Tech Life Australia-August 2021

Market demands created its own research and ribbon tweeter and of low-
development facility for television distortion amplifiers. It was their
On the surface, it seems obvious and radio technology, from which passion for innovation and quality
– timing, dynamics, tonal balance, arose advancements such as Nicam that showed the way for the next
who wouldn’t want these things? stereo, digital audio and monitor generation.
However, some markets have loudspeakers.
traditionally demanded something “Products built using hand-
slightly different, particularly “The BBC was the first to selected components, crafted with
when it comes to low frequency. research loudspeakers in a holistic care, pride and respect” is their
Peter Comeau, director of acoustic way, including drive units, cabinet legacy, according to Jason Gould,
design for IAG (which counts resonance-suppression and brand ambassador for Naim. The
Wharfedale, Quad and Mission crossover phase linearity,” says long-term effect was to create a
among its brands) says it wasn’t Lee Taylor, an ex-BBC sound British hi-fi industry with brands
until he left the UK that he first engineer and founder of Leema such as B&W, Linn, Mission, KEF,
conceived of how this kind of Acoustics. “The resulting devices, Arcam, Rega, Naim and others all
sound could be deemed to be such as the BBC LS3/5a trying to out-perform each other in
typically British. loudspeaker, are still unsurpassed terms of innovative engineering.
in many ways. I publicly apologise
“I started hearing about hi-fi for blowing up quite so many in my Consumer choice
products coming out of the USA in time at the BBC.”
the late 1960s with designs from The British entrepreneurial
Acoustic Research, Marantz and When pressed to name a product spirit also contributed too,
JBL appearing out of the Atlantic that best typifies a possible British inspiring the likes of 17-year-old
fog. US speakers had a different sound, several of our interviewees Rob Lawley, who would later
tonal balance to British designed list the LS3/5a. These small studio become managing director of
speakers, with a fatter bass and a monitors were developed for Sevenoaks Sound and Vision, as
more prominent presence which outside broadcast vans to ensure a first started by Paul Lee-Kemp in
exaggerated the upper harmonic good quality of broadcast sound. 1972. “The result was that the
range of vocals, string and wind “A polite, smooth, pleasant, consumer was spoiled for choice
instruments. non-controversial sound; a and great sounding kit, and much
loudspeaker with flat frequency of this was driven by individuals
“At the time, I decided that this response,” is how Rega’s Roy with a real vision for better sound,
was to favour US pop music, a lot of Gandy describes their audio. rather than just commercial gain,”
which had a marginally larger- Lawley says.
than-life, brighter, projection. Through licensing to produce
However, as soon as a record of these speakers under brands such However, with different
classical music hit the turntable, as Rogers and Spendor, that commercial pressures and
the departures from neutrality balanced, neutral sound became influences, the methods and ideals
quickly let the side down.” the standard. British loudspeaker of British hi-fi’s heyday have been
companies spun out of this diluted for some – as, indeed, has
According to Comeau, there was research, with the LS3/5a that familiar sound they promoted.
a sound difference even among the something of a common ancestor.
US designs, with an east coast/west But if a British sound isn’t the
coast divide – in the east were “For me, British hi-fi is driving force behind the people
brands such as Acoustic Research adventurous. Those pioneers led who make hi-fi in the UK, perhaps
and in the west, JBL. Both the world in the development of it doesn’t matter. While British
competed with the more neutral high-fidelity sound,” says Peter audio brands may not be trying to
and, Comeau ventures, ‘accurate’ Thomas, founder and chairman of sell a British sound, there are
British sound, though plenty of US PMC. “One of the main things that certainly people who are looking to
commentators found the UK style differentiated them was a buy it. The label of British hi-fi still
rather warm and flat, not unlike a willingness to use objective and carries some meaning for AV
pint of bitter. subjective testing. They trusted enthusiasts across the world.
their ears when it came to
Undoubtedly, the influence of designing equipment as well as “Our products are given an
British pop music in the 1960s and measurements. And we still immediate elevation in status
70s did much to influence the produce some of the best cutting- when you introduce them, even in
flavour of hi-fi of that time and the edge designs in the world – we’re the great audio producing
notion of a British sound. “If you not frightened to try new ideas.” countries such as the USA or
played Beatles records, the Japan,” says Alex Munro, Q
squawky upper-mids were too Those pioneers include names Acoustics’ brand director.
much to bear when using JBLs,” such as Gilbert Briggs and Peter
says Comeau. Walker, who started Wharfedale And at the end of the day, it’s
and Quad respectively in the 30s, really all about what the customer
In all likelihood, the roots of a and who passed down the baton to wants. “The feedback generated by
British sound go back even further the likes of Stan Kelly and Arthur our customers should not be
than the 60s and to an era at the Radford, inventors of the Kelly underestimated,” says Ben Lily,
BBC a decade earlier. The BBC technical sales manager at ATC.

101

HELP STATION

Fitness

FAR LEFT: The
app uses high
frequency
sounds to
detect
movement.

LEFT: Start by
creating an
account.

RIGHT: Be sure
to fill out the
journal before
going to sleep.

Get a better night’s sleep with SleepScore

Tim Bothwell looks at how an app could help improve your sleep.

Sleep… it’s something we all need Getting Started. ĺăăŨŰõŎŬă ĤŰ ķŅŎƕŅ ŹŎ ØƫăõŹ ƛŎƀŬ ŰĺăăŨ ŰƀõĠ
ŹŎ ăƫăõŹĤƔăĺƛ ėƀŅõŹĤŎŅ̐ ƕĤŹĠ ŹĠă
ūƀØĺĤŹƛ Ŏė ƛŎƀŬ ŰĺƀłòăŬ ĠØƔĤŅę Ø ØƔØĤĺØòĺă ėŎŬ òŎŹĠ Ĥ•ĠŎŅă Έ ŰŎłă ØŰ ØĺõŎĠŎĺ̐ õØƫăĤŅă̐ ŎŬ ăƚăŬõĤŰă̖
ûĤŬăõŹ ĤłŨØõŹ ŎŅ ĠŎƕ ƛŎƀ ėăăĺ
ŹĠŬŎƀęĠŎƀŹ ŹĠă ûØƛ̖ ÃĠĤĺă łØŅƛ Ŏė ŅûŬŎĤû ûăƔĤõăŰ ̦Űăă Ø õŎłŨĺăŹă {Ņõă ûŎŅă̐ ŰĤłŨĺƛ ŨĺØõă ƛŎƀŬ
ŹĠă ØŨŨŰ ƕă̵Ɣă õŎƔăŬăû ŎƔăŬ ŹĠă
ĺØŰŹ ėăƕ łŎŅŹĠŰ ĠØƔă ėŎõƀŰŰăû ŎŅ ĺĤŰŹ Ŏė õŎłŨØŹĤòĺă ŰłØŬŹŨĠŎŅăŰ ØŹ ŰłØŬŹŨĠŎŅă ėØõă̪ƀŨ ŎŅ Ø
ØõŹĤƔĤŹƛ ŨăŬėŎŬłăû ûƀŬĤŅę
ûØƛŹĤłă̐ ŹĠăŬă̵Ű ØĺŰŎ ØŨŨŰ www.sleepscore.com/ ŅĤęĠŹŰŹØŅû ŅăƚŹ ŹŎ ƛŎƀŬ òăû̖
ûăŰĤęŅăû ŹŎ ĠăĺŨ ƛŎƀ ŬăŰŹ Έ ŬăõŎƔăŬ
ĤŅ ŹĠă ŅĤęĠŹ̖ ĺăăŨõŎŬă ĤŰ ŎŅă ŰƀõĠ sleepscore-app/faq/̧̖ ėŹăŬ ÉŎƀ̵ĺĺ ØĺŰŎ Ņăăû ŹŎ ĠØƔă ƛŎƀŬ
ØŨŨ̖ RŅ ØûûĤŹĤŎŅ ŹŎ ĤŅŹăĺĺĤęăŅŹĺƛ
ŹŬØõķĤŅę ƛŎƀŬ ŹĤłă ŰŨăŅŹ ØŰĺăăŨ̐ ûŎƕŅĺŎØûĤŅę ŹĠă ØŨŨ ėŬŎł ŹĠă ØŨŨ ŨĠŎŅă Ũĺƀęęăû ĤŅ ØŅû õĠØŬęĤŅę
ĺăăŨõŎŬă ØĺŰŎ ŎƫăŬŰ ŨăŬŰŎŅØĺĤŰăû
ŹĤŨŰ ØŅû ŹŬĤõķŰ ėŎŬ ĤłŨŬŎƔĤŅę ƛŎƀŬ ŰŹŎŬă̐ ƛŎƀ̵ĺĺ òă ƕØĺķăû ŹĠŬŎƀęĠ Ø ŹŎ ŰŹØŬŹ̖
ŰĺăăŨ ŎƔăŬ ŹĤłă̖
òŬĤăė ŰăŹƀŨ ŨŬŎõăŰŰ̖ §ĠĤŰ ĤŅõĺƀûăŰ Step it up a level
The basics ŨŬŎƔĤûĤŅę ƛŎƀŬ Øęă Έ

How it works. §ĠăŬă̵Ű Ø ŬØŅęă Ŏė ęăŅûăŬ̐ ŨĺƀŰ ØŅŰƕăŬĤŅę Waking up. Ź ŹĠă
ŰĺăăŨĤŅę ØŨŨŰ õƀŬŬăŅŹĺƛ ŎŅ ŹĠă ØŨŨ
ŰŹŎŬă̐ òƀŹ ĠŎƕ ĺăăŨõŎŬă ƕŎŬķŰ ĤŰ Ø ŰăŬĤăŰ Ŏė ūƀăŰŹĤŎŅŰ õŎŅõĺƀŰĤŎŅ Ŏė ƛŎƀŬ
ūƀĤŹă ƀŅĤūƀă̖ DŎŬ ŰŹØŬŹăŬŰ̐ ƛŎƀ ûŎŅ̵Ź ØòŎƀŹ ƛŎƀŬ òăûŹĤłă
Ņăăû Ø ƕăØŬØòĺă ûăƔĤõă ŰƀõĠ ØŰ Ø SleepScore is one such app. ŰĺăăŨ ƛŎƀ̵ĺĺ òă
DĤŹòĤŹ ŎŬ ŨŨĺă ÃØŹõĠ̖ RŅŰŹăØû ŹĠă
ØŨŨ ƀŰăŰ ŨØŹăŅŹăû ŅŎŅ̪õŎŅŹØõŹ ŬŎƀŹĤŅă̖ §Ġă ØŨŨ ƕĤĺĺ In addition to intelligently ŨŬăŰăŅŹăû ƕĤŹĠ ƛŎƀŬ
ŰŎŅØŬ ŹăõĠŅŎĺŎęƛ ŹĠØŹ ĤŅƔŎĺƔăŰ ØĺŰŎ ăŅõŎƀŬØęă ƛŎƀ ŹŎ ƔăŬƛ ŎƕŅ ĺăăŨõŎŬă
ŨĺØƛĤŅę ŰŎƀŅû ØŹ Ø ėŬăūƀăŅõƛ ŰŎ ŰĤęŅ ƀŨ ŹŎ Ø ŨŬăłĤƀł tracking your time spent ŰŎłăƕĠăŬă òăŹƕăăŅ ˘
ĠĤęĠ ĤŹ̵Ű ƀŅØòĺă ŹŎ òă ĠăØŬû òƛ łŎŰŹ
ØûƀĺŹŰ̖ ®ŰĤŅę ƛŎƀŬ ŰłØŬŹŨĠŎŅă̵Ű łăłòăŬŰĠĤŨ̐ òƀŹ ėăăĺ asleep, SleepScore also Έ ˘˗˗̖ ĺŰŎ ĠăŬă ƛŎƀ̵ĺĺ
łĤõŬŎŨĠŎŅă̐ ŹĠă ØŨŨ ŹĠăŅ ûăŹăõŹŰ ėŬăă ŹŎ ŰķĤŨ ŹĠĤŰ ėŎŬ ŅŎƕ̖ ŎƫăŬŰ ŨăŬŰŎŅØĺĤŰăû ŹĤŨŰ ƱŅû Ø ûăŹØĤĺăû
ŰŎƀŅû ƕØƔăŰ ŹĠØŹ ̳òŎƀŅõă̵ Ŏƫ ă ŰƀŬă ŹŎ ØĺŰŎ ęŬØŅŹ ŹĠă and tricks for improving ŰƀłłØŬƛ Ŏė ƛŎƀŬ
ŎòĴăõŹŰ ̦ØŅû ƛŎƀ̧ ŹŎ ûăŹăŬłĤŅă ØŨŨ ØõõăŰŰ ŹŎ ƛŎƀŬ ŰĺăăŨ̐ ĤŅõĺƀûĤŅę ŹĤłă
łŎƔăłăŅŹ ØŅû òŬăØŹĠĤŅę̖
ŰłØŬŹŨĠŎŅă̵Ű your sleep over time. ŰŨăŅŹ ŹĠŬŎƀęĠŎƀŹ ŹĠă
łĤõŬŎŨĠŎŅă ƕĠăŅ ƔØŬĤŎƀŰ ŰĺăăŨ ŰŹØęăŰ̖

ŬăūƀăŰŹăû̖ Ű ƛŎƀ ĺŎę ŰĺăăŨ łŎŬă

Going to sleep. {Ņõă ŬăØûƛ ėŎŬ ØŅû łŎŬă̐ ŹĠă ØŨŨ ƕĤĺĺ òăęĤŅ ŹŎ

òăû̐ ĤŹ̵Ű ŹĤłă ŹŎ ŎŨăŅ ŹĠă ØŨŨ ŨŬŎƔĤûă ŬăõŎłłăŅûØŹĤŎŅŰ ėŎŬ

ØęØĤŅ̖ {Ņ ŹĠă FŎ ŹŎ ĺăăŨ ŹØò̐ ĠŎƕ ŹŎ ĤłŨŬŎƔă ĤŹ̖

õĠŎŎŰă ØŅ ØĺØŬł ØŅû òƀƫăŬ ėŎŬ Sleep sounds. DŎ ƛŎƀ ŎėŹăŅ

ƕĠăŅ ƛŎƀ ƕØŅŹ ŹŎ òă ƕŎķăŅ ƀŨ ̩ ŰŹŬƀęęĺă ę㏏ĤŅę ŹŎ ŰĺăăŨ̗

ŹĠă ØŨŨ ƕĤĺĺ ƀŰă ŹĠĤŰ ŹŎ ęăŅŹĺƛ ĺăăŨõŎŬă ĤŅõĺƀûăŰ Ø ŅƀłòăŬ Ŏė

ƕØķă ƛŎƀ ûƀŬĤŅę ƛŎƀŬ ĺĤęĠŹăŰŹ ŰŎƀŅûŰ ƛŎƀ õØŅ ĺĤŰŹăŅ ŹŎ òăėŎŬă

ŰŹØęă Ŏė ŰĺăăŨ̖ ăėŎŬă ĠĤŹŹĤŅę ŹĠă òăû̖ ™ØŹĠăŬ ŹĠØŅ ŹĠă ŹƛŨĤõØĺ

ŨĤĺĺŎƕ ƛŎƀ̵ĺĺ ØĺŰŎ òă ØŰķăû ŹŎ Ʊĺĺ ŅŎĤŰăŰ Ŏė Ø ĴƀŅęĺă ŎŬ ŬØĤŅėŎŬăŰŹ̐

ŎƀŹ Ø ĴŎƀŬŅØĺ ƕĤŹĠ ŹĠĤŅęŰ ŹĠØŹ ØŬ㠝ĺăăŨõŎŬă ŎƫăŬŰ Ø ŰăŬĤăŰ Ŏė

102

Above: The app Trends. §Ġă ŬăØĺ òăŅăƱŹ Ŏė ŨăŬŰŎŅØĺĤŰăû ŹĤŨŰ ėŎŬ ò㏏ăŬ ŰĺăăŨ
offers a number ĺăăŨõŎŬă õŎłăŰ ėŬŎł ŹĠă òƛ ƱĺĺĤŅę ŎƀŹ Ø ūƀăŰŹĤŎŅŅØĤŬă
of music tracks ØòĤĺĤŹƛ ŹŎ Űăă ØŅû ĤûăŅŹĤėƛ ŹŬăŅûŰ ØòŎƀŹ ƛŎƀ ØŅû ƛŎƀŬ ŰĺăăŨĤŅę
you can fall ØòŎƀŹ ƛŎƀŬ ŰĺăăŨ ŎƔăŬŹĤłă̖ ĠØòĤŹŰ̖ eŎõØŹăû ŎŅ ŹĠ㠝㬬ĤŅęŰ
asleep to. eŎõØŹăû ŎŅ ŹĠă NĤŰŹŎŬƛ ŹØò̐ ŹØŨ ŹØò̐ ŹØŨ ̳nƛ ĺăăŨ •ŬŎƱĺă̵ ØŅû
ŹĠă ØŬŬŎƕ ĤõŎŅ ĤŅ ŹĠă ŹŎŨ̪ŬĤęĠŹ õĠŎŎŰă ėŬŎł ŹĠă ĺĤŰŹ Ŏė ŹŎŨĤõŰ̖
Left: At the end õŎŬŅăŬ ŹŎ Űăă ƛŎƀŬ ŰĺăăŨŰõŎŬă ÉŎƀ̵ĺĺ òă ØŰķăû Ø ƕĤûă ŬØŅęă Ŏė
of your sleep ęŬØŨĠăû ØĺŎŅęŰĤûă ėØõŹŎŬŰ ŰƀõĠ ūƀăŰŹĤŎŅŰ̐ ĤŅõĺƀûĤŅę ŎŅăŰ ØòŎƀŹ
you’ll be ØŰ õŎƫăă ØŅû ăƚăŬõĤŰă̖ RŹ̵Ű Ø ęŬăØŹ ƛŎƀŬ łØŹŹŬăŰŰ̐ òăûŬŎŎł̐ ØŅû
presented with a ƕØƛ ŹŎ Űăă ĠŎƕ õăŬŹØĤŅ ĠØòĤŹŰ ęăŅăŬØĺ ĠăØĺŹĠ̖
SleepScore. õŎƀĺû òă ØƫăõŹĤŅę ƛŎƀŬ ŰĺăăŨ̖
qŎŹă ŹĠØŹ ŹĠĤŰ ėăØŹƀŬă ĤŰ ŎŅĺƛ Room checker̖ NØƔĤŅę ŹĠă
music tracks that have been ØƔØĤĺØòĺă ŹŎ ŨŬăłĤƀł ƀŰăŬŰ̖ ŬĤęĠŹ òăûŬŎŎł ŰăŹƀŨ ĤŰ ķăƛ ŹŎ Ø
ŰŨăõĤƱõØĺĺƛ ûăŰĤęŅăû ŹŎ ĠăĺŨ ƛŎƀ ęŎŎû ŅĤęĠŹ̵Ű ŰĺăăŨ̖ RŅõĺƀûăû ƕĤŹĠ
ƀŅƕĤŅû ØŅû ėØĺĺ ØŰĺăăŨ̖ Going pro ĺăăŨõŎŬă ĤŰ Ø òƀĤĺŹ ĤŅ ŹŎŎĺ ƕĠĤõĠ
ƀŰăŰ ƛŎƀŬ ŰłØŬŹŨĠŎŅă̵Ű õØłăŬØ
Challenges. ÃĠĤĺă ĤŹ̵Ű Øĺĺ ƕăĺĺ Premium. Ű łăŅŹĤŎŅăû ăØŬĺĤăŬ̐ ØŅû łĤõŬŎŨĠŎŅă ŹŎ ĤûăŅŹĤėƛ ØŅƛ
ØŅû ęŎŎû ŹŎ ŰØƛ ƛŎƀ̵Ŭă ęŎĤŅę ŹŎ ĺăăŨõŎŬă ĠØŰ òŎŹĠ Ø ėŬăă ØŅû ĺĤęĠŹ ŎŬ ŰŎƀŅû ŹĠØŹ õŎƀĺû òă
ę㏠łŎŬă ŰĺăăŨ̐ ØõŹƀØĺĺƛ ŹØķĤŅę ŨŬăłĤƀł ƔăŬŰĤŎŅ Ŏė ŹĠă ØŨŨ ŹŎ ØƫăõŹĤŅę ƛŎƀŬ ØòĤĺĤŹƛ ŹŎ ėØĺĺ
ŹĠă ŰŹăŨŰ ŬăūƀĤŬăû õØŅ òă łŎŬă Ŏė õĠŎŎŰă ėŬŎł̖ ÃĠĤĺă ŹĠă ėŬăă ØŰĺăăŨ̖ ÉŎƀ̵ĺĺ ƱŅû ŹĠă ŹŎŎĺ ŎŅ ŹĠă
Ø õĠØĺĺăŅęă̖ Rė ƛŎƀ̵Ŭă ĺŎŎķĤŅę ėŎŬ ƔăŬŰĤŎŅ ØĺĺŎƕŰ ƛŎƀ ŹŎ ŹŬØõķ ØŅû ŎĺƀŹĤŎŅŰ ŹØò̖
ŰŎłă ØõõŎƀŅŹØòĤĺĤŹƛ̐ ƕĠƛ ŅŎŹ łŎŅĤŹŎŬ ƛŎƀŬ ŰĺăăŨ ƀŰĤŅę òØŰĤõ
ŰĤęŅ ƀŨ ŹŎ ŎŅă Ŏė ŹĠă ØŨŨ̵Ű ŰĺăăŨ ėăØŹƀŬăŰ̐ Ø ŨŬăłĤƀł Snore tracking. Rather than
õĠØĺĺăŅęăŰ̖ RŅ ŹĠ㠝ŎĺƀŹĤŎŅŰ ŹØò ŰƀòŰõŬĤŨŹĤŎŅ ƀŅĺŎõķŰ Ø ƕĠŎĺă ĺŎŹ ƱŅû ŎƀŹ ėŬŎł ŹĠă ŨăŬŰŎŅ ŅăƚŹ ŹŎ
ƛŎƀ̵ĺĺ ƱŅû ŎŅăŰ ėŎõƀŰŰăû ŎŅ łŎŬă̖ !ŎŰŹĤŅę ͊˘˗ ŨăŬ łŎŅŹĠ ŎŬ ƛŎƀ ŹĠØŹ ƛŎƀ ŰŅŎŬă̐ ƕĠƛ ŅŎŹ ĺăŹ
õƀŹŹĤŅę ûŎƕŅ õØƫăĤŅă̐ ŰŹĤõķĤŅę ͊˝˗ ŨăŬ ƛăØŬ̐ Ø ŨŬăłĤƀł ĺăăŨeØò Źăĺĺ ƛŎƀ łŎŬă ŰƀòŹĺƛ̖
ŹŎ Ø Ű㏠òăûŹĤłă̐ ŎŬ ŰĤłŨĺƛ ŰƀòŰõŬĤŨŹĤŎŅ ęĤƔăŰ ƛŎƀ RŅõĺƀûăû ƕĤŹĠ Ø ŨŬăłĤƀł
ŬăûƀõĤŅę ŰŹŬăŰŰ̖ 1ØõĠ õĠØĺĺăŅęă ŨăŬŰŎŅØĺĤŰăû ŰĺăăŨ ŰƀòŰõŬĤŨŹĤŎŅ ĤŰ Ø ūƀăŰŹĤŎŅŅØĤŬă
õŎłăŰ ƕĤŹĠ ûØĤĺƛ ŹĤŨŰ ŹĠØŹ ƛŎƀ̵ĺĺ ŬăõŎłłăŅûØŹĤŎŅŰ̐ ŨĺƀŰ ŹĠă ŹĠØŹ ØŰķŰ ƛŎƀ ŹŎ ŨăŬėŎŬł Ø ŰăŬĤăŰ
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õŎłăŰ ƕĤŹĠ Ø ŎŅă̪ƕăăķ ėŬăă ŰŅŎŬĤŅę ƕĠĤĺă ƛŎƀ ŰĺăăŨ̐ ŨĺƀŰ
ŹŬĤØĺ ŹŎ ĠăĺŨ ûăŹăŬłĤŅă Ĥė ŎƫăŬŰ ŬăłăûĤăŰ ŎŅ ĠŎƕ ŹŎ
ĺăăŨõŎŬă ĤŰ ŬĤęĠŹ ėŎŬ ƛŎƀ̖ Ŭăûƀõă ĤŹ̖

Personalisation. F㏠łŎŬă

LEFT: A
premium
subscription
unlocks various
tools and
features.

RIGHT: Ensure
your bedroom
is dark and
quiet.

FAR RIGHT: Fill
out the
questionnaire
to see if you
could be
snoring
throughout the
night.

103

HELP STATION

Photography Masterclass

Shoot a
woodland sunset

Adapt your colour and exposure skills to capture
stunning sunsets in a forest or woodland.

Woodlands and forests are excellent demonstrate how to capture the perfect All images © Peter Fenech
environments to explore with a camera. woodland sunset, with a strong sense of
From the small details we can find at compositional direction and superior
ground level, to the towering effect of exposure balance.
shooting up with a wide-angle lens,
there are tremendous possibilities for Before
dramatic shots. A wonderful time to
shoot in a forest is sunrise or sunset, INCORRECT BALANCE
where we can capture the low angle of Without the sun in the scene there is
the light raking through the jumble of little direction for the viewer’s eye to
tree trunks and leaves. follow, while the wide contrast has
resulted in bright spots and missing
There are of course a number of highlight detail.
specific challenges to correctly exposing
and framing these complex locations.
There is a huge exposure gradient
between the shadows and highlights,
especially when shooting out of the trees
into an open environment beyond. This
makes it tricky to hold detail at the
extremes of the tonal range. Without the
sun visible in the frame this can be made
worse through there being a lack of
identifiable subject, so that any dark or
bright areas are impossible to overlook.
There are also exposure hotspots to look
out for, where the low sun grazes the
sides of the trees. These can blow out,
turning into unattractive bright spots.
In this tutorial we headed out to

1 PLAN COMPOSITION 2 ZOOM IN With your general 3 SET APERTURE A wider aperture
Woodlands are tricky to shooting position worked out, will create a softer glow around the
compose due to the amount of use a telephoto lens to compress sun, as it appears behind the trees, while
details. Find a clear view of where the trees, minimising empty spaces a smaller aperture will create a harder
the sun will appear between the in between. This will also make the ‘starburst’. This will alter the dreamy
trees, while minimising the presence sun larger in the scene, highlighting aesthetic of the scene.
of the forest floor and distractions. it as a subject.

104

After

CLEAR FOCAL POINT

In a busy scene such as this
it is important to provide a
subject – in this case the sun

itself. We have also
corrected the blown

highlights

4 SPOT METERING Switch to Spot 5 LOCK EXPOSURE With the 6 PUSH EXPOSURE With the
metering mode and take a meter sun present, either use the settings selected to expose
reading from the highlights in the auto-exposure lock button (AEL) or for the highlights on the tree trunks,
trees, away from the sun itself. This will take note of the suggested exposure increase the shutter speed to expose
ensure highlight detail while avoiding settings and enter these in Manual. ‘to-the-right’. Stop just before detail
underexposure of the darkest This stops the exposure changing is blown and this should lift the
shadow areas. between shots. foreground shadows.

105

HELP STATION

Digital Darkroom Masterclass

BEFORE

AFTER

Make majestic scenes Creating
with the Magic Wand a composite

Get to grips with this powerful selection tool and learn After dropping in our cut-out tree, the
how to craft a composite image by adding a lone tree to rest of the technique is about making the
a landscape. tree look like it belongs in the scene. We
used the Brush Tool to blur the edges
The Magic Wand is one of Photoshop’s best selection tools, especially if you where the tree met the rocks, creating a
need to target an area of an image that is uniform in colour or tone, like the seamless blend of the two. Next we
backdrop to the bonsai tree image here. The tool works by seeking out similar copied the reflection of the tree on the
pixels to the point that you click on, so it can be a huge help while you’re left side of the frame, then masked and
creating a fantastical composite like this, or for any time when you need to warped it to fit with the newly added
quickly lock on to part of an image. tree. Finally, we added a tonal effect
using the Camera Raw filter to unify the
Making a successful selection in Photoshop is often mostly about choosing colours and tones.
the right tool for the job. There are lots of great tools to choose from: the
Quick Selection tool, the automated Object Selection tool, the spookily
brilliant Select Subject command. The latter two employ fancy new AI to seek
out the subject, but there’s still a place for the good old Magic Wand.

RŹ õŎłăŰ ĤŅŹŎ ĤŹŰ ŎƕŅ ƕĤŹĠ ØŅ ĤłØęă ĺĤķă ŹĠĤŰ̖ {ƀŬ ØĤł ĤŰ ŹŎ ŬăłŎƔă ŹĠă
original backdrop to the bonsai tree, including all the small gaps and
ĺĤŹŹĺă ŰŨØõăŰ òăŹƕăăŅ ŹĠă ĺăØƔăŰ̖ Ãă õØŅ Ű㏠ŹĠă nØęĤõ ÃØŅû ŹŎ Űăăķ ŎƀŹ Ø
ŰŨăõĤƱõ ŬØŅęă Ŏė ŨĤƚăĺŰ ĤłØęă̪ƕĤûă̐ ŰŎ ƕă õØŅ ĺŎõķ ŎŅ ŹŎ Øĺĺ ŹĠŎŰă ƱŅă ûăŹØĤĺŰ
ƕĤŹĠ Ø õŎƀŨĺă Ŏė õĺĤõķŰ̐ òăėŎŬă ŬăƱŅĤŅę ŹĠă ŰăĺăõŹĤŎŅ ØŅû łØŰķĤŅę ĤŹ ŹŎ ŬăłŎƔă
the backdrop.
JAMES PATERSON

106

1 THE MAGIC WAND TOOL The 2 ADD, SUBTRACT, 3 SELECT AND MASK It’s
Magic Wand is found in the INTERSECT Like any always a good idea to run
Tools Panel alongside the Quick selection tool in Photoshop, you an intricate selection through
Selection Tool and (in Photoshop have the option to Add, Subtract the Select And Mask command.
CC 2020) the Object Selection or Intersect with your initial Within the command, you can
Tool. Click with the tool over selection. Add is especially useful use the Quick Selection tool to
part of the image, and it will look with the Magic Wand: often you add to or subtract from the initial
for pixels that are similar to the need a few goes to complete selection, then use the Radius
point you clicked on. You can set the selection. It’s better to set setting to improve the edge.
a sample size in the dropdown Tolerance low and click a few Once done, you can set Output
at the top. Point Sample uses times than to set it too high, then to Layer Mask to convert your
a single pixel, while the other have to backtrack. Hold Shift selection to a mask, thereby
options let you sample from a and click to Add, Alt to Subtract, hiding the backdrop in a non-
wider area. and Shift-Alt to Intersect. destructive way.

4 TOLERANCE This setting 5 CONTIGUOUS The 6 SELECT SUBJECT This
lets you determine how Contiguous box has a big impressive command
similar pixels can be to the sample impact on how the Magic Wand employs AI to recognise the
point to be included in behaves. With Contiguous ticked, subject and isolate it for you.
your selection. Set Tolerance to the selection is limited only to It’s not always perfect, but it’s
1, and only pixels that have the pixels that are connected to the often a useful starting point for a
exact same RGB value as the point first clicked on. This makes selection. Here we can begin by
sample point will be included. it useful if you want to isolate a using the tool to select the tree
Set it to 100, and the range of uniform block or shape, but less for us, then perfect the selection
pixels becomes much wider. so with an image like this. By by using the Magic Wand to seek
Experimentation is key to getting keeping Contiguous ticked here, out all the gaps between the
the best result. Here, a setting of we tell the tool to look image- leaves that have been missed. If
30 lets us target the backdrop wide for similar pixels, allowing you need to quickly lock on to an
without picking up the details in it to pick up all the isolated little object, Select Subject is usually a
the tree. gaps between the leaves. good place to begin.

107

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§ăŬłŰ Έ õŎŅûĤŹĤŎŅŰ̏ §ĠĤŰ ŎƫăŬ ăƚŨĤŬăŰ aƀĺƛ ˙˜ŹĠ ˙˗˙˘ ØŅû ĤŰ ØƔØĤĺØòĺă ŹŎ ŰƀòŰõŬĤòăŬŰ ƕĤŹĠĤŅ ƀŰŹŬØĺĤØ ŎŅĺƛ̖
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109

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113

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BACKEND

Ridiculous tech

The Tallywhacker TiBeast

A loud ceiling-mounted A home-sized Spot robot dog Kickstarter.
doorstop spring for noisy
neighbours. US$289 | kck.st/3tCx5E3
$TBC | redd.it/nrmh9h
The Tallywhacker is one of the If you’ve had your eye on Boston ƕĤŹĠ Ø N' õØłăŬØ̐ eăęŎ õŎłŨØŹĤòĺă
more ridiculous tech inventions 'ƛŅØłĤõŰ̵ ŨŎŹ ŬŎòŎŹ̐ òƀŹ ĴƀŰŹ õØŅ̵Ź ƱŅû Ø backplate and versatile input options so
we’ve seen in a while. This spare US$74,500 to bag the real deal, then you can control it with everything from
creation was added to the you’ll be keen to hear there’s a mini a PS4 Dualshock Controller to a regular
Arduino Reddit board by u/ Spot-like robot on Kickstarter that’s a bit ķăƛòŎØŬû̖ RŹ ăƔăŅ ĠØŰ Ø òƀĤĺŹ̪ĤŅ òĺƀăŹŎŎŹĠ
MealsWheeled as a passive- łŎŬă ØƫŎŬûØòĺă̖ 1ØŬĺƛ ĤŬû §Ĥ ăØŰŹ eĤŹă speaker so you can have your music
aggressive reminder to his models were going for just US$289, which ėŎĺĺŎƕ ƛŎƀ ƕĠăŬăƔăŬ ƛŎƀ ęŎ̖ §Øĺķ ØòŎƀŹ
upstairs neighbour that their isn’t bad for a chihuahua-sized robot dog Ø Űƀò̪ƕŎŎėăŬ̖
building’s floor doesn’t have
enough acoustic insulation, so it
can be pretty loud at times. The
voice activated contraption
connects into Google’s smart
home network and uses an arm
to flick one of those coiled door
stoppers that wobbles around
loudly after being sprung. Cool.

Joto smart The Home Party Hoaster
whiteboard
A toaster that can write messages on your bread.
This artistic analog Kickstarter is
finally out. $TBC | behance.net/minwoo971832b4
£399 | joto.rocks/
Sometimes in Ridiculous Tech we If you follow the logic of the Korean a plate of plain toast, the Hoaster means
like to cover out-there designer Min Woo Kim, then Covid you now can do just this with pieces of
contraptions that are actually lockdowns mean parties at home are ŹŎØŰŹ ŹĠØŹ ŰØƛ ƕĠØŹăƔăŬ ƛŎƀ ƕØŅŹ̖ ĺĺ ƛŎƀ
pretty cool, and the Joto’s ability happening more frequently, and the best need to do is design and laser cut a piece of
to give you 365 days of different ƕØƛ ŹŎ ăƚŨŬăŰŰ ŹĠă ŰĤęŅĤƱõØŅõă Ŏė ØŅ ăƔăŅŹ metal to slot into the toaster, with
artwork on your wall in a year is ĤŰ òƛ òŬØŅûĤŅę ŹĠă ėŎŎû̖ ÃĠĤĺă ƕă õØŅ̵Ź ŰØƛ ƕĠØŹăƔăŬ ƛŎƀ ƕØŅŹ ŹŎ ŰØƛ ŎŅ ƛŎƀŬ ŹŎØŰŹ̖
exactly that! Joto is pretty much we’ve ever turned up to a house party with How easy is that!
a smart whiteboard with a robotic
arm that’ll draw whatever you tell
it to. Whether you want to use it
to display your favourite line art,
or write custom notes to your
family when you’re out, this
whiteboard is only limited by your
ability to imagine what it should
draw next.

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Levi Osborn host of Ambiance Podcast with guests *VTWHJ[ HɈ VYKHISL HUK SVHKLK ^P[O MLH[\YLZ
Tameeka Murphy, creator and designer of Alani Taylor, [OL 7VK;YHR 7 THRLZ P[ LHZ` [V [LSS `V\Y Z[VY`
Tyeler Niecole, model and Bebe Couri, stylist (call in). ^OLYL]LY `V\Y WVKJHZ[Z HYL YLJVYKLK

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