Amateur Photographer 25/01/2022

How often have you picked up your camera but your mind has stubbornly refused to offer any suggestions for what to point it at? Sometimes our imagination takes a holiday, and it doesn’t always buy a return ticket. Sometimes we need to coax it back to work by setting it a stimulating challenge. Tracy Calder did just that when she bought a bunch of flowers and set herself the formidable task of making 30 different photos from it. In contrast, Casey Orr found her inspiration from the teenagers wandering her city centre and decided to tour the country with a mobile studio in search of more, while Paul Hart is moved by the desolate landscapes of the Fens. I hope one of these stories inspires you to begin a new…

Party Balloon by Bert Hardy A young boy blowing up a balloon in the Gorbals area of Glasgow. Built quickly and cheaply in the 1940s, the Gorbals tenements provided housing for Glasgow’s burgeoning population of industrial workers. Conditions however were appalling with overcrowding, and unsanitary sewage and water facilities. Around 40,000 people were housed in the tenements, with up to eight family members expected to share a single room, 30 residents sharing a toilet, and 40 sharing a tap. At the time of this picture, about 850 of the tenements had been demolished. Redevelopment of the area started in the late 1950s with a modern tower block complex erected in the 60s. The Getty Images Hulton Archive is one of the world’s great cultural resources. Tracing its origins to the founding of…

AP picture of the week The Spiral Staircase by Jane Wiltshire CPAGB, BPE2 Canon EOS R6, 16-35mm at 16mm using a converter, 8 secs at f/18, ISO 100 ‘The spiral staircase is at Beckford’s Tower on the outskirts of Bath. It is an architectural folly built in the Neo-classical style. The staircase leads to the Belvedere which gives a spectacular panoramic view of Bath. The tower is shut to the general public at present, but I was very lucky to be given access to take the shots sent to you to choose from,’ Jane tells us. ‘It was a beautiful sunny day, so the light coming through the windows enhanced the colours. I used a tripod to take the image as it was a long exposure, with my camera placed in the middle…

OWC IS due to launch three Atlas Pro memory card ranges and what it describes as ‘the smallest Thunderbolt CFexpress card reader’ in the UK in April. The OWC Atlas Pro media cards – the Atlas S Pro, Pro and Pro Ultra ranges – are said to offer ‘advanced performance and data management technologies to maximise the capabilities of your DSLR, mirrorless and video camera’ and can transfer raw image files and 8K video at up to 1500MB/s (Pro and Pro Ultra). The OWC Atlas FXR reader is said to be nearly seven times smaller than other Thunderbolt CFX card reader and allows you to transfer video footage and photographs at speeds of more than 1500MB/s. UK pricing of the products is as yet unconfirmed.…

ONEPLUS has announced its latest flagship smartphone, the OnePlus 10 Pro, which incorporates three Hasselblad cameras and the fastest charging thus far in a OnePlus device. The OnePlus 10 Pro’s cameras are a 48MP f/1.8 wide, with PDAF, Laser AF and OIS; a 50MP f/2.2 ultra-wide, with AF, and 110/150° FOV, plus Fisheye mode; an 8MP f/2.4 telephoto, with PDAF, OIS, 3.3x telephoto; and a 32MP f/2.2, wide ‘selfie’ camera. When the OnePlus 10 Pro launches in India, Europe and North America later in 2022 it will come pre-installed with OxygenOS 12 based on Android 12. The smartphone will come in a choice of two colours – Volcanic Black or Emerald Forest.…

PHOTOGRAPHERS could face a wait for camera and lens launches in 2022 as a combination of the global shortage of semiconductors, the impact of the Covid pandemic and high demand may hit supply of products around the world. Amateur Photographer contacted all of the major camera and lens makers and found a certain caution that some product supplies may not be met. OM Digital Solutions (formerly Olympus) revealed, ‘We are facing some limited product shortages which are not unique to us – high demand on key lines, Covid, assorted supply chain glitches – but we do not foresee any delays in our launch plan for new products based on current info.’ Leica UK managing director Jason Heward told AP, ‘The outlook for the next six to 12 months is still challenging and…