Amateur Photographer - UK (2019-09-06)

subscribe 0330 333 1113I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI 31 August 2019 13

oftheclassicalonesI have
bought(includingpostage)
havecostlessthan
inferior-sound-quality
MP3downloadsof the
samedisc.Also,John
Wade’sarticlein thesame
issueaboutbuyingand
using 120 filmSLRswas
anexampleof something
thatAPdoessowell.Why
notfollowit witha report
onUKcompaniesthat
offera processanddigital
scanservice?
ChesterWilley

Don’tbetoohardon
Matty,hewasreferring
tothegrowing
popularityofstreaming
music,especially
amongstmillennials,but
youmakea goodpoint
aboutCDsoundquality.
We’llcertainlymention
particularlygooddigital
scanningservices,and
weinviteotherreaders
togetin touchwiththeir
recommendations– Geoff
Harris,deputy editor

Ona roll
Ienjoyedthearticleon
medium-formatrollfilm
camerasbyJohnWade
(R e fle xa c t i o n, 10August).
ButI hopereadersarenot
putoffbytheinferred
difficultyin buyingfilm.
Mostindependentcamera
shopsstockboth 120 and
35mmfilm,andoften
camerastoo.Incidentally
the6x9cmnegatives
producedby‘creaky’
foldingcamerasmeanthey
areoftena goodbuy,too.
MichaelCheesman

AmI a photographer?
Forthelast 22 yearsof my
workinglifeI commutedto
workby750ccmotorbike,
a 45-mile round trip. This

wasoutof choiceandI

alsousedit whenpractical

andappropriateforwork

travel,in visitingclientsetc.

I wouldalwayswearfull

motorbikinggearforevery

journey,whichwould

becomea talkingpointand

peopleonseeingthe

leatherswouldask,‘So,

you’rea biker?’Towhich

myreplywas,‘No,not

really,I justusea

motorbike.’Tome,the

term‘biker’implieda wide

anddefinitelifestyle

interestandcommitment

whichI didnothave.

So,toAmy’squestion

(Viewpoint, 3 August):amI

a photographeroramI

someonewho‘uses’

photography?I have

consistentlyuseda camera

sincegettingmyfirstSLR

(PrakticaLLC)at thetime

of mydaughter’sfirst

birthday– becominga

fatheris a bigincentiveto

photograph!I alsolived

andworkedabroadfor 12

years,soanotherincentive

(andwhereI gotintoriding

a motorbike).Yes,I was

interestedin improvingmy

skillsandvisual

appreciation,butbasically

myphotographywasabout

record,it wastriggeredby,

wasanadjuncttowhatwas

goingonaroundme.

Sincethen,I havejoined

a photographiccluband

contributetoitsrunning

anditsoutput.I enjoythe

socialaspectof the

commoninterestand

seeingwhatothersdoand

howtheydoit andwhy;I

havebroadenedmy

understandingof

techniquesandmyinterest

in andappreciationof

photographicoutput.But

mybasicattitudehadnot

really changed. So, am I a

photographer? Well,what

comesupoftenin articles

aboutphotographersare

thewords‘passion’,

‘creativity’,also‘project’

and‘aim’. Thesearewords

I understandbutdonot

feel. Doesthismakeme

a ‘dilettante’,a ‘dabbler’?

I don’tthinkso– butI

usuallydescribemyselfas

a happysnapperwho

occasionallygetslucky.

Ienjoyit all– that’sthe

mainthing.

AndrewHerbert

Shootingthemoon

Iliketoexperimentwith

myPanasonicLumix

FZ1000,takinghandheld

shotsbecauseI liketo

travellightonoccasions.

SoI washappytogeta

shotof thefullmoonanda

planein perspective(see

above).Thisis oneof the

manylessonsI have

learnedfromAPeach

week:neverbeafraidto

experiment,whateveryour

camera!Keepupthe

goodwork.Dan Myers

I n flu x o f

influencersirritate

Ireadwithinterest,andnot

a littledespair,the

observationsmadeby

PeterDench(Viewpoint,

10 August)regardingwhat

passesin somecirclesfor

journalismthesedays.

Theriseof influencers,

vloggers,bloggersandall

othertitlesusedbythese

individuals,someof whom

havepersuaded

themselvesand,perhaps

moreworryingly,others,

thattheyhavesometalent,

is a blighton‘realworld’

reportingandsocial

documentary.

DavidRichards

Thereis a lotof

‘emperor’snewclothes’

stuffgoingonwiththese

influencers,andsome

companieswhobring

themon-boardget

burned.I suspectonly

thegenuinelytalented

andinterestingoneswill

standthetestoftime

• GeoffHarris,
  deputy editor

Dan managed to get this shot of the moon and an airplane

Back in the day

AwanderthroughtheAParchive.This

week we pay a visit to September 2000

AP featured George Platt Lynes’s fine art nudes

THISweekwegobackto9 September,2000.The

coverfeature,bythelateIvorMatanle,is a classicof its

kind,delvingintothehistoryof Canon’srangefinder

cameras.Ashereveals,thecompanyreleased 32

differentmodelsfrom 1945 to1965,anda lotare

stillaroundtoday– theyareof greatinterestto

collectors.Onebigcameramakerthatis nolonger

aroundin itsoriginalformis Kodak,andJoelLacey’s

reviewof theDCS480is anotherreminderof howthe

bigK justdidtoolittle,toolate,whenit cametodigital.

Evolveorgoextinct,thoughJKImagingstillmakes

Kodakcamerasunderlicense.Wealsoenjoyedan

interviewwithTVsatiristandtheatre/operadirectorDr

JohnathanMilleronhisinterestin abstractphotos,and

a beautifullypresentedfeatureonGeorgePlattLynes’

daringfine-artnudesfromthe30s,40sand50s.

Lynes’sworkwasseriouslygood,andinspiredHerb

Ritts and Robert Mapplethorpe, amongst others.

2000

© DAN MYERS