Amateur Photographer - UK (2019-10-05)

subscribe 0330 333 1113I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI 5 October 2019 13

[email protected],AmateurPhotographer,

TI Media Limited, Pinehurst 2, Pinehurst Road, Farnborough Business Park, Farnborough, Hants GU14 7BF

I’vealwayshadaninterestin

photography.Fromputting

homemadeSellotapefiltersover

thetinylensof my 110 cassettefilm

cameratopurchasingmyprized

OM-10,I’denjoyedtheprocessof

takingpictures– thoughmyfamily

didn’talwaysappreciatethetimeI

tooktogetthingsperfectlyframed.

Asmyownchildrenweregrowing

up,a varietyof camerashadalways

beenaroundtomarkevents,though

they’vetendedtolendthemselves

moretoeaseandfunction,rather

thantosatisfyanycreativeneed.

So,havingstretchedmylastbuy,

anOlympusXZ-1,toitscreativelimit

(andin lowlightitsZuikolensis still

amazing),I purchaseda second-hand

SonyA6000withtwoprimes:19mm

and50mm.Bearingin mindthis

camerawasfirstproducedin 2014,I

wasamazedandslightlyflummoxedby

whatit coulddo,thoughdisappointed

bywhatI couldproducewithit.

Quicklyforgettingthereasonfor

buyingthiscamera,I boughtnew

lenses,includingvintageones,and

spenthoursdoingonlineresearch.

ButI’dforgottenwhyI wantedsucha

camera.Noamountof kitwasgoingto

improve my photos, so I decided to put

allthelensesawayapartfromthe

19mm,andgettoknowthestrengths

andlimitsof thecameraandlens.I

addedcustomfeatures- backbutton

focusandexposurelock- andsetout.

Fora monthI battledwiththe

camera.I becameveryfrustratedand

disheartened,buteventuallymy

confidencereturnedandI startedto

experimentwithmanualexposureand

framing.Nowmyphotosturnoutclose

tomyaspirations– mostaren’tfit to

beprintedonloopaper,butI’mhappy.

I’verememberedthefeelingsI’dfirst

hadtakingphotos – and it feels good.

RobMann

A greatlesson,Rob.It’seasytoget

carriedawaywiththekitandforget

aboutthecreativity–Nigel

Atherton dit

Inbox

A simple lesson

Raisingthebar

PeterDench’sFinal

Analysis(AP7 September)

aboutRhiannonAdam’s

projectonRandyChristian,

stoodoutformeasbeing

oneof theclosesttothe

spiritof RogerHicks’s

regularcontributions.Like

Roger,Peterfocusedona

photo, but contextualised it

LETTER

OF

THE

WEEK

WNS

ASAMSUNG

EVO

PLUS

MCROSD

CARD

NOTE:

PR

ZEAPPL

ESTO

UK

AND

EU

RES

DENTS

ONLY

LETTER OF THE WEEK

Robdecidedto

takethetimetoget

to know his Sony A

witha real-lifestory.After

readingthearticleI felt

educated,andit leftme

wantingtofindoutmore.

Forinstance,I’dloveto

readPeter’sdissertation

onDrHughWelch

Diamondandhisuseof

b&wphotographyin the

treatmentof 19th-century

female lunatics. As an

aside,society’sperception

of madnesswasa 19th-

centuryinvention.If you

wererichyouwouldbe

classedaseccentric;poor

andyouwouldbein an

asylumorworse.Perhaps

somethingsdon’tchange.

APhasbeena bigpart

of myphotographic

education, and I buy it

mostweeks.In Roger’s

era,I neverfailedtobuy

a copyif hefeatured.

NowadaysFinalAnalysisis

nolongerthedealmaker

forme,butthisonehas

raisedthebar!

PeteHeywood

Thefinalclincher

Afewmonthson,I’mstill

missingthemarvellous

RogerHicksandhisweekly

columnin AP.You’ve

assembledanimpressive

arrayof peopletofill the

slot,butit is difficulttofill

Roger’s(admittedlyvast)

shoes.Somesimplylack

theexperienceandhis

breadthof knowledge.

Oneortwoof themhave

lackedhisunderstanding

thatphotographyis, above

all,a craftthatrequires

learningthetrade,anda

degreeof humility.

Byfarforme,thebestof

thewritersis TimClinch,

whoseworkI’vereadavidly

in a monthlymagazinefor

someyears.He’smadea

livingfromphotography,

teachingandwritingfora

longtime,andknowsthat

conversationandgood

winematterasmuchasart.

I hopeyou’llinviteTimto

contributemoreregularly

tothecolumn– andif you

do,I hopethathe’llagree

todoso.

Asanafterthought,

wouldit bepossibleto

collectandpublishallof

Roger’scolumnsin book

form?I suspectthere’dbe

a significantmarket for it.

JohnDuder

We’vehada few

requestsfora bookof

Roger’sFinalAnalysis

columns.Thesticking

point,unfortunately,

wouldbethetimeand

costin acquiringthe

rightstoreuse,in a book,

allthepicturesthathe

wroteabout–Nigel

Atherton,editor

Backinblack

Lookingthroughthe

advertsat thebackof my

currentissueof AP,I was

struckthatallSLR/DSLR

camerashaveblack

bodies. But why should this

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