Amateur Photographer – 16 August 2019

subscribe 0330 333 1113I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI 10 August 2019 13

they’dcleanedthe
viewfinderandCCDwith
noextracharge.Andthe
camerahasbeenworking
perfectlysince.I wasabout
torecommendthembut
unfortunatelytheyseemto
benolongerin business.
However,theremustbe
otherseverybitasgood,
andif thepriceis rightI’m
sureMikecouldenjoy
usinghisPentaxagain.
SimonWarren

Pistolsatdawn
Readingyourarticleon
specialisttripodsand
accessories(Stick’emup,
22 June)I wassurprised
thata pistolgripwasnot
mentioned.I usetheLumix
GH5with100-400mm
f/4-6.3lensforwildlife
photography.I foundthat
whileonthemove,my
Manfrottotripodand
monopodneverreallyoffer
enoughflexibility.ThenI
rememberedtheoldZenit
Sniperoutfit fromthe’70s,
andpurchaseda pistolgrip
onlinefor£10.99.
Thetransformationwas
incredible.Besidesthe
flexibility,theweightof my
set-upis nowwell
balancedbyconnectingit
tothelens’stripodmount.
ForlittleoutlayI suggest
‘onthemove’wildlife
photographerstry this fi rst.
JohnGibbs

P1000reach
Ilikedthereviewof the
NikonCoolpixP1000(AP
1 June),butyouforgotto
mentionthatit’stheonly
camera(I knowof)that
cantakea pictureof the
spacestationgoing
overhead,handheld–
apartfromtheCoolpix
P900,thatis. Ordoyour
readers know of another

camerathatcandothis,

andwithgoodresults?And

forthosewhothinkyou

can’tgetgoodimageswith

thesmallsensor,here’sthe

proof(see picture below).

Mark

Maritalbliss

Almosteveryonenowhas

a camerawiththemon

theirphones.Andwhena

newbornarrives,theloving

familyis compelledto

documenteverymoment

of theirinfant’slife.Before

thedigitalageit was

usuallytheman’sdomain

torecordtheprogressof

thenextgenerationwith

hisprizedSLRs.If women

wantedtotakephotosthey

generallyusedthelittle

Instamaticthatfittednicely

intohandbags.Although

someof myfemalefriends

lovedSLRsandwerejust

ascompetentasmen(and

oftenbetter),mywife

foundmySLRimpossible

tounderstandandsoit fell

uponmetodocumentthe

lives of our two daughters.

Wenowhavethemost

adorablethree-year-old

granddaughterthatany

grandparentcouldwishfor

and,thankstothedigital

revolution,mywifefinds

hercameraphonea joyto

use,andcannowshare

withmehervisualrecord

of ourgranddaughterand

otherjoyfulmoments.

Mywifenevercriticises

orcomplains,andis rarely

angry.In over 44 yearsof

marriagewehavenever

hada singleargument.

RecentlyI discussedwith

hermyenthusiasmto

documentourdaughters

whentheywereyounger.

Mywifethenadmittedthat

shefeltI wasobsessive,

andwished,occasionally,

I wouldleavethecamera

behindwhileonfamily

outings.Yet,shehadnever

oncevoicedtheseopinions.

Withhindsightmywife

is nowgratefulforallthe

thousandsof beautiful

photosof ourdaughters,

andwithhercameraphone

shenowunderstandsmy

obsession.Ourpoorlittle

houseis groaningwiththe

thousandsof photographs

in boxesstoredallover

thehouse.

Thankstothewhole

teamat APforproducing

sucha greatmagazine.

Overtheyearsyouhave

beenindispensable

in myobsession

withphotography.

John Heywood

John Gibbs took this photo using a pistol grip on a Lumix GH

Mark took this picture handheld with his Nikon P

Back in the day

AwanderthroughtheAParchive.This

week we pay a visit to August 1947

This was a detailed guide to posing and photographing kids

THISweekwegobackto 13 August 1947 – a bleak

timeof rationingandgeneralausterity,butthismust

havebeena breezecomparedtothenightmareof the

waryears.Theupbeatcoverhasa lotof charm,

thoughtheclankingcopyin theIlfordadneedssome

polishing.‘There’slotsof goodfishin thesea,and

shoalsof goodpicturesat theseasidetobecaught...’

Thegoldenageof advertisingweknowfromMadMen

wasclearlysomewayoff.Insidetheissue,theeditor

discussesa novelUSphotographycompetitionfor

women,andcomesoutwithsomerealclassics.

‘Marriage,apparently,is noobstacletophotography...

women,it appears,likemen,photographwhat

intereststhemthemost.’There’salsoa curiousfeature

onposingkidsforphotography,completewith

drawingsthatlooklikestoryboardsfroma horrorfilm

(goodtoseeShirleyTemplein theretoo).Lastbutnot

leastwasa nostalgicpieceontheNorfolkBroads;that

musthaveseemeda quiteexoticholidaydestination

for many people under the yoke of rationing.

1947

EnterthecodebelowviaPhotocrowdtoget

onefreeentrytoRoundSix– StreetLife

APOY

YOUR FREE ENTRY CODE

© JOHN GIBBS

© MARK FROM GLOUCESTER