Amateur_Photographer_-_04_October_2019

6 28 September 2019I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113

USDOCUMENTARYphotographer
RobertFrank,whois foreverassured
a placein thephotographicpantheonfor
his 1958 book,TheAmericans, diedon
9 Septemberat theageof 94.Frank’s
bookwashugelyinfluential,promptingJoel
Meyerowitz,forexample,togiveuphisjob
andbecomea photographer.‘[Thepictures]
allseemedtohavedramatothem.It was
justthrillingtometoseethatyoucouldstop
lifewitha camera.’
TheSwiss-bornFrankemigratedto
theUSAin 1947,initiallyworkingasa
fashionphotographer.Hisbigbreakasa
documentaryshootercamein themid-’50s,
whenGuggenheimFellowshipsenabledhim
tofunda two-yearphotographicroadtrip.
About28,000imagesweretakenforThe
Americans, andhecapturedmanyaspects
of a societywhich,whileenjoyingthefruitsof
thepostwarconsumerboom,wasalsoriven
withinequality.Otherphotographic works
includedThe Lines of My Hand.

Remembering

Robert Frank

Astro POTY winners

are out of this world

THEWINNERSof thisyear’sInsightInvestment

AstronomyPhotographerof theYear 2019

havebeenannounced,withthetopprizeof

£10,000goingtoHungarianphotographer

Lá szlóFrancsicsfora multipleexposureof the

35 phasesof thetotallunareclipsethattook

placeon 21 January2019.

‘Fora singlemultiple-exposureimageto

capturethiswithsuchpositionalprecision,

creativeinnovationandbeautyis nothing

shortof masterful,’saidEdRobinson,oneof

thejudges.‘Thecoloursof ouratmosphere

projectedontotheMoon’sdiscduringthe

eclipsearenotonlyartisticallypleasing,but

alsoofferanunderstandingof suchevents.’

The competition is now in its 11th year and

attracted4,600entriesfrom 90 countries.

Otherwinningimagesincludeda panorama

showingtheAuroraBorealisovertheLofoten

Islandsin Norway,anda greatpicturefrom

BenBushfromtheUKof hisdogFloyd,

surroundedbyMars,SaturnandtheMilky

Way.TheYoungAstronomyPhotographer

of theYearis 11-year-oldDavyvander

HoevenfromtheNetherlands,whocaptured

a stunningimageof theRosetteNebulawith

a cameraset-uphemadewithhisdad.

Allthecategorywinning,highlycommended

andshortlistedimageswillbeondisplayat the

NationalMaritimeMuseumin Greenwichfrom

13 September 2019 to 26 April2020.See

rmg.co.uk/astrophoto-winners-2019.

For the latest newsvisit http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

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FUJIFILMhasannouncedtheX-A7,an

entry-levelmirrorlesscameradesigned

toappealtovideobloggers(vloggers)and

peopleupgradingfromsmartphones,while

offeringplentyformainstreamphotographers.

It is basedona newlydeveloped24.2MP

APS-Csensor,whichfeatures8.5timesmore

phase-detectionpixelsacrossitssurfacethan

itspredecessor.‘Thishasdelivereda dramatic

improvementin performanceforFace/Eye

Detection,whentrackingmovingsubjects,and

whenfocusingin lowlight,’Fujifilmclaims.The

companyalsosays the use of copper wiring

reducesnoise,

providing

approximately

onestop

improvement

in image

qualityat high

ISO levels

comparedtoprevioussensors.TheX-A

weighsjust320g(bodyonly)andanotherbig

sellingpointis the3.5intouchscreenthatcan

beadjustedtoanyangleandhasa 16:

aspectratio.Vloggersandmoviemakers

willalsoappreciatebeingabletorecord4K

video,at 30framespersecond.There’salso

a built-inLightTrailsmodeforcreative

car-headlighteffects,andothernewtools.

Thecamera,whichis availablein fetching

mintgreenandcamelalongsidemore

conventionalcolours,costs£699withanXC

15-45mmf/3.5-5.6OISPZlensand goes

on sale at the end of October.

New entry-level mirrorless from Fujifi lm

TheX-A7has

a large16:

touchscreen

thatcanface

any angle

TheAmericansbyFrank:a groundbreaking
book by a highly influential photographer

Thisimagewonthe

YoungAstronomy

Photographerof

the Year category