Oh Cr op!Issue 8: August 2011

Page | 2Abby Thompson http://www.flickr.com/photos/aithom2

Hi all. This will be the last ever Oh Crop! Magazine. Due to a lack of support

from certain writers and thus the amount of work I would have to do I

am unable to continue the magazine. I want to thank the writers that have been a massive support to me over the last 8 months and in particular

Annabelle Latter for being the designer for the first 5 months. I thank all our

readers who have stuck with us though the last 8 months and especially those

who contributed either articles or photos. I hope that our readers have, over the months, got better with their photography and I hope even more that it was at least partially due to Oh

Crop! Magazine. If I ever have the chance to bring back Oh Crop! then

I promise I will do so however for

now leaving the past issues on

the website will do! Once again

thank you for your support and

good luck with your photography

endeavours!

Chi

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Filtered ThroughIntroducing you to 5 of the most popular filters, and how you use them.

Reader ProfileThe reader profile is back again for the final issue. This time we’re talking to Abby Thompson.

PulloutFor the final isue, we have included a special pullout jam packed with photos from our contributors over our past issues.

A History of PhotographyPhil Cohn journeys us back through time to when photography was a rarity.

In the bag...In this weeks reveiw, we take a look at a variety of carry bags for your cameras.

Find us on Facebook! Just search for “Oh Crop! Magazine”

And if you have any questions, comments or photos you’d like to share please send them to chi.lau-

photography@hotmail.co.uk

Contributors:Chi Lau

Amanda BunceApril SmithPhil Cohn

Dan Smyth

Designers:Joely DicksAdam Pool

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In Oh Crop! this month...

Page | 4Daniel Milton http://www.flickr.com/photos/46705169@N06/

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Filters are often seen as a mys-tery to beginners and amateur photographers. When do you use them? What filter do I buy and most importantly what do they all do? Here you will find everything you need to know about five of the most popular filters.

Generally speaking, you should always have a filter on the end of the lens you are using. Not only do they allow you to pro-duce interesting photos, but they provide protection. Howev-er, for general use, you cannot just smack any old filter onto the lens, as different filters give differ-ent results. This leads me to the first filter:

UV (Ultra Violet): A UV filter looks just like a clear piece of glass. However, it does have a function. This filter stops ultra vio-let light entering the lens. When UV light enters the lens, it creates that haziness or fogginess you

can sometimes see in photo-graphs. Using this filter prevents that from happening. However, if the effect you were going for was as atmospheric hazy image then this filter wouldn’t be ideal. Many photographers, including myself, use this filter as protection because of the little effect it has overall and the general low cost to purchase them.Filters come in different sizes and forms. The images you can see are circular versions. However, this is restricting if you wanted to use one filter on various size lenses. You may have heard of filter adapters or filter adapter rings. Rather than having circular filters, you can purchase them as a rectangular piece of glass. You then put a filter adapter ring onto the end of your lens and slide the rectangular filter into it, allowing your filters to be used with not just one lens.

Polarizer: Polarizer filters reduce

reflections on shiny surfaces. For example water. If you pointed your camera down towards the water without putting a polarizer onto your lens then you would just see reflections. When the filter is added, you can see right through the water. It also works on windows, mirrors, televisions or anything else reflective. The po-larizer actually has two functions. As well as diminishing reflections, it also darkens the sky. It increas-es the contrast in the sky and emphasises the clouds creating instant drama.

ND (Neutral Density): This is one of my favourite filters to use. Have you ever wondered how photographers create that misty water effect, but in broad day-light? Using an ND filter would be the answer. This filter looks like a very dark piece of glass. It es-sentially blocks out light allowing the camera to expose for longer

Filtered throughApril Smith

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than usual without over exposing after five seconds.

Depending on the amount of smokiness you want to achieve would determine what strength ND filter you would use. They come in different strengths rang-ing from a weak ND2 all the way up to an extremely powerful ND8192! I own an ND8. This one allows me to do a long exposure of five seconds during the day and twenty seconds plus at sun-set.

This filter doesn’t just have to be used for water; you can use it for anything you want to make into a long exposure. You could use it to create movement with figures, trees swaying and cars passing by. The possibilities are endless!

GND (Graduated Neutral Den-sity): This filter does the same as

the above but is more aimed at altering just the sky or just the ground. Unlike the ND this filter is graduated, which means half of the filter is clear and the other half is dark. If you have ever tried to get a shot, but just couldn’t get the exposure of the land correct without overexposing the sky or vice versa, then this is what filter you should be using.

Graduated filters come in two different forms: soft-edge or hard-edge. Both of these would be used for different scenarios. For example, if you were shoot-ing a scene with a very defined horizon or an abrupt change in brightness, then you would use the hard-edge filter. If the sub-ject you were shooting were mountains or a less obvious change in brightness, then you would use a soft-edge filter.

Graduated Colours: Gradu-ated Colour filters are aimed at altering or emphasising the colours of a subject, but mainly the sky. They allow photogra-phers to be very creative as well as having more control over an image. Unlike full colour filters, they come in few colours, such

as red, orange and blue. If you want to enhance or create a sunset or sunrise then use the red or orange filter. If you want to emphasise a blue sky or cre-ate a cool image, then use the blue filter. Keep in mind that when the sun is rising the sky is generally orange and when the sun sets the sky is more of a red tone. You do have to be careful though when using these sorts of filters, you place the colour ex-actly where you want it. I found this out the hard way. I had just purchased blue and orange graduated filters to take with me on holiday and wanted to try them out. On the first day of the holiday, I attached the blue filter onto my lens and took my photos as usual. I forgot I had this filter on and so all of the photos of people I had taken or any indoor photographs were ruined by a blue tint in the top half of the photograph. So, the moral is try not to over use them and definitely don’t forget when you have them on a lens!

Graduated Colour Filter

Page | 9April Smith http://www.flickr.com/photos/april_smith_photography

Page | 10Abby Thompson http://www.flickr.com/photos/aithom2

Page | 11Abby Thompson http://www.flickr.com/photos/aithom2

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Hi Abby! Tell us about yourself and your gear.

Hello! I have been taking se-rious photographs since high school pretty much, where I started out with my dad’s old Pentax K1000 for a couple of classes. I received my first DSLR, a Nikon D40, as a high school graduation present, and as a result I started taking pictures of almost everything. I attended the University of Kentucky and graduated recently with a ma-jor in photography and art edu-

cation. I recently was fortunate enough to have a good friend purchase me a Nikon D90, and that has become a part of my body basically; it rarely leaves my side. I have even had night-mares about almost falling off a cliff, but the scariest part was that my camera ended up plummeting to its death, not me. I shoot with the kit lens on occasion, but for the most part my 50mm lens is always on my camera. I also have a Nikon SB600 flash that I use. And I have a Holga 35mm that I don’t

shoot with as much as I would like (film is so expensive unfortu-nately).

What is your favourite style/type of photography?

That is a tough question for me. In fact I recently had a conversation with a fellow pho-tographer about this. I so enjoy every aspect of photography, and I absolutely love learning and growing and so I like to try everything. I feel like it is impos-sible for me to improve if I don’t

push myself in all directions. Currently though, in my own work at least, self-portraits have been hugely important and a definite favourite. It has been a great outlet for me. I also am absolutely fasci-nated by photography that is conceptual; images that are packed with meaning always catch my attention.

In our previous issue you wrote an article on the 365 project. How did you feel once you completed it? I bet you were

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npush myself in all directions. Currently though, in my own work at least, self-portraits have been hugely important and a definite favourite. It has been a great outlet for me. I also am absolutely fasci-nated by photography that is conceptual; images that are packed with meaning always catch my attention.

In our previous issue you wrote an article on the 365 project. How did you feel once you completed it? I bet you were

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relieved!

I was absolutely relieved! But I also felt a little like something was missing. I had been tak-ing pictures every day for a full year, and suddenly I wasn’t do-ing that; it was a bit strange. It was kind of nice to not have that pressure, but at the same time I did miss it. Which is why, not all that long after finishing it, I start-ed my second one (which I am still going strong on!).

Tell us a random fact about yourself!

My laugh sounds more like crying than laughter. I have on multiple occasions been hang-ing out with people and laugh-ing, and someone who could not directly see me would come check on me because they thought I was crying.

You’ve taken a lot of portraits if you could photograph any fa-mous person, dead or alive, who would it be?

This is an extremely tough question. I could give quite the long list of people I would love to photograph. But if I had to choose just one, and just off the top of my head, I would say Lauryn Hill. I absolutely love her music, and from the interviews I have heard with her she seems like such an incredible and down to earth woman. I respect her so much, and it would be amazing to photograph her.

Tell us a bit more about how you took the water splash photo.

That photograph was actually mostly canola oil. I had done lots of water splash pictures before so I wanted to try some-thing different. I had half of the container filled with water, and then filled it up the rest of the

way with oil. Someone gave me some old lead balls a while ago, which are great for drop-ping to create splashes, and so I wrapped each one in tinfoil. My camera was on a gorilla pod, and I was using my remote to trigger the shutter. I would drop the tinfoil wrapped ball and just try to time it right when releasing the shutter. It takes a bit of prac-tice to get things timed correct-ly, and some luck, which I had with this shot.

Do you think it’s better to have a posed photo or a more candid spur of the moment one?

It really depends on the goal of the image. For certain types of photography, like weddings for example, I love candid spur of the moment shots because they are much more real and genu-ine. However for my self-portraits and more conceptual work I think generally it is better to be posed, because a specific pose can add so much to the emo-tion and meaning of the image.

Thanks for the interview! Lastly any words of advice for the readers of Oh Crop! Magazine?

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The main piece of advice that I can offer is to simply keep shooting and trying new things. No matter what, just keep tak-ing pictures. The only way to improve is to keep trying and pushing yourself. The biggest im-provements I made were when I was simply messing around with my camera and trying some-thing new.

Also be open to and willing to hear criticism. The best way to grow is to get feedback from others. We tend to get a very narrow view of our own work, and it is only when we hear an outside opinion that we can re-ally begin to improve. And be willing to seek out and ask for advice or help! There was one project that I was working on last summer, that I was really stuck on how to make it work and how to get my idea across, and without the feedback I got from some friends and my professor I never would have been able to pull it off. But most of the time I had to bring my work to them and bother them with tons of questions and ask for their opin-ions or I would have been on my own.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aithom2

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Now summer is finally here (for some of us!) and the flowers are blooming, I bet most of you have been tempted to take a few snaps! Flowers and plants can be easy to photograph as they don’t really move and you can have as much time as you need to shoot them, and of course be-cause they are pretty. The tricky part is when you want to take more then just a pretty picture, and take something a bit more imaginative and creative.

But do you know how to make the most of your camera and the nature around you? Things don’t always go to plan, so here are my top tips to help you get that perfect shot.

Shoot from different angles – Don’t be afraid to bend down low or reach up high to get a dif-ferent perspective of what could be an ordinary and sometimes boring shot. Look for the unu-sual and search for something different. Bugs and wildlife on petals create good detail, even weltered or dead flowers can create a dramatic image. You might get some funny looks, but the end result will be worth it!

Look at depth of field - Blur-ring out the background creates depth and draws the eye to the focal point of the image. Using

Allow your photography to blossom

Amanda Bunce

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the macro setting and choosing a wide aperture (small F-stop) will let you get close up to the subject and will minimize the risk of the image being out of focus. This can be especially effective when the background is busy; these settings can create a bril-liant bokeh effect.

Using a tripod - Always use a tripod. Not only does it keep your camera steady, but allows you to take your time and com-pose the shot. A good tip is to set a timer so that you can press the shutter button and stand

back, which will reduce the risk or camera shake and blur or alternatively use a remote shut-ter. Don’t forget a tripod can be used to take portraits and land-scapes.

Sunlight - It is very tempting to shoot a plant or some flowers in bright sunlight, but digital cam-eras can’t always cope with increased contrast and some colours can look faded. Using a polarizing filter will reduce glare from the sun and enhance the colours. However, sunlight can create shadows that look effec-

tive. Overcast conditions, dawn and sunset will naturally reduce glare and show the true colours in the flowers. Dawn and sun-set are the best time of day to photograph plants and flowers, as these times are normally the calmest when the wind is re-duced. The light at these times of day with also create long shadows, which can be used creatively.

Distractions – Things like gar-dening tools, other people, signs, posts, things in the background etc. can focus the eye onto the

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wrong part of an image, caus-ing a distraction. It is therefore a good idea to remove these, or do your best to avoid them so that you get a distraction free image. Make sure you don’t break any steams or pull up flowers to do this, asking someone just to hold back the plant is a good idea while you shoot!

Editing – Don’t forget that if an image doesn’t turn out how you’d hoped, there is always the option of editing. Cropping, straightening, col-our enhancing, converting to black and white etc. are all good ways to changing a not so good image, to a lovely one. Using filters can change the image into something more creative and abstract. Too much editing though can ruin an image.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/amanda-bunce

Page | 39Carlotta Evangelisti http://www.flickr.com/photos/amyphoto93

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With the new found invention of photography came a great new potential for communication and information. With the rise of budget airlines and gap years/international conferences, many people are now able to go on trips that would have been vir-tually impossible 100 or so years ago, at least with an equivalent budget/timeframe.

During the late 19th century and early 20th century, interna-tional travel was still relatively lengthy and expensive, since no commercial airlines existed at that time. Despite the new invention of rail making local travel easier, travel even to other places in Europe was still a privi-lege of the middle and upper classes. To go somewhere further

afield, like America, required a lengthy journey on an ocean lin-er. Most people consequentially had little opportunity to experi-ence the world, and it was thus immensely important and valua-ble that some of those who were able to experience a variety of far away places chose to docu-ment it through photography.

The earliest travel photogra-phers included among them Francis Firth, who took many photos of the Middle East. What is particularly impressive about his photography is that he used the collodion process, which required the photographic plate to be prepared on site. His photos are of particularly good quality, as this photo of the Hy-paethral Temple in Philae shows.

Travel photography in the 19th century was a lot harder than it is now, as problems such as the collodion boiling over would commonly occur. Perhaps an even more impressive achieve-ment than the Middle East pho-tography is his later ambitious project to photograph every town and village in the United Kingdom. In some ways this could be regarded as an early form of Google Street View; he later sold his images as post-cards to shops throughout the United Kingdom, giving people making local journeys the ability to buy inexpensive mementos.

Perhaps the most well travelled of the early travel photographers was James Ricalton, who trav-elled around the world seven

History of travel photography

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times. Again, the payload of 19th century cameras was much larger than of today’s cameras, and he had to carry his camera equipment around with him in a wheelbarrow. He befriended the famous inventor Thomas Edison, and consequentially was able to travel to many different places on financed expeditions, for example to the Far East to search for a new type of light bulb filament, and to Africa to test a movie camera. The photos he took on these and other trips were sold to textbooks and mu-seums, and were very popular.

Travel photography also ena-bled photographs of famous expeditions and international events. Herbert Ponting was the photographer for the ill-fated

expedition led by Captain Scott to the Antarctic. Although he was reportedly ill for most of the voyage there, he captured many outstanding images of the expedition before it set off. Among the images captured is this famous one of the Terra Nova, the ship that carried the team. After it was discovered that all on the expedition had perished, Ponting’s career took a turn for the worse, as there was little demand for his work, especially after the outbreak of World War I. Although there was some later interest in his work, he never reached the high point of his career that was the Terra nova expedition. Travel photog-raphers thus take risks in the job that they do, as travelling to far

away places, especially this long ago, was a huge risk.

Today, everyone uses some kind of camera to take photos when they go on holiday, and it can be easy to forget that what is now so easy was once an incredibly difficult and risky un-dertaking. But what these early travel photographers did ensures that not only were the people at the time able to appreciate different places, but that future generations can too.

Phil Cohnhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/50058629@N04

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Tamrac Adventure Zoom 4 -April SmithPrice: £15 - £25Interior Dimensions: 15 x 11 x 15cmExterior Dimensions: 18 x 16 x 18 cm

The Tamrac Adventure Zoom 4 is ideal when you don’t need to carry all of your equipment around, but it only allows you to carry your DSLR with a lens attached. There is a pocket on the front that allows room for spare batteries and SD cards. I bought this when I was travel-ling to London. I wanted something that wouldn’t draw attention to myself or worse get stolen. It is a very comfortable bag to wear on one shoulder or across the body. It has a handy little feature: the belt loops on the side of the bag allow you to unclip the carrying strap and turn it into a holster. If you did want to add more bags or pockets, the Tamrac allows you to do this. It has extra loops connected so you could easily add more pockets if you wanted. Overall, a great bag for someone with little equipment, but not ideal for someone who wants to take more than just their camera out.

Lowerpro Nova 160 AW - Amanda BuncePrice: £49.95Interior Dimensions 20 x 11 x 17cmExterior Dimensions 24 x 17.5 x 22cm

The Lowerpro Nova 160 is a middle of the range gadget bag. The main part of bag can hold up to 2 short zoom lens, as well as a camera body. The front pockets are large enough to hold spear batteries and small accessories, as well as an inner zip pocket and 2 Velcro memory card pockets. A pocket on the bag is useful for manuals and notes. An over-the shoulder padded strap can be connected to the back or side of the bag, making it suited to any need. The padding also makes it comfortable to carry for a number of hours. A rain cover that is hidden in the front pocket is tricky to put on, but covers the whole bag and the main camera compartment is still accessible once on. This makes the bag very practicable, as I know I can put on the cover if I get caught in the rain. Although this bag is quite bulky, it can hold everything I need on a shoot, as well as some extras. I know my equipment is safe in this bag as there are a lot of hidden pockets, as well as a zip and clip keep-ing the main compartment secure.

In the bag...

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Lowerpro Nova 160 AW - Amanda BuncePrice: £49.95Interior Dimensions 20 x 11 x 17cmExterior Dimensions 24 x 17.5 x 22cm

In the bag...

Vanguard Up-Rise 48 - Dan SmythPrice: £90Interior Dimensions: 30cm x 13cm x 25cm Exterior Dimensions: 35cm x 30cm x 51.5cmVanguard might not be one of your traditional camera bag manu-

facturer, in fact they’re mostly associated with their tripods and other accessories. This foray into bags has however seen the company gain widespread acclaim. 2009 even saw them picking up a TIPA award, the industry’s highest accolade, for the Up-Rise series. Now these aren’t easy to find. Most high street stores don’t stock them, many don’t even know they exist. This can make getting hold of them a little difficult. Once hunt-ing one down I opted for the Up-Rise 48, the largest in the series. Lets start at the top; it’s got room for 2 camera bodies, 3 lenses plus 1 attached to a body, a flashgun or two and plenty of space at the top for whatever else you need to carry. There’s also room for a laptop for those of you that need to edit on the go! The bag is well built and offers good protec-tion for the glass inside, while the expandable (up-rise) section offers the chance to carry larger lenses by opening a single zip. Being a bag on the larger side, it offers good back support through thick, breathable pad-ding as well as solid straps. You can easily forget how much gear you’re carrying.

Lowepro Slingshot 202AW - Abby ThompsonPrice: £46Interior Dimensions: 22.5 x 14.0 x 28.0 cmExterior Dimensions: 25.0 x 25.5 x 45.0 cm

It is a pretty roomy bag, with room for a camera body, accessories and multiple lenses. There is also good pocket space for things like batteries, filters, etc. It even has a place for a tripod to hook in, which is excellent. Another great thing is that you can buy extras like water bottle or lens holders that clip on so you can add on space as you need it. It is a re-ally comfortable bag for how large it is. The strap sits extremely well and is nicely padded. It really is great for hiking, since it doesn’t move around even during vigorous hikes. There is an extra chest strap too in order to prevent any extra movement. The pack is a little bit pricey, but you are getting a bag with a lot of features. You can find similar packs for slightly cheaper, and with just a few less features you can cut the cost nearly in half. Overall though I would say it is worth the price for what you get. I think the bag is a very practical bag for serious photographers with lots of gear. The sling style allows for really quick retrieval of gear, which makes it very nice to work with. Combined with the roominess and features like the waterproof cover it is really a great bag to have.

ztolya.livejournal.com

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Lowepro Fastpack 350 - Chi LauPrice £60-80Interior Dimensions: 28 x 15 x 23.5cmExterior Dimensions: 31.5 x 24 x 46cmSo this is the Lowepro Fastpack 350! It is designed as a comfortable

back pack that can fit over 3 lenses, a professional camera plus a slot for laptops. I can fit my camera, 3 lenses, a flash gun and still have room. You can adjust the Velcro padding to suit your needs but this only has a limited number of places you can put it. As far as comfort-ability is concerned this is a very comfortable bag and even with all my gear and laptop it doesn’t add any weight to it. Price is a bit high at around £60-80 however the amount of space you get it worth the money and thus highly recommended! It is also very practical in the sense that you can carry everything you need on a shoot however it’s not as practical as the Slingshot which allows you to “sling” the bag around for easy access but this doesn’t make it any less useful! Overall I highly rate this camera and while the price may be high it is certainly worth the money if you have a large amount of camera gear.

Lowepro Adventura 140 – Phil CohnPrice: £20Interior Dimensions: 17 x 9.3 x 17.5 cmExterior Dimensions: 21 x 15 x 21.5 cm

A compact, convenient bag, the Adventura 140 is a well made DSLR carrier that is useful for everyday situations and carrying around on a wide variety of trips. It has adequate padding, and is reasonably weather resistant, meaning it is good for wildlife and travel photogra-phy. However, it would be advisable to carry a back up fully waterproof bag/cover if heavy rain conditions are expected, as the 140 is not fully watertight. This bag will hold a mid-sized DSLR and lens, as well as a few accessories in a side pocket (such as a spare battery, memory cards and cleaning brush). The fit is quite snug though, and it can take a few seconds to tease the camera out of the bag if the lens is in there too. A small tripod may also be held in the rear straps. Overall, at around £20, it is good value for money, and a recommended bag for outdoors and situations where you may not be able to carry too much equipment.

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