting on a feature film where we used
a smoke machine almost every day – and
it was brilliant. Although it was only capable
of chucking out standard white smoke, it elevated the
look of the image to an incredible extent.
When I came across these relatively new coloured
canisters, I was eager to get some to try. The main
issue with standard white smoke is that it is reflective
and bounces the light around, sometimes leading
to an overexposed image.
Smoke is a bit of a wild beast and, depending on the
weather on the day, can be almost uncontrollable. If you
use white smoke and are working fast before the smoke
evaporates, you can be in such a rush to capture the
moment that when you finally look down at your camera,
all your images are extremely bright. Coloured smoke is
darker, so your overall image exposure is more consistent.
Smoke can be a lot of fun to shoot, but be sure of your
surroundings before letting them off.
Model: Rebecca Rose Robinson
Instagram: rebeccarosemua

26 D I G I TA L C A M E R A NOVEMBER 2020 www.digitalcameraworld.com

www.digitalcameraworld.com NOVEMBER 2020 DIGITAL CAMERA 27

Five steps for shooting
with smoke bombs

Find your background

1 Giving yourself different options is great.

I could have shot directly out towards the
sea for a clean sky backdrop; alternatively, I could have
used the more textured background of the rocks to
add another layer. I usually take a quick test shot
with my model to see how things are looking.

No smoking please

2 On a serious note: if you’re at all concerned

about using smoke grenades in a certain
area, you should pause and re-evaluate. They can get
pretty hot, so make sure you have some water nearby,
just in case. I sourced mine from www.enolagaye.com
– they’ll give you around 90 seconds of smoke.

Add off-camera flash Rehearse

3 On the day of the shoot there was some 4 before you

harsh sun, with cloud cover moving in and shoot
out. I probably could have shot this with 100% natural
light, but I decided to use one flashgun – just to lift This is possibly the most
the exposure on my model Rebecca. I knew I could important part of a shoot using
easily switch it off during the shoot if I needed to. smoke grenades. I had a clear
conversation with Rebecca
where we practised the
movement and established the
frame’s edge so she didn’t walk
off-shot. 90 seconds may seem
like a long time, but once you
start, it’s over in a flash.

Alistair’s top tips

1 Scout your doing. Tell them
location what’s about to
happen so that it’s
beforehand. Using not a surprise when
the smoke starts.
Google Maps’ Street
4 Take a pair
View, I was able to of builder’s

pinpoint a great or gardener’s gloves
with you, to pick up
spot before arriving the canisters after
use. They can get
– and locate the pretty hot, so
discard them only
local car parks. once it’s safe.

2 Check the 5 Try not to
weather. shoot close

Understanding the to main roads. The
smoke can be quite
wind strength and dense upon release.
If possible, use the
direction for your wind to take it in the
opposite direction.
shoot will give you

a much better

chance of capturing

the smoke plumes.

3 Be sure to let
anybody in

the immediate area

know what you are

Have a helping hand USE YOUR
TIPS CARD!
5 It’s not always possible but whenever you can,
Try your own creative smoke
try to have an extra pair of hands available. I was
lucky enough to be joined by Kieran, who enabled us to shot using this issue’s tips
get the smoke grenades opened much faster, before
quickly jumping out of shot. Thanks to him, we were card, which you can put
up and shooting within five seconds of them going off.
in your kit bag and refer

to on location.

After

6 | LIGHTROOM Jocelyn Gale

Create a silhouette

Jocelyn Gale produces a beautiful silhouette
scene using only a few steps in Lightroom

urning your image into a tutorial, you can transform most subject Before
matters into a beautiful silhouette that
T silhouette can be a tricky and will make your photograph stand out. photographs that have defined subject
lengthy business, as many matter, clear skies or that have been taken
methods involve lots of fiddly To achieve the best results from this underexposed. The more you practise
and time-consuming steps. technique, you will need to experiment editing, the more you will understand how
But with this simple and effective Lightroom using different types of imagery. Try the images will look before you take them.

Colour scheme Highlights Exposure and
and Shadows Contrast
Choosing a colour scheme or going monochrome
depends on your image and personal preference. The next step is to adjust Increasing your
I found that converting this image into black and the Tone settings, as this contrast will be the
white worked most effectively for producing will start defining your final push towards making your image into a
dramatic silhouettes. To do this in Lightroom silhouettes. In particular, silhouette. The final remains of any whites will be
(or Camera Raw), you need to select the Black Shadows and Blacks should be decreased to removed, resulting in a clear-cut edge between your
& White button in the Treatment section. -100. These settings will manipulate each image silhouette and the background. Depending on the
in a different way, so feel free to play around original exposure when the image was captured,
to achieve your desired look. you may also need to adjust the Exposure settings.

30 D I G I TA L C A M E R A NOVEMBER 2020 www.digitalcameraworld.com



Approach

2 with caution

“Glencoe itself can be reached
from both north and south via the A82.
All of the mountains and Munros in
the area are walkable. However, based
on my own experience, I strongly
urge caution on account of possible
inclement weather. It’s best to check
with experienced local guides before
attempting any of the hikes yourself.”

Find your mountain

1 Gary says: “Buachaille Etive

Mor is one of the most iconic
mountains in Scotland, but is only one
of the widely photographed mountains
in the Scottish Highlands. Everyone
who passes through the region gets
at least one photograph of it, even
if it’s just for a keepsake.”

7 | LANDSCAPES

Peak perfect

Gary McIntyre shares one of his favourite
locations to photograph in Scotland

was born on the west coast When it comes to dramatic scenery
and changeable weather, Scotland is a
I of Scotland, surrounded photographer’s dream. You’ll find rugged
by dramatic landscapes mountains, abundant lochs and many
that fuelled my passion for white sandy beaches reminiscent of
photography and travel. Visiting countries tropical locations – well, except for the
like Iceland, Norway and Slovenia has water temperature. And with castles
led me to plan my biggest photographic steeped in centuries of history, Scotland
adventure yet: the Himalayas. I have draws tourists and photographers
always wanted to capture Mount from all over the world. Your choice of
Everest with my own camera. photographic locations in Scotland are
After receiving a few honourable numerous, and each one delivers. For
mentions in international photography the most part, Scotland offers all-season
competitions in 2014 and 2015, I decided photography with its dramatic light and
to focus on photography full- time and weather. But you have to travel the full
now teach photography and image country to see its beauty in its entirety…
editing at Ayrshire College. I am also www.garymcintyrephotographer.com
an ambassador for Skylum software.

32 D I G I TA L C A M E R A NOVEMBER 2020 www.digitalcameraworld.com

READER OFFER

Save £10/$10 on
Skylum Luminar –
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When to photograph

3 “The best lighting for

this location is at sunrise,
when the light catches the top of the
mountain before illuminating it in its
entirety. Buachaille Etive Mor can be
photographed during any season, but
I would say autumn is the best time, due
to the autumnal colours over the land.”

Editing tips and tricks Gary McIntyre

4 “I edit my images in Skylum

Luminar. Try to keep the colours
true to the scene during your edit, as
pushing the HSL slider in any direction
can make the various colours in the
landscape blend together. There’s a lot of
texture in this image, so a long exposure
of around a quarter of a second will
help to balance them out.”

www.digitalcameraworld.com NOVEMBER 2020 DIGITAL CAMERA 33

8 | TRAVEL olly Rusyn’s passion for traditional outfits to perform ancestral
songs and dances. Polly asked if she
World view P photography went to a could watch the villagers prepare for
whole new level while the event, and was then able to try her
Polly Rusyn takes big travel she visited Papua New hand at documentary photography
photography to a small village Guinea, on a recce for the first time.
for the adventure travel company
she was working for at the time. The experience was transformative:
In Madang she was fortunate one year later Polly left the travel
enough to attend a traditional village industry and set about making a
sing-sing by the Bilbil people, where career as a photographer. Five years
members of the tribe dress in on, she shoots personal brand

34 D I G I TA L C A M E R A NOVEMBER 2020 www.digitalcameraworld.com

Photo Active

photography and teaches street Five steps to distinctive travel portraits
photography both at home in London
and in some of her favourite European Focus on composition
cities. Her work has earned international
recognition and has been published and 1 A common mistake when we photograph
exhibited widely. Polly has given street
photography masterclasses for National someone in unusual dress is thinking that a
Geographic Traveller UK and is an snap is enough. Sure, your friends and family
Official Fujifilm X Photographer. will say “wow” when they see your picture of
www.pollyrusyn.com someone in an amazing tribal outfit, but the
Instagram: @pollyrusyn photograph needs to be carefully composed,
too. Arrange your subjects in the frame so
www.digitalcameraworld.com that they stand out from the background
and from each other – then when you find
something happening, capture the moment.

Pick up on the details

2 Spend some time interacting with the people

you want to tell a story about; if you don’t
share a common language, this can be with
smiles and acknowledgments. After a while,
you will stop being a stranger and the novelty
of your presence will wear off: that’s when you
can capture candid moments and also get in
really close to your subjects. Detail shots
show more of the overall story you are telling
in ways that might otherwise be missed.

Find unusual angles

3 Observe what’s happening around you and

what activities might be taking place that you
could photograph. You may come across an
exchange between people, or something else
that’s taking place. You could shoot from an
intriguing angle to invite the viewer of your
photo to ask questions. If you stay close to
your subjects, it will help the viewer feel that
they are right there, too. Never take just one
shot and walk away – instead, work the scene!

Make a portrait

4 Different cultures have different feelings

about portraits being taken, so it’s always
wise to ask for permission, even if it’s just a
smile and a nod to camera to elicit consent.
Then make the most of the opportunity and
take as many shots as you can without taking
too much of your subject’s time. You could
even find that a candid moment in between
poses may reveal more about the person’s
character than your more intentional shots.

Show relationships

5 This is how you tell the emotional and human

side of your story – how people interact, talk,
touch or hold one another. Focus in on a
moment, or an expression on a face (such
as in the main image, opposite). Or look for
body language, where you may be privileged
enough to witness a caring gesture or a
loving embrace – something that tells you
about the people you are photographing
beyond their outer appearance.

NOVEMBER 2020 DIGITAL CAMERA 35

36 D I G I TA L C A M E R A NOVEMBER 2020 www.digitalcameraworld.com

9 | SEASCAPES f/13 1/6 ISO
sec 50
Moody sunsets

Rich Wiltshire captures a dramatic coastal image in Somerset

lthough I suffer from mental 1 Make the most of filters popular area in Somerset for holiday-makers,
I use Kase filters a lot when I shoot and was quite famous when The Beatles
A health issues, I always find played here in the 1960s – the group sat for
that being out in nature landscapes, especially on long-exposure a photograph on the rock to the bottom-right
helps me relax and find of this shot. Weston’s strong tide offers up
my true self. I specialise images or if I need to bring the sky down great opportunities for seascape photography.
in landscape and portrait photography.
What inspired me originally to get into by a few stops. Probably my most-used
landscape photography was travelling and
seeing all the beautiful places throughout the filter would be the circular polariser, which
world: I thought it would be good to capture
them along the way. My favourite times I use for taking the shine off water and
of the day to photograph are dawn or dusk,
but I do also love mist and foggy conditions, also from leaves in woodland photos. 4 Get low
as I find that these bring real atmosphere After climbing down over the rocks
and mood into my images.
I have won various competitions and also 2 Travel around I found this beautiful composition, where
runner-up in Landscape Image of the Year Due to Covid-19 this year hasn’t been
with The Guild of Photographers. I have the rock formation worked as a leading line.
also released a book with Amberley the best, but I have still managed to get out
Publishing – Somerset in Photographs. and capture some outstanding local images. Your eye is taken into the image and down the
www.rgw-photography.co.uk This shot was taken at the Grade 2-listed
Instagram: @rich_wiltshire_photography Birnbeck Pier in Weston-Super-Mare; it was length of the pier, then towards the derelict
originally built in June 1867 but closed to the
public in 1994, and is now on the Buildings buildings on the island in the distance.
at Risk Register. It was shot with a Canon
EOS 5D Mk IV with a 16-35mm lens. 5 Create your mood
I love to create mood in all my

photographs: I feel that it gives the viewer

a better experience of how the scene was at

the particular moment the shot was captured.

3 Find great locations The waves crashing against the rocks
Weston-Super-Mare is an extremely
make the image more dramatic.

www.digitalcameraworld.com NOVEMBER 2020 DIGITAL CAMERA 37

10 | CHALLENGE

Abstract

Send us your images of abstract photography

o matter what your preferred whether it was intentional or not, can be a want to experiment with longer exposures
masterpiece, or something to experiment than you are used to; or perhaps you have a
N genre of photography is, more with the next time. In a sense, it’s like new take on an old technique. Sometimes,
shooting abstract images starting photography anew: there are no taking an abstract photo is the best way to
can be liberating and fun. rules to the game any longer. convey the emotions you want; in other cases,
It may even get you out it strips your images of vital context. So go out
of a creative drought once in a while. Abstract photography can come in many and experiment! There’s a lot of room to try
The best thing about shooting abstract is forms. Maybe you have an old portrait that things out in this month’s challenge…
that nothing can go wrong! The final result, you can add effects to in editing; maybe you

How to enter

To enter your best abstract image, either ‘Abstract’ competition. You retain full 14 November, 2020. The winner will receive
email your entry to digitalcamera@ copyright of your image, and will be a copy of the magazine featuring their
futurenet.com, putting ‘Abstract’ in the credited if published. The closing date is winning photo. Good luck!
subject line; or go to our Facebook page at
www.facebook.com/digitalcameraworld,
look for the ‘Abstract’ post, and upload
your entry into the feed.

By entering your image this competition,
you confirm that you own the copyright to
the image, and agree that Digital Camera
can publish your image in relation to the

The winner of Andy Murdock f/11 1/6 Andy Murdock
the Transport sec
challenge is… In Digital Camera 233, we set you the challenge ISO
of shooting a transport photo. Congratulations to 100
Andy, who shot this atmospheric shot of a Lancaster
Bomber at East Kirby, Lincolnshire. Great work!

38 D I G I TA L C A M E R A NOVEMBER 2020 www.digitalcameraworld.com

Benedict Brain

www.benedictbrain.com

Camera: Nikon D850
Lens: Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8
Exposure: Various, but mainly
around 1/125 sec at f/8, ISO 200

The art The images I’m sharing with you
of seeing this month are from a self-imposed
challenge to create boundaries and
Benedict Brain goes for a walk to exercise limitations. The set of images were all
ǝǣɀ‫ژ‬ƬȸƺƏɎǣɮǣɎɵ ɯǣɎǝ ɀƺǼǔ‫ٮ‬ǣȅȵȒɀƺƳ ƫȒɖȇƳƏȸǣƺɀ taken on a walk between two towns in
the south-west, near to where I live.
S ometimes, maybe this may seem like an odd thing to say. I decided to challenge myself to take
most of the time, However, I find that having constraints a photo every 200m or so; it was about
it’s useful to have can actually fuel the creative process a 10km walk, so at the very least I had
boundaries. For rather than hinder it. After talking about 50 images. I’m only showing 24
a liberal-minded, to other photographers and artists, here, mainly because 50 is too much
creative type like me, I realise I’m not alone in this thought. to try and squeeze onto one page,
and also 50 is a little too much for
this project. But having 50 or so
to edit from, ending up with a
set of 24, felt just about right.

I kept my kit simple: no tripod or
fancy techniques requiring filters, just
one camera body and one lens. I used
a Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8, and most of
the images were taken at about 50mm.
I tried to keep the ISO less than 500
and the aperture close to f/8; so I
could shoot handheld, I tried to keep
the shutter speed faster than 1/100
sec. The lighting was quite flat
throughout the afternoon, which
made this relatively easy. I kept the
processing simple, and ensured there
was consistency across the collection
so they worked well together.

It is such a simple but useful exercise
to do. The act of stopping and reacting
to the location you happen to be at is a
great way to test your skills, hone your
craft and challenge your creativity.
Even if you don’t up with anything
you’re happy with, the exercise alone
will make you a better photographer.

www.digitalcameraworld.com NOVEMBER 2020 DIGITAL CAMERA 39

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ȵɖȸƬǝƏɀƺƳ Əɀ Ə ǕǣǔɎ ƫƺǔȒȸƺ ‫׏א‬ɀɎ (ƺƬƺȅƫƺȸ ‫ ׎א׎א‬ɯǣǼǼ ɀɎƏȸɎ ɯǣɎǝ Ɏǝƺ ˡȸɀɎ ǣɀɀɖƺ ȵɖƫǼǣɀǝƺƳ ǣȇ hƏȇɖƏȸɵِ ǼǼ ǕǣǔɎ ȒȸƳƺȸɀ ȵɖȸƬǝƏɀƺƳ ƏǔɎƺȸ Ɏǝǣɀ ƳƏɎƺ ɯǣǼǼ ƫƺǕǣȇ ɯǣɎǝ Ɏǝƺ ˡȸɀɎ ƏɮƏǣǼƏƫǼƺ ǣɀɀɖƺِ Xǔ ɵȒɖ ɯȒɖǼƳ ǼǣǸƺ ɵȒɖȸ ǕǣǔɎ ɀɖƫɀƬȸǣȵɎǣȒȇ ɎȒ ɀɎƏȸɎ
ɯǣɎǝ Əȇ ƺƏȸǼǣƺȸ ǣɀɀɖƺ ȵǼƺƏɀƺ ƬȒȇɎƏƬɎ ƬɖɀɎȒȅƺȸ ɀƺȸɮǣƬƺɀِ …ȸƳƺȸɀ ȵɖȸƬǝƏɀƺƳ ǔȒȸ ɵȒɖȸɀƺǼǔ ɯǣǼǼ ɀɎƏȸɎ ɯǣɎǝ Ɏǝƺ ȇƺɴɎ ƏɮƏǣǼƏƫǼƺ ǣɀɀɖƺ ‫ ٮ‬ȵǼƺƏɀƺ ƏǼǼȒɯ ɖȵ ɎȒ ‫ ה‬ɯƺƺǸɀ ǔȒȸ ƳƺǼǣɮƺȸɵ ٢ɖȵɎȒ ‫ ז‬ɯƺƺǸɀ ȒɮƺȸɀƺƏɀ٣ِ çȒɖȸ ǕǣǔɎ ɯǣǼǼ ƫƺ ƳƺǼǣɮƺȸƺƳ ɀƺȵƏȸƏɎƺǼɵ
ɯǣɎǝǣȇ ‫ ׎ה‬ƳƏɵɀ ƏǔɎƺȸ ɵȒɖȸ ˡȸɀɎ ȵƏɵȅƺȇɎ ǝƏɀ ƬǼƺƏȸƺƳِ JǣǔɎɀ ȒȇǼɵ ƏɮƏǣǼƏƫǼƺ ɎȒ ɀɖƫɀƬȸǣƫƺȸɀ Ȓȇ Ɏǝƺ Èk ȅƏǣȇǼƏȇƳِ Xȇ Ɏǝƺ ɖȇǼǣǸƺǼɵ ƺɮƺȇɎ ɎǝƏɎ ɯƺ ȸɖȇ ȒɖɎ Ȓǔ Ɏǝǣɀ ǕǣǔɎً ɯƺ ȵȸȒȅǣɀƺ ɎȒ Ȓǔǔƺȸ ɵȒɖ Əȇ ƏǼɎƺȸȇƏɎǣɮƺ ǕǣǔɎ Ȓǔ Ɏǝƺ ɀƏȅƺ ɮƏǼɖƺِ ¨ƏɵȅƺȇɎ
ǣɀ ȇȒȇ‫ٮ‬ȸƺǔɖȇƳƏƫǼƺ ƏǔɎƺȸ Ɏǝƺ ‫ ג׏‬ƳƏɵ ƬƏȇƬƺǼǼƏɎǣȒȇ ȵƺȸǣȒƳ ɖȇǼƺɀɀ ƺɴƬƺȵɎǣȒȇƏǼ ƬǣȸƬɖȅɀɎƏȇƬƺɀ ƏȵȵǼɵِ IȒȸ ǔɖǼǼ Ɏƺȸȅɀ ƏȇƳ ƬȒȇƳǣɎǣȒȇɀً ɮǣɀǣɎ ɯɯɯِȅƏǕƏɿǣȇƺɀƳǣȸƺƬɎِƬȒȅٖɎƺȸȅɀِ IȒȸ ƺȇȷɖǣȸǣƺɀ ȵǼƺƏɀƺ ƬƏǼǼ‫ גגڷ ي‬٢‫׎‬٣ ‫ ِב׏׏׏ בבב ׎בב‬nǣȇƺɀ Əȸƺ Ȓȵƺȇ
xȒȇƳƏɵ‫ ٮ‬IȸǣƳƏɵ ‫ח‬Əȅ‫ד ٮ‬ȵȅ Èk Áǣȅƺ Ȓȸ ƺ‫ٮ‬ȅƏǣǼ‫ ي‬ǝƺǼȵ۬ȅƏǕƏɿǣȇƺɀƳǣȸƺƬɎِƬȒȅِ !ƏǼǼɀ ɎȒ ‫ ׎בב׎‬ȇɖȅƫƺȸɀ ɯǣǼǼ ƫƺ ƬǝƏȸǕƺƳ ƏɎ ȇȒ ȅȒȸƺ ɎǝƏȇ Ə ȇƏɎǣȒȇƏǼ ǼƏȇƳǼǣȇƺ ƬƏǼǼً ƏȇƳ ȅƏɵ ƫƺ ǣȇƬǼɖƳƺƳ ǣȇ ɵȒɖȸ ȵǝȒȇƺ ȵȸȒɮǣƳƺȸ‫ټ‬ɀ ƬƏǼǼ ƫɖȇƳǼƺِ

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Discuss all things photographic with
ǔƺǼǼȒɯ ȸƺƏƳƺȸɀ ƏɎ Ȓɖȸ ȒǔˡƬǣƏǼ ǔȒȸɖȅɀ
forums.digitalcameraworld.com

STAY AT HOME PHOTOGRAPHY

Keep calm and camera on with our guide ǣ¨ȇSȒS ȸǔɎȒE ǝhɵPǴƺȒƺoCEƬ ɖmƬɎTȸȒCɀ eȒȅ IɎ!ɯIOȒǔA ȒȇɎNȸȸ LɵɎ
ɎȒ‫ژ‬ȵȸȒǴƺƬɎɀ‫ژ‬ɵȒɖ‫ژ‬ƬƏȇ‫ژ‬ƬȒȅȵǼƺɎƺ ǣȇƳȒȒȸɀ

ome degree of lockdown

S seems to have returned to
our lives, and signs are it

could be with us for a while

yet. So it’s just as well that our section

devoted to enjoying photography at

home, an appealing blend of practical

projects and creative inspiration, will

help you keep calm and camera on. PROJECT 1 PROJECT 2
Read through the following section

and try out one of its new projects

today – and if you take a shot that 44 Capture colour using 48 How to build a photo
you just have to share, send it to a prism website with Drupal

[email protected] with This inexpensive item allows you to Concluding our series on bespoke

the subject line ‘Reader Images’, and create distinctive images using the website building, we finalise the basic

you could be in our reader gallery! light beams entering your living room structure of our photography site

PROJECT 3 PROJECT 4 PROJECT 5

52 Get photographic 55 Home-working best buys 56 Reader photo gallery
inspiration on demand
From displays to printers, and The latest selection of images
Settle back in your armchair and storage to webcams, here’s our recap from Digital Camera readers to help
of the best kit and caboodle to make banish the Covid-19 blues. Plus a
binge TV series, films and podcasts photographers productive at home special gallery of steam train shots

on photography and photographers

PLUS! àǣɀǣɎ Ȓɖȸ ɯƺƫɀǣɎƺ ǔȒȸ ȅȒȸƺ ǝȒȅƺ‫ٮ‬ǔȒƬɖɀƺƳ ǣȇɀȵǣȸƏɎǣȒȇ
www.digitalcameraworld.com/tag/homephotography
www.digitalcameraworld.com/tag/homeworking

www.digitalcameraworld.com NOVEMBER 2020 DIGITAL CAMERA 43

STAY AT HOME PHOTOGRAPHY

1‫ژ‬Capture colour in the
comfort of your home

ɀǣȅȵǼƺ ȵɖȸƬǝƏɀƺ ƬƏȇ ȅƏǸƺ ȵǝȒɎȒǕȸƏȵǝɵ ǣȇ ɵȒɖȸ ǝȒȅƺ ǔɖȇ ǔȒȸ ǝȒɖȸɀ
Ȓȇ ƺȇƳً ɀƏɵɀ Roddy Llewellynِ Jǣɮƺ ǣɎ Ə Ɏȸɵ ƏȇƳ ɵȒɖ‫ټ‬ǼǼ ƫƺ ɀɖȸȵȸǣɀƺƳ

nline shopping and delivery has been a many colours. It was time to dust down the camera,
and challenge myself to take some shots of the prism
O great help to so many of us over the last and the colours it projected. Trial and error is the
few months. I have been scouring the name of the game here, as passing clouds can
likes of Amazon and eBay for interesting adjust the brightness of the spectrum.

ways to feed my photographic habit, while Camera at the ready on my side table, I was poised
to jump up whenever I saw colours on my prism, or
working within the limits of my home. From vintage slides on the wall. Perspective is an important consideration:
capturing a shot of an angle of the prism brings more
to unusual and quirky products, it is amazing what you colours into the shot, while moving around from side
to side or up and down adjusts the perspective
can find to give yourself ideas for a photography project. of the cube and the spectrum behind.

My living room receives a low evening sun, which WHAT YOU’LL NEED

shines into the space like a laser beam on a sunny day; Camera and standard, macro or wide-angle lens
Prism; there are different shapes and sizes to
so when I came across some prisms, I thought this choose from – educational ones are good
Time: Half an hour
would be an interesting product to try to capture on my

mantelpiece. Product bought and placed, I waited and

waited; and sure enough, during some of the warmest

days on record, my prism sprang to life, and projected

Shoot the spectrum!

If you manage to have a room where the
sunlight shines brightly, you can achieve
great spectrums from your prism. This
shot was taken with a low sun streaming
through the window, creating a broad
spectrum against the back wall. You can
enhance the colours in your photo-editing
software to create a vibrant shot.

f/2.8 1/60 ISO
sec 400

44 D I G I TA L C A M E R A NOVEMBER 2020 www.digitalcameraworld.com

TOP KIT

Geometric shapes

You can find all sorts of prisms

online, such as these geometric

educational shapes, which

can also help you shoot

abstract photos.

Roddy Llewellyn

www.digitalcameraworld.com NOVEMBER 2020 DIGITAL CAMERA 45

STAY AT HOME PHOTOGRAPHY

GO FURTHER ABSTRACTS THROUGH THE PRISM

ǼɎǝȒɖǕǝ ɵȒɖ ƬƏȇ ƬƏȵɎɖȸƺ ƬȸƺƏɎǣɮƺ ǣȅƏǕƺɀ ƫɵ ǴɖɀɎ ȵǝȒɎȒǕȸƏȵǝǣȇǕ Ɏǝƺ ȵȸǣɀȅ ǣɎɀƺǼǔً ɵȒɖ
ƬƏȇ ƏǼɀȒ ƬȸƺƏɎƺ ɵȒɖȸ Ȓɯȇ ƏȸɎɯȒȸǸ ƫɵ ɀǝȒȒɎǣȇǕ ƳǣǔǔȸƏƬɎƺƳ ǣȅƏǕƺɀ ɎǝȸȒɖǕǝ Ɏǝƺ ȵȸǣɀȅٍ

Roddy Llewellyn 2 Crop and compose
This shot, taken using manual focus,
1 Capture diffraction through a prism focused on some sunglasses sitting on my
I have a small hare sculpture sitting on my mantelpiece. Looking through the mantelpiece. As the area through the prism
prism, I saw that it was split in two. Using manual focus, I focused on the sculpture was square in shape, I decided to crop the
with a wide aperture, to blur the foreground. The contrast of the colours of the image in a square format, placing the focal
prism and the colours around the hares created an arty abstract piece, and subject centrally in the image. To create an
the hares brought a sense of movement to an otherwise static composition. abstract look and feel, I made sure the
subject was sharply
in focus, and the
foreground out of
focus. This approach
delivered a pleasing
composition that
draws the eye into the
centre of the frame.

3 Create a
marvellous

montage for your home

You could even create your

own series of abstract

artwork, then get them

printed and framed using an

online service such as Cewe

or WhiteWall. You would be

wise to review any images

that you have shot during

lockdown, tweaking, cropping

and post-processing them.

Print them if you have a

printer, create a portfolio,

enter competitions, sell prints

online, frame them to adorn

your home, or use them as

gifts for relatives and friends.

Be proud of your work!

46 D I G I TA L C A M E R A NOVEMBER 2020 www.digitalcameraworld.com

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STAY AT HOME PHOTOGRAPHY

2‫ژ‬wBueibldsiatepihnoDtorugpraapl hy!ȒȇɎǣȇɖǣȇǕ Ȓɖȸ ǼȒȒǸ ƏɎ ɖɀǣȇǕ Ɏǝǣɀ ǔǼƺɴǣƫǼƺ ƬȒȇɎƺȇɎ ȅƏȇƏǕƺȅƺȇɎ ɀɵɀɎƺȅ Ȓȇ Pbhuo7itlPdoOinwAgeFRb10s7T1ite

Ə ǼȒƬƏǼ ɀƺȸɮƺȸ ɎȒ ƳƺɮƺǼȒȵ ƏȇƳ ɎƺɀɎ ɵȒɖȸ ǣƳƺƏɀ ǔȒȸ Ə ȵǝȒɎȒǕȸƏȵǝɵ ɯƺƫɀǣɎƺ

or the final part of this like WordPress, so it will appeal to on your system, enter the name of your
computer-literate people who like the site, and accept the default prompts for
F series, we’re going to idea of going ‘behind the curtain’ of a the version of PHP and the database
walk you through the website. The reward will be a bespoke name. Choose v8.9.1 under Install A
final stages of building and secure website built on a highly Drupal Distribution, enter any required
a photography website customisable platform where added information and Drupal will be installed.
from scratch using the Drupal content functionality is bestowed via installing
management system (CMS). modules (extra features) and themes Next, install the Media Gallery module
Websites built using a CMS are more (which determine the look and feel). (drupal.org/project/media_gallery)
sophisticated than ones consisting of and the Showcase Lite theme, from
fixed or ‘static’ pages of text, and are To get to this point, we started our drupal.org/project/showcase_lite.
essential for displaying images. As an site build in a local environment, using Then start creating your galleries…
open-source general-purpose CMS, the Acquia Dev Desktop local host
Drupal boasts a large community of (https://dev.acquia.com/downloads). WHAT YOU’LL NEED
contributing developers, and is popular
with governments, non-profit firms Start by downloading Acquia Dev Computer
and educational institutions. Desktop and running the installer, then Internet access
Building a website in Drupal is more launch the software and select Start Images ready for upload
involved than doing it in other CMSs From Scratch. Use the suggested Development application
default for locating the codebase files Time: 1 week (build)

STEP BY STEP HOW TO COMPLETE THE SITE BUILD

ÈɀǣȇǕ Ɏǝƺ ƬȷɖǣƏ (ƺɮ (ƺɀǸɎȒȵ ǼȒƬƏǼ ƺȇɮǣȸȒȇȅƺȇɎً ɯƺ ƬȒȇɎǣȇɖƺ ƳƺɮƺǼȒȵǣȇǕ Ȓɖȸ
ɀǣɎƺ ƫƺǔȒȸƺ ɎƺɀɎǣȇǕ ƏȇƳ ɀɖƫɀƺȷɖƺȇɎ ƳƺȵǼȒɵȅƺȇɎ ɎȒ Ə ɯƺƫɀǣɎƺ ǝȒɀɎǣȇǕ ȵǼƏɎǔȒȸȅ

1 Starting from where we left off last month…
After creating some galleries, we linked them to the
main navigation so that site visitors can browse them easily. In
the Admin area, we clicked on Structure then Main Navigation
and Edit Menu. We entered a title for the menu link, then typed
‘/media_gallery/1’ in the Link field, repeating this step for the
other galleries, replacing ‘/1’ with ‘/2’, ‘/3’, and so on.

2 Improving the
image displays

Our galleries would benefit

from a ‘lightbox’ to display

the photos. Selecting

an image would open

a pop-up overlay, which we can click through to view all the

images displayed in the gallery. Colorbox is a popular lightbox

plug-in that has worked with several versions of Drupal, so it’s

well-established and is actively maintained. You can find its

page at www.drupal.org/project/colorbox – have a peek

at the description of the plug-in to see what it can do.

48 D I G I TA L C A M E R A NOVEMBER 2020 www.digitalcameraworld.com

HOW TO DEPLOY A
LOCAL SITE TO THE NET

Here’s a brief overview of the process

1. Find a hosting service provider
Once your site is fully built and tested, and any bugs
or snags are smoothed out, it’s ready to be released
to a global audience. The first step is to find a hosting
provider. (Z-Host and 1&1 are popular options in the
UK, but there will be options more local to other
territories.) Make sure that your hosting provider can
support PHP and MySQL, both required by Drupal.

2. Download an FTP client to your computer
File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is the means by which
you upload your local site’s files to your web hosting
provider. One of the most popular FTP clients is
FileZilla, which works on both Windows and macOS.
You can find it at www.filezilla-project.org

3. Upload the files using Control Panel
Your provider will give you access to a control panel,
for all-in-one-place site management – CPanel is a
popular option. Follow your provider’s instructions for
deployment, but be aware that the file transfer and
settings configuration could take up to a whole day.

3 Download the Colorbox module 4 Download the Colorbox plug-in
You’ll notice from the description that there are two Return to the Colorbox download page; immediately
discrete elements to Colorbox – a module and a plug-in – and under Dependencies, click the Colorbox Plugin 1.x link. This
the plug-in is a separate download. Let’s start with the module. will save a compressed archive file to your computer’s
Scroll to the bottom of the page and locate the Drupal 8 nominated location for downloads. Now you need to create
version (it’s the top one of the two green boxes), mouse a directory on your system for the Colorbox plug-in files. As
over the tar.gz link, right-click and select Copy Link Address. per the instructions on the Colorbox download page, create
Back in the site’s Admin area, click on the Extend tab, click a directory so that the path to the files becomes [site name]/
Install New Module, paste in the URL and click Install. libraries/colorbox/, then unpack the archive in that location.

www.digitalcameraworld.com NOVEMBER 2020 DIGITAL CAMERA 49