Ephotozine

 

Reflections are something you can shoot all year round but as bright colours and bold shapes make the most interesting reflections, autumn's the perfect season to try this technique.

 

1. Where should I go?

You can head to a picturesque area of landscape where you have reservoirs and lakes by the dozen to pick from. You can also stay a little closer to home and take a walk through your local park after it's rained and use the puddles that have formed as your reflective surface. If you have a pond in your garden and a tree or two that's decorated with autumn colours, you don't even have to walk to the park as you can set your gear up in your own back garden to shoot these abstract style shots.

 

2. Photograph The Wide Landscape

If you head to a national park area you can capture a few wide shots where you include the body of water in the photo with the tree line and rolling hills sitting alongside it. For this, you want an almost mirror-like reflection and this means shooting on a very still day. Better still, do your research and find a lake or reservoir that's sheltered by hills or find one where at least part of it's out of the way of the wind. It helps if you're an early riser too as the air tends to be stiller first thing in the morning than later on in the day. Ripples still a problem? Try using a slightly slower shutter speed to blur them.

You'll need a tripod to stop shake creeping in and a remote / cable release can be handy but it's not essential. You could even start your exposures via a Smart Phone if the camera you're using has wireless capabilities. 

When working with slower shutter speeds by lakes, have a look at the distant trees and other objects that can move in the breeze to see if they've blurred slightly. If you do have a problem with blurry trees, try taking two exposures then combined them when you're back in front of your computer. The first exposure needs to be shot with a slower shutter speed and the second with a quicker shutter speed that won't allow movement to be introduced into your background. 

It's also a good idea to pack an ND Grad Filter as you'll find that the reflection will look darker than the 'real' scene that's creating it. If you line up the darker part of the filter so it sits over the sky and finishes at the shoreline, you'll produce a shot that balances the exposure of the bright sky/surroundings with the reflection.

  3. More Abstract?

Shooting reflections on their own, particularly if the water's slightly choppy, will result in interesting abstract images. You just need strong colours and / or shapes to create shots with real impact and Autumn's oranges and reds are just the shades you need to produce abstract shots that really pack some punch. You can shoot a wider shot of the landscape, as above, then crop in when you're back in front of your computer but it's much easier to just frame up so the water's surface is your main point of focus. Some lenses struggle to focus on moving water so you may need to switch to manual focus so you get a sharp shot.

Just remember to shoot plenty of photos at quite quick intervals as the patterns created by the moving ripples will change quickly.

If you prefer to shoot water flowing and falling over rocks, use a slower shutter speed to blur its motion. As a result, you'll have smooth waves of water that have the autumn shades/colours of the trees dotted along the banking flowing through it.

 

A beautiful image of a rosemary beetle in a garden by simmo73 has been chosen as this week’s featured photo.

The colours are terrific, with the beetle’s iridescence standing out sharply against the soft background. Every detail on its shell and legs is crisp and well defined, showing excellent focus and control.

The close-up view gives a fascinating look at this small garden visitor. The composition works well, keeping the beetle centred while allowing just enough space around it to balance the frame. It’s a simple, beautiful shot that captures the beauty of nature up close and shows macro photography at its best.

Every Photo of the Week (POTW) winner will be rewarded with a Samsung 128GB PRO Plus microSDXC memory card with SD adapter, providing top-tier storage for all your creative needs across multiple devices. But that's not all! In January 2026, we’ll crown our 2025 Photo of the Year winner, who will take home the ultimate prize of a Samsung Portable 1TB SSD T7 Shield, courtesy of Samsung. It’s time to shoot, submit, and showcase your best work for a chance to win these incredible rewards!

 

Rivers make a wonderful subject for the outdoor photographer, yet people rarely set out with the intention to photograph them. Rivers offer an abundance of opportunities from grand sweeping vistas to detailed abstracts to wildlife as well as being fantastic places to enjoy the outdoors. Here are 6 key pointers to help you achieve better river and open water landscapes.

  1. What is the unique character of the river?

As river locations have their own unique character, one role of the photographer is to identify and emphasise this character. You can do this by asking a series of questions when you first arrive at a location:

• Is this a large and impressive river or a small natural bubbling stream?
• Is this a setting people might describe as being idyllic and picturesque or is it more of an urban or industrial setting?
• Is the river clean and pure or dirty and full of litter?
• Does the setting convey a feeling of tranquillity and calm or are there other emotions it sparks and if so what?
• Is the river fast-moving and powerful or more slow and sedate?
• Is the water surface rough and broken by rocks or flat, calm and full of reflections?

 

2. Shutter speeds

Give some consideration to the shutter speed you will be using. Don’t just stop down to a small aperture for good depth of field and accept the shutter speed. Increase the ISO a little if you need to as the shutter speed can be a big influence the character of the image you create.

Long shutter speeds give smooth water and reflections, which all add to a sense of calm and tranquillity. Fast shutter speeds freeze the water and can really emphasise the feeling of power and strength in the water.

 

 

 

3. Use a remote shutter 

With the remote shutter, you could position your tripod in a shallow part of the river to get a shot with a different angle without having to be stood for a long time in the cold water. Obviously, you need to be very careful if you want to try this as you don't want your camera or yourself going for a swim! The remote control is also useful when photographing wildlife that lives around the river as you'll be able to set your camera up and move away, increasing your chances of shy wildlife coming back to the spot your camera is in.  
 

4. Make the most of the weather

The weather conditions, time of day and time of year all help in determining the type and quality of light you will have to work with. It may sound obvious but you can’t do too much about these factors so look to create photographs that make the most of the light you have available.

Immediately after a rainstorm, when the weather breaks can also produce magical lighting. The clearing rainstorm in the image above produced very dramatic lighting, despite being shot at midday. The rain also helped swell the river to give a great cascading effect over the rocks.

The weather condition that is one of the best for adding mood and character is mist and fog. Rivers in autumn are often great locations for mist early and late in the day. Such conditions tend to be best around sunrise and sunset, often catching the colour of the early morning sun. Look for the larger slow-moving rivers located in open fields as these often give rise to the best mist.

 

 

5. Consider the time of day 

Early morning and late evening light is probably what most photographers think of as being the best light. Typically the sky is colourful and with larger, slower-moving rivers, this great light will be reflected making the river appear to glow. Shutter speeds will be longer at this time of day which also helps smooth out the surface of the river. This is probably the best lighting conditions to create a mood of calm and tranquillity. It’s not always easy to organise yourself to be out photographing at this time of day but it is immensely rewarding in terms of images and the sheer pleasure of watching a sunset or sunrise.

Midday light, at least outside the winter months, tends to be a little harsh and it can be difficult to reflect the character of the river in its setting. If however, the river is in an urban landscape this type of lighting can still work well at it can be used to emphasise the unattractive elements. Also, if the river is strong and powerful you can use the bright lighting to freeze the action. If you find yourself trying to work under harsh lighting conditions that don’t suit your location, try to seek out wooded areas where there is plenty of shade or focus in on capturing detail shots.

Autumn is also a great time of year to photograph rivers and streams in woodland areas. Trees will be changing colour making for vibrant scenes. Leaves will be falling into the river, often gathering in pools around rocks. Here be on the lookout for opportunities to shoot swirling patterns caused by leaves caught in the river's current. With longer shutter speed this slow movement can be recorded as a swirling pattern. Consider using a polarizing filter to give a longer shutter speed but also to emphasise and saturate the vibrant autumn colours.

 

6. Think about where you stand

The direction in which you shoot the river can also have a huge impact on the character of you convey in your photograph. Shooting across a river tends to create a rather static image that flows in on one side of the composition and out on the other. If you have to compose with the river flowing horizontally across the image try to include something in the foreground of the frame to create a feeling of depth to the image.

Often large areas of the riverbank are nothing but grass. In these situations, there is little to hold the viewer's attention. Try to find locations where there is something to include in the foreground such as rocks and reeds.

Shooting along the river from its bank offers more potential especially where the river tends to bend and meander. Long straight rivers are less photogenic but can offer some potential. Look for long stretches where the perspective of the river can be emphasised using a wide-angle lens. The best positions, however, tend to be on bends as this lets you show off the bend and lead the eye into the image. Curves are more photogenic and pleasing to the eye than straight lines. Bends also allow you to position yourself so you look like you are shooting from in the river. This can further be enhanced by a long lens to ensure there is no foreground. When doing this though remember to include a point of interest to focus the viewer’s eye and attention.

Thanks to its warm, golden colours and varying weather, Autumn is a very photogenic season. However, the different locations you can shoot in coupled with weather and light changes can occasionally make setting the correct exposure tricky. With this in mind, here's a quick check list of ways you can ensure your exposure's correct every time. 

Photo by David Clapp

 

1. Use An ND Filter

Placing an ND Filter over your lens will balance the brightness levels of the ground and sky so that sky detail can still be seen without the ground appearing underexposed.

 

2. Check Your Histogram

Even though digital cameras do have good built-in meters you still need to keep an eye out for burnt-out highlights as you'll lose detail in these areas. A good way to check if your image is correctly exposed is with the histogram.

A 'good' histogram that shows an even exposure will peak more towards the middle and get lower to either end. If the graph is occupying mostly the left-hand side it means your image has more dark tones than light (underexposed) and if it’s shifted to the right, there are more lighter tones (overexposed) which means you could have really bright areas that look blown out.

Also, as a side note, when you playback your images there’s an option you can set that makes the highlighted areas 'blink' so you can pinpoint their exact location. Check your camera's manual for the instructions on how to do this. 

 

Photo by David Pritchard. 

 

3. Work On Overcast Days

Overcast days give you the perfect conditions for capturing autumn shots in woods and forests. Why? Well, on sunny days it can be hard to keep contrast to a minimum and you can end up with large areas of dark shadow and patches of bright, dappled sunlight that's broken through the forest's canopy.

 

4. Meter From The Right Spot

Positioning yourself so the yellow and orange coloured leaves can be backlit will add extra punch to your shots, but again, your camera can get confused by the variety of light sources around. As a starting point, you can meter for the mid-tones but it's best to take a meter reading from the leaves to ensure they are correctly exposed. Also, by doing so the background, which you'll want to be thrown nicely out of focus, should appear darker, allowing your subject to 'pop' from the frame.

 

5. Use Exposure Compensation

Mist and fog are common conditions to be shooting in at this time of year but you may find you have exposure problems once out in the field. This is because camera meters are often fooled into underexposing misty scenes so they come out looking very grey, rather than light and airy. You can fix this by using the + compensation option. How many stops you need to move up by will depend on the scene and how many EV steps you can go up by will depend on the camera you are using. 
 

   

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Feeding ducks is something everyone enjoys but next time you head off for your Sunday morning stroll around your local pond, pocket your camera as well as the treats you take for the Mallards and Swans.

 

1. An opportunity to get close to wildlife

As ducks are used to people visiting with goodies they're not usually skittish so getting close to them shouldn't be a problem. Even still, taking along a small bag of birdseed to scatter will keep the ducks in front of you for longer increasing the chances you have of getting a good shot.

Flat banks are the perfect location for photographing ducks as the low angle gives you a shot that has more of a duck's eye view. If you don't want to work hand-held, take along a light-weight tripod or beanbag to sit your camera on.
 

2. Which season is best?

Winter's a great time to head to the water's edge as the sun sits at a lower angle for longer which means you don't have to get up at the crack of dawn for softer light. You'll also get mist rolling over the water – perfect for silhouetting a bird against. For a bit of variety try shooting their reflections or look for interesting behaviour such as fighting or preening activities.

 

3. Need more details?

If you find their feathers are lacking in detail try adding a little fill-in flash. Just remember for birds such as Swans that have lighter feathers you'll need slightly stronger light. This time of year when lakes can be slightly frozen light will be reflected off the icy surface back under the duck, highlighting detail in their plume. For particularly gloomy days switch to a slightly higher ISO so you can use a quicker shutter speed. If you're out when the sky is rather bright keep an eye on your exposure if Swans are around as a white bird against a bright sky may mean your camera underexposes the shot.

For shots of birds in flight make sure you're on continuous focus and get the focus locked on the bird straight away. To freeze their movement in the air or when they're splashing on the water try a shutter speed of around 1/500sec but if you want to be a little more creative try to blur the motion of the wings with a slower speed of around 1/30sec.   

 

 

As winter approaches we're going to see many more days of rain but this shouldn't stop you taking photographs. Instead, use the weather to your advantage to capture great raindrop patterns on windows from the comfort of your home.

 

1. The Beauty Of Variety

You may not have noticed, but raindrops are not always the same on windows. If it's heavy rain the drops tend to be large and blobby after a short shower the droplets are much neater and the best sort to photograph. They look the type you'd see on a spiders web, all almost perfectly round. Droplets can also act like miniature lenses and present an upside-down image of the background in each concave shape. If you adjust focus you can make these images appear sharper to become part of the creative picture.  But that's another technique!

 

2. Gear Choices

All you need for this technique is a camera with close focus capabilities which covers most types of cameras including compacts. Ideally, the camera should have some form of creative exposure mode that will allow you to shoot at different apertures. It would also help if you had a tripod to steady the camera but this isn't a must as if you find your shutter speed is creeping towards the slow side, just use a slightly higher ISO.

 

3. The Set-Up

1. Choose a window that has interesting raindrop patterns and that is facing a plain background. The background should be a long way off so a window into a garden with trees, grass or a fence at a good distance is ideal. The choice of background can really make a difference; a light background such as a sky will often result in the droplets having a darker more defined outline while a dark background will make the centres of the droplets more prominent.

2. Make sure the window is clean! Any fingerprints or smears will show up. Double glazed windows should be in good condition free of condensation.

3. Set your camera up on a tripod and point it at the window. Make sure the camera back is parallel to the window for the best results.

4. Focus on the drops. You may have to use manual mode if your camera has it because the drops can sometimes confuse the focusing sensor so it misses them. On double glazing, some cameras may be fooled by the closer inner layer so manual focus is a really useful option.

5. Move the camera position to get the best range of drops in the frame and watch the background for change in tone. If there's an area where the tips of shrubs meet the lighter sky and that's in the photo it will spoil the result. Move either up so you just have sky or down so you just have shrubs as a backdrop.

6. Set an aperture to its widest setting so the background is thrown totally out of focus.  If you have a compact with no manual control but with scene modes, try taking pictures at different scene modes and compare the results to see if one throws the background out of focus. This will usually be something like portrait, food or close up mode, not landscape or infinity modes.

 

Check out more Close-up photography tutorials.

Under the Foam by Henrique Casinhas

 

The World Sports Photography Awards returns for its seventh year and is now accepting entries. Canon joins as the official imaging partner, marking a new chapter for the competition.

The Awards acknowledge sports photographers who know how to capture the emotion, strength, and precision of athletic moments. Each year, a panel of judges from sport, media, photography, and branding selects the strongest images.

Canon’s partnership reflects its long-standing connection to sports photography. With decades of experience and technical leadership, Canon shares a commitment to supporting photographers who document the power and intensity of sport.

A new category has been introduced for 2026: the Canon Emerging Talent award. This section is dedicated to photographers under the age of 30 who show strong skill and creativity in documenting sport. It aims to recognise the next generation of talent and give them a platform to be seen.

Richard Shepherd, Product Marketing Senior Manager, Imaging at Canon Europe, adds:

"Canon has a rich heritage of capturing sport’s most iconic moments, and as the camera of choice for the majority of photographers entering these awards, this sponsorship reaffirms our commitment to delivering the robust, reliable, high-speed equipment that empowers them to tell those powerful stories. We are especially excited to introduce the ‘Canon Emerging Talent’ award, which will shine a spotlight on the remarkable skill and passion of the next generation.”

 

The Great Water Ditch by Magdalena Strakova

 

Photographers are welcome to submit up to 10 sports images taken between December 2024 and November 2025. This year's competition includes 24 categories and is free to enter. The deadline is 24 November 2025. Photos that were entered in last year's contest can't be submitted again.

 

Entry Details for 2026 Awards:

• Entries Open: Now
• Deadline: 24 November 2025
  • 13:00 New York City
  • 18:00 London
  • 19:00 Amsterdam
  • 03:00 Tokyo (25 November)
  • 05:00 Sydney (25 November)
• Eligibility: Up to 10 sports images taken between December 2024 and November 2025
• Categories: 24 sports categories
• Entry Fee: None

 

The World Sports Photography Awards has a zero tolerance policy for image manipulation or editing. All entries must be original and capture the moment as it happened. This rule is in place to respect the time, effort, and skill photographers put into their work. For full details about the competition, please visit the official website of the World Sports Photography Awards.

 

With half-term coming up in October, you may be looking for something that'll keep the kids entertained but still give you the opportunity to take a photo or two. One location that's worth considering is a safari park as there are some excellent ones based in the UK that'll give you the opportunity to capture frame-filling images of Lions and other animals usually seen on an African plane. 

 

1. Photographing wildlife from your car or a bus 

As you're going to be stuck in your car, or the safari park's transport service, a long lens is a must. Something like a 70-300mm telephoto will do nicely but if you have a longer one take that along too as smaller subjects such as birds will look tiny otherwise. The inside of a car isn't the place for a tripod but having something to support your camera when you're working with long lenses is a good idea. You can get window-mounted tripods but a beanbag is a cheaper and easier way to go. Simply place it on a surface, rest your camera on it and click away. As you're shooting through glass pack a lens hood and/or a polarizer filter as they'll both help minimise reflections. 

 

 

2. Use queueing to your advantage

People moan about having to queue but if you're a photographer at a safari park this could work to your advantage as it means you'll have time to observe your surroundings. If you can wait in one position for a while to snap interesting behaviour. If you're visiting the park to see one particular animal make sure you've done your research so you know what time of day they'll be out and most active. Keep an eye on the weather too as this can make some animals retreat to cover and you'll be left with empty shots of fields. However, if you do get to the park when it's raining don't get too down-hearted as some animals don't mind the rain and raindrops on the fur and the reflection of light on wet surfaces can create very moody photos.

 

3. Small changes make a big difference 

As you're in a small space it can be tricky to move and find different angles to shoot from but there are plenty of other things you can do to improve your shots. Always make sure the eye is in focus and when it is don't click the shutter straight away – wait for the glint in the eyes that can make both human and animal portraits come to life. Sometimes you'll have to wait for the animal to move to get this but all you have to do is keep re-adjusting your framing until the moment arrives. If it's portraits you're particularly after make sure you zoom in to make them frame-filling and if you have cars or other distracting items in the background wait until you've changed position to take the shot or blur it out of sight with a large aperture. If it's a group of lions or a herd of elephants you're photographing use a smaller aperture such as f/22 to limit the blur to get the whole group in the shot.

When you're in a hurry it's easy to forget about composition so you'll put your subject slap bang in the centre of the image. For some shots this will create a strong portrait but try to resist doing it every time and really think about the rule of thirds when framing up. You also need space for your animal to walk into and don't amputate an animals extremities – a lion missing the tip of its tail won't look right.

As you have to keep your windows up you'll be shooting through glass so to minimise reflections make sure you have your lens against the window. If you have one, try using a lens hood or you could put your spare hand above or to the side of the lens to help minimise reflection. As the engine will be running you'll find the glass will be vibrating so speed up the shutter speed to minimise shake. You may also find manual focus handy as glass can sometimes fool a camera.

One more, very important point is to observe the rules. We don't want to hear any stories of ePz members who were turned into lunch!

You don't have to head to a place that's bursting with beautiful landscapes to shoot some autumn-inspired shots as your own garden can give you just as many interesting autumn subjects to photograph. An even better reason to stay close to home is if the weather suddenly takes a turn for the worse you only have to take a few steps to be back in the warmth, you have your kettle close to hand and you can even continue shooting some subjects from inside your house.

  1. Leaves / Trees

 

You can't talk about photography in autumn without mentioning trees and leaves and it's a subject we'll be looking at a lot over the coming month so keep an eye out for tips on shooting macros, using backlight and much more with Autumn leaves. 
  2. Berries

 

If you have a few plants that give berries at this time of year, they should be ripe by now and ready to photograph. If they're a dark colour, try underexposing your shot slightly to deepen their shade and use a polarising filter to cut down on shine/reflections.
  3. Portraits

 

Kids wrapped up in hats and coats, particularly when they're throwing leaves around, scream autumn. Keep your shoot informal and try not to shoot too many posed shots. In fact, if you're photographing your own children playing around in your garden just leave them to it and shoot candids as they play.

If you don't want the colours of the foliage to take over the shot, longer focal lengths, particularly with a wide to moderate aperture, can help, blurring and giving your background a nice bokeh effect as well as flattering the features of who you're photographing. You can use out of focus foliage as a frame too, adding a spot of colour to the foreground of your autumn portrait shot.

Even though early morning and the later afternoon is a good time to shoot, autumn light tends to be lower all day so you can get away with shooting during the day if you need to.

 

4. Birds

 

Some birds begin to migrate at this time of year which means you may have new species of birds visiting your garden.

Birds are easily spooked so you need to keep still and if you can, be hidden. Try shooting from an open window from your house, set up in your shed or if you have one, use a hide. If you work from inside and are shooting through the glass rather than an open window, make sure your lens is as close to the glass as possible and turn your room lights off to minimise reflections. You also need to be in a position that's quite close to where the birds will land as even though you're using longer lenses, they are really tiny and can look lost among your background if you don't get close enough.

Some cameras can be controlled via a Smart Phone which means you can set the camera up in your garden and head back in to the warmth of the house where you can release the shutter remotely from. 

Make sure you pay particular attention to the tips of feathers, particularly on the tails, as these can easily become out of focus when trying to get the right balance between a blurred background and sharp subject. You may need to switch to manual focus, so you can set the focus point more precisely. Light at this time of year can be low so be prepared to switch your ISO up and remember to use a high enough shutter speed to keep your subject sharp. Most small garden birds move quickly and tend to twitch and turn their heads frequently so you need a quick enough shutter speed to stop the movement becoming blurred.

We have more tips on photographing birds in our technique section. 

 

5. Mushrooms

 

If you have any damp, dark areas in your garden or have a compost bin, you'll find fungi specimens are now springing up. You'll find more whole specimens in the morning but as you're in your garden it's quite easy for you to pop out at any time in search of photography-worthy mushrooms.

 

Quick tips for mushroom photos:

• As well as single specimens, capture mushrooms in an odd group which is more pleasing to the eye and adds interest to your shot
• Contrast white mushrooms with backgrounds of moss and leaves
• Blur backgrounds out of focus
• Look under the mushroom for interesting textures
• Light the underbelly by directing light into the scene with a reflector
• If using wider apertures, check your shot as your subject can end up with parts that are out of focus 

For more, have a look at this tutorial: Fungi Photography Tips.   

- Partner Content - 

 

Autumn conditions can be challenging but they can be glorious too, so have your kit ready and the bag by the front door ready for early starts. Exposure for this was 1/1000 sec at f/10 and ISO 800. Image by Will Cheung.

 

With autumn almost upon us, keen photographers will be dusting down their lenses and charging their batteries, ready for this hectic season. Whether your passion is for birds, colourful leaves, fungi or deer, this season is prolific for photographs and you’ll need the right kit if you want to join the party. 

With massive stocks of used imaging kit, MPB is the best place to start building your autumn outfit and save money at the same time. MPB only buys items after they have been thoroughly checked over by its team of experts, and on its website, what you see are actual images of the items on sale. Importantly, every item is sold with a 14-day return period and a free 12 month warranty.

 

A long telephoto combined with the 1.5x crop factor of the Sony A6700 gives plenty of magnifying power for tightly cropped portraits of distant subjects. The exposure was 1/1000 sec at f/9 and ISO 800. Image by Will Cheung.

 

For our nature outfit, we’ve allowed a budget of £3000 for a Sony mirrorless outfit with lenses for wildlife and a macro lens for fungi and nature abstracts.

It was a tough call for the system centrepiece with Sony having full-frame and APS-C format cameras in its line-up. Budget, or rather the lack of it, ruled out models such as the A7 V and A1, but full-frame is always worth considering. On MPB’s site I found a good condition Alpha A7R IV with 82,329 shutter actuations under its belt for £1389. The A7R IV is a fine camera and having 61 megapixels under the bonnet gives the opportunity for cropping in editing while still giving a large final image. Upon reflection though, going APS-C offers better value for money and the 1.5x crop factor is an important benefit for nature shooting, giving telephoto lenses even greater pulling power.

Top of Sony’s APS-C range sits the Alpha A6700, a 26-megapixel camera with a five-stop benefit in-body image stabiliser, 11fps continuous shooting with its electronic shutter and a very capable phase detect AF system. 

MPB has stocks of the A6700 at prices from £1169 in excellent condition to £1279 for an ‘as new’ sample. An excellent condition A6700 had just 367 shutter actuations and that was priced at £1209  - a new model costs £1399 - so that’s an excellent buy. MPB has a big turnover so there is a regular churn on stock. If you don’t find your dream purchase on your first visit to its site, allow some time and try again.

 

Misty conditions can be challenging because of poor lighting levels and the lower contrast can make autofocusing a little less sure-footed. Exposure was 1/500 sec at f/7.1 and ISO 1600. Image by Will Cheung.

 

Being APS-C format, the A6700 body is naturally more compact than full-frame cameras but that does not compromise handling which rates highly. It’s true that the rangefinder design takes a little getting used to, with the viewfinder eyepiece on the far left side and there’s no focus joystick. However, the right-sided on/off switch, nice size AF-ON button, ample customisation options and articulating monitor are all major contributors when it comes to the camera’s user-friendly nature. 

Autofocusing is rapid, accurate and responsive with the system’s 759 phase detection points covering 95% of the frame area and there’s the option of subject detection and tracking for humans, animals, birds and various vehicles. 

When you need to shoot continuous bursts, the A6700 is capable of 11fps with AE/AF tracking and compressed raw format but this uses its electronic shutter. Rolling shutter is a risk with fast moving subjects so there is 5fps continuous shooting with the mechanical shutter. The buffer is big enough for bursts of up to 50 compressed raws, so there’s plenty of capacity.

On the all-important point of image quality, the A6700 won’t let you down even when you need to tap into its higher ISO settings where very clean results can be had at ISO 1600 and more especially with raws treated with software denoising.

 

With the denoising skills of the latest software noise, shooting at very high ISO speeds is not an issue. This was an ISO 3200 raw denoised in Adobe Lightroom. The exposure was 1/500 sec at f/7.1. Image by Will Cheung.

 

In respect of lenses for nature, there’s plenty in the way of choice whether you prefer Sony or third party options. A benefit of the success of Sony’s interchangeable lens cameras and its attitude to independent makers is that there is a huge choice available covering all sorts of focal lengths, zoom range and price levels.

It’s in the ranks of third party brands where we focused our search on MPB’s website for a telephoto with the range to handle distant birds and mammals. The Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG DN OS Sport seemed ideal for our needs and an excellent example was on offer for £1079. With the A6700’s 1.5x crop factor that lens equates to a 225-900mm range in full-frame so there’s plenty of power to pull in distant detail.

 

Sigma’s 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG DN OS Sport powerful telezoom is ideal for capturing wildlife and will give a decent image size of distant subjects.

 

Considering the huge focal length range, this Sigma telezoom is surprisingly compact and is rich in features including weather sealing, an optical stabiliser, a useful 1:2.9 magnification and an advanced design with six of its 25 elements being special lenses to deliver an outstanding performance at a great price. Even shooting wide open gives crisp, flare-free images and fine detail rendition. It is a full-frame capable lens so with the A6700 looks small when it’s attached, but if full-frame comes along in the future you have a lens ready to go.

With the camera and lens earmarked, that leaves just over £700 out of our £3000 budget to spend. 

For fungi, leaf details and insects, the Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 Macro G OSS focuses down close enough to give life-size magnification and it’s known to be a capable optical performer. MPB has used samples of this lens in the £529-654 price range so going for one at the lower price leaves cash enough for a wide-angle prime for scenic shooting. Laowa, Sigma and Tamron are other brands with macro lens options worth checking out.

Finally, available for between £159-189, the Sony FE 28mm f/2 is a suitable contender to round off our nature-oriented outfit. It’s compact, lightweight, performs very well wide open and the focal length isn’t too difficult to use for frame-filling compositions.

 

Soon after dawn light levels are still low so using a monopod  is recommended. It provides invaluable support without being too unwieldy in fast moving situations. Exposure of 1/250 sec at f/9 and ISO 1600. Image by Will Cheung.

 

So with our £3000 budget and MPB’s keen pricing and vast stocks, here’s a three lens camera outfit that will go a long way to making the most of the shooting season ahead. The wide-angle prime suits landscapes and broader tree studies, the 90mm macro is perfect for fungi, textures and the patterns of nature and the 150-600mm zoom can cope with everything from small birds and mammals up to red deer, our largest native land mammal. 

Whatever kit you own, have a great autumn with your camera.

 

 

News from MPB

The summer’s over and, as we’ve discussed, the possibilities for great nature pictures are huge over the coming months. With the need for fast shutter speeds, ISO control and long telephoto lenses, there’s much common ground between action and nature regarding techniques and kit.

MPB has recently published two sports photography features on its website. Click here for MPB’s Top 5 Camera Bodies for Sports Photography and here for an in-depth Guide to Sports Photography. Full of advice and kit hints, these are unmissable features for budding sports shooters.

 

MPB Explained

You need kit to take photographs and produce videos, and taking the used route is a cost-effective way of making the most of your budget and keeping up with the latest developments in imaging technology.

MPB is one of the biggest used retailers with bases in the UK, Germany and the USA.

Trading with MPB the process is fair, safe, painless and incredibly easy.

Whether you have kit to sell, want to make a purchase or part exchange, start by going to the MPB website which is intuitive and straightforward to use.

If you have kit to trade, just start typing the name in and a list of suggestions from MPB’s huge database will appear. If a name on that list matches your product click on it and add its condition; if not, continue typing in the whole name and condition.

It’s worth bearing in mind that MPB’s database covers much more than cameras and lenses so if you have, for example, a photo backpack, tripod or filters to sell these can be shown as you type in their name too.

With all your kit listed, add contact details and a quote will appear in your inbox soon afterwards, although manually entered items will take one working day.

If you are happy with the quote, accept it and follow the instructions to get the kit ready for courier collection on a day to suit you. For higher-value deals, an MPB account manager will also be in touch, so you have a personal point of contact if you have any queries.

Once received by MPB, you will get a notification and after checking by its product specialists you will receive a final quote. This can vary from the original quote if there is a missing item —like a battery not being supplied—or your assessed condition differs from the actual condition.

A quote can go down, but it can also increase if the kit’s condition is better than your assessment.

The whole process doesn’t take long and MPB are in touch by e-mail at every step so you’re never in the dark, and only when you are totally happy with the deal, pass on your payment details or pay the balance in the case of part-exchange. Either way, the money or your new kit will be with you soon after.

Get A Quote From MPB Today

 

About MPB

• MPB is the largest global platform to buy, sell and trade used photo and video kit.
• MPB is the simple, safe and circular way to trade, upgrade and get paid.
• MPB is not a marketplace, instead buying directly from visual storytellers and evaluating all items before reselling MPB-approved kit.
• MPB's dynamic pricing engine provides the right price upfront for all items.
• Circularity is at the centre of MPB, promoting sustainability, diversity and inclusion in everything they do.
• MPB prioritises inclusive recruitment and supports employees with extensive training and development. They promote inclusive visual storytelling and an inclusive circular economy.
• MPB's business model is 100% circular. All packaging is 100% plastic-free. Their cloud-based platform uses 100% renewable electricity.
• MPB recirculates more than 570,000 products annually
• MPB provides first-class customer service. Customers can receive support through their Help Centre or by speaking directly with a kit expert.
• MPB's product specialists are trusted by thousands of visual storytellers in the UK.
• MPB is rated ‘Excellent’ on Trustpilot with over 37,000 reviews.

Visit The MPB Website

 

Our landscape is abundant with rocky views from the gneiss rocks of Scotland, through the limestone pavements of the Yorkshire Dales, to the rocky Jurassic coastline of Dorset. Move-in closer and their patterns and textures provide fabulous abstract opportunities for photographers.

 

1. Gear Choices 

The beauty of this technique is any camera/lens combination can be used. No special kit is needed - just a good eye for the best viewpoint and artistic flare to determine the best composition. You could use a tripod to be sure of a rock (excuse the pun) solid view, especially when shooting patterns on the ground, as it can be harder to hold the camera rigid when you're pointing downwards. If you do use a tripod make sure it has an option to splay the legs out wide so you don't get them in the shot.

A standard lens is ideal, especially for rocks patterns below your feet - either a fixed 50mm or short zoom from around 35-70mm range is fine. Use a longer lens if you can't get close enough to the rock face. This is ideal for distant coastal cliff faces or mountainsides. A lens with a close focus will be handy when the texture is more important...you can focus in close on the more intricate details of the rock's composition.

 

2. When To Take Your Photos 

Shoot in overcast light if you want less contrast, but this can reduce the impact of the photo. Sunlight casts shadows making the patterns of rugged rocks become almost 3D. You can use the flash from your camera set to fill to reduce the shadows. If you use a camera that has flash control set the flash compensation to -1 in sun-behind-clouds situations and -2 in bright sunlight. The result will be a reduction in the density of shadow areas, but still enough to give the necessary 3D effect.

 

3. Where To Look

Some of the best patterns can be seen in strata, layers of rock that have been formed by layer upon layer of rock or soil millions of years ago. These layers have become exposed by erosion from the sea or natural earth movement or from being cut away to make roads.

Some of the best viewpoints for photography can be found on the coastline. Go to any rocky coastline and you're likely to find interesting rock patterns and textures, whether on the cliff faces or the natural pavement you walk on. Cliff faces provide head-on views and show the strata with the most dramatic lines while the ocean bed, exposed at low tide, can provide smoother more interesting shapes.

Look for rocks covered on lichen - coastal and exposed mountain moorland areas or dense woodland where it's likely to be regularly damp are ideal for this sort of texture. Use the lens on close focus to crop in on the minute detailed textures and patterns.

 

You've read the technique now share your related photos for the chance to win prizes: Daily Forum Competition     

 

Here are 16 photography projects for you to tick off your photo list this Autumn. Think we've missed one? Add your suggestions in the comments. You can also find tips related to each subject by clicking on the headings. 

 

1. Autumn Wide-Angle Landscapes 

When the landscape is full of burnt oranges, warms yellows and other Autumnal shades, take advantage of this warm colour palette and capture some autumn-themed vistas with your wide-angle lens.

  2. Focus On A Single Tree This Autumn

When you've captured your shots of forests and national parks, focus your attention on one tree, shooting under the canopy or try using a lonely tree in a wide, sweeping landscape shot of a crop field. 

 

3. How To Photograph Abstracts

Instead of focusing on scenes as a whole, look for areas where you can strip your image back to shape, patterns and form which will give you an image that's still very much Autumn themed but it's different from the norm. Why not go against the rule that everything has to be sharp and create an Autumnal drag landscape? The warm shades of leaves which turn into long lines of colour help create striking pieces that are perfect for wall art. 

 

4. Top Tips On Photographing Reflections

Reflections are something you can shoot all year round but as bright colours and bold shapes make the most interesting reflections, autumn's the perfect season to try this technique.

 

  5. 10 Top Tips For Taking Better Photos Of Trees

When in the woods with your camera kit look upwards and capture a shot of the trees with a wide-angle lens. When you do, you'll produce a shot that looks as if the trunks of the trees are almost falling out of the image due to the effect wide-angle lens have on verticals and the trees will seem a lot taller, too. This technique can produce great results at all times of the year but when you have the orange tones set against a blue sky it's particularly eye-catching. 

You could also apply this technique in towns and cities where parks can be surrounded by tall modern structures that contrast well against the trees. 

 

6. Add An Interesting Sky

Use slower shutter speeds to turn the movement of the clouds to create leading lines to guide the eye through the photograph or how about waiting for a colourful sunset to compose your Autumn scene against? 

7. Play With Back Light

One way to exaggerate the colours of Autumn is with backlit leaves. Plus, it'll really make the intricate pattern of veins stand out and focus the viewer's attention. You can also shoot some Autumn themed outdoor portraits with backlight to make your subject 'pop' from the frame. 

  8. How To Photograph Fallen Leaves

Make the most of the fallen leaves starting to decorate the land and use them in your landscape shots. If you're working by water where leaves are decorating the land surrounding it or are floating along the surface of the water as it flows downstream, experiment with longer exposure times to blur the water's movement.

 

  9. Top Tips On Photographing Birds

Some birds begin to migrate at this time of year which means you may have new species visiting your garden.

 

10. Capture Photos of Dew Drops

As evening temperatures begin to fall the sight of morning dew decorating grass and other plants is something that will become a regular occurrence. As dew can add extra interest to your macro garden shots, it's well worth getting up early and taking some shots of morning dew. 

 

11. Shoot Sunbeams On Autumn Days

When you mix early morning fog with the rising sun you get a recipe for strong beams of sunlight appearing in woodland areas. These beams of light bursting through trees make an early morning rise from your bed covers well worth it.

 

12. Still Life Photography Can Be Autumn-Themed

Pumpkins, leaves, conkers and berries can all be used in still life set-ups when you're looking for something to keep you occupied on a rainy day. Play around with compositions, props and backgrounds to see what interesting still life creations you can create. 

 

 

13. Top Tips On Using Lens Flare Creatively 

 You can use flare in your shots to add a little romanticism, mystery and warmth to your autumn shots.

  14. Top Frost Photography Tips

The cooler evening temperatures and clear nights mean frost will soon be making an appearance once again and it's a great photographic subject for both landscape and macro photography fans. 

 

15. How To Use Paths And Roads In Your Photos

Paths, lines and long roads will always be excellent composition tools but when combined with lines of Autumnal trees your landscapes suddenly become even better. 

  16. Top Halloween Photography Tips 

As well as landscapes and close-up shots of leaves Autumn brings Halloween.  It's a perfect time to shoot some portraits and capture the other fun details of this event. 

   

You've read the technique now share your related photos for the chance to win prizes: Daily Forum Competition  

 

There seems to be a current trend for larger, fast prime lenses, and this Sigma 135mm f/1.4 DG Art lens absolutely follows that brief. It is large, it is moderately heavy, and it is also the only f/1.4 AF lens of this focal length available today. This makes it look rather attractive and we might expect beautiful out of focus backgrounds for portraiture in particular. It is a full frame DG lens, and also one of Sigma's state-of-the-art Art range, aspiring to the highest standards. So let's couple it up with the 42MP Sony A7R III body and see whether or not it delivers all of its promise.

 

Sigma 135mm f/1.4 DG Art Handling and Features

The lens is bulky but the actual weight does not feel too onerous. The figures vary slightly with lens mount.

 

Sony FE 111.7mm x 137.5mm

1420g quoted

1425g measured with tripod foot

1546g measured with tripod foot and hood

L Mount 111.7mm x 135.5mm 1430g quoted

 

The lens is solidly made and feels great to handle. There is a large provided round lens hood that bayonets smoothly into place. There is a locking catch. Within the bayonet mount for the hood is a standard 105mm filter thread, quite an expensive option if a few filters need to be purchased. The hood is very deep, and should be efficient at protecting the front element.

 

 

As we take our tour of the lens, next up is the well ribbed and utterly smooth electronic focusing ring. This Sony version supports all the usual options, selected via the camera menus. AF is driven by two HLA motors (High Response Linear Actuators) and is certainly virtually silent, very fast and very accurate. Focusing is down to 1.1m (43.4"), for a maximum magnification of 1:6.9. This is closer than a traditional manual focus 135mm lens, although not approaching macro distances.

There are two AFL buttons provided, and just three switches. The usual AF/MF switch is joined by a de-click switch for the aperture ring (useful in particular for videographers) and also an aperture ring lock switch. This last option prevents the A setting from being accidentally nudged off its setting, or indeed engaged accidentally if we wish to use the excellent aperture ring instead.

Optical construction is 17 elements in 13 groups, including 4 FLD and 2 Aspherical. FLD elements are fluorite-like and approach the qualities of the very expensive fluorite elements and bring the corrections they allow into an affordable form. The diaphragm comprises 13 blades, and as we look into the front element we can clearly see that the result is an impressively rounded aperture. This bodes well for bokeh.

 

 

Dust and splash resistance is almost a requirement and rounds out an excellent specification. The front element also resists contamination by dust, grease and moisture and should be easier to keep clear. The tripod foot rotates, useful for changing from landscape to portrait orientation when on a tripod, and in any event helps to keep the body of the lens well clear of any tripod mount. It also helps to keep the lens steady when hand held, improving the grip.

There is no inbuilt IS, so the camera is relied upon and Sony's SteadyShot handles this very well indeed. Of course, no amount of IS can reduce subject movement, so the wide aperture can be very useful when shooting close wildlife. Handling is hazard free. It does not take long to find the best grip for what is quite a chunky lens, but it is not excessively heavy and that helps considerably. The lens is great to handle, but is the performance great to match? Let's find out.

 

 

Sigma 135mm f/1.4 DG Art Performance

Central sharpness is excellent at f/1.4 and f/2, outstanding from f/2.8 to f/5.6, excellent at f/8 and still very good at f/11 and f/16. The edges are excellent from f/1.4 to f/8, rising to outstanding at f/4, and still very good at f/11 and f/16. The performance is also very even right across the frame.

 

Sigma 135mm f/1.4 DG Art MTF Charts Previous Next

How to read our MTF charts

The blue column represents readings from the centre of the picture frame at the various apertures and the green is from the edges.

For this review, the lens was tested on a Sony A7R III using Imatest. Want to know more about how we review lenses?

 

CA is approaching zero at the centre, and at the edges are held to a creditable half a pixel or so. It is highly unlikely that colour fringing will be noticed in even the most demanding subjects.

Distortion measures +0.23% pincushion, so we really might as well say totally rectilinear. This is great for architectural subjects in particular.

 

Sigma 135mm f/1.4 DG Art Chromatic Aberration Charts Previous Next

How to read our CA charts

Chromatic aberration (CA) is the lens' inability to focus on the sensor or film all colours of visible light at the same point. Severe chromatic aberration gives a noticeable fringing or a halo effect around sharp edges within the picture. It can be cured in software.

Apochromatic lenses have special lens elements (aspheric, extra-low dispersion etc) to minimize the problem, hence they usually cost more.

For this review, the lens was tested on a Sony A7R III using Imatest.

 

Bokeh is the smoothness of the out of focus areas in an image and the general gradation of such areas. This is one of the things we would be looking for in this lens, being both a short telephoto and a very fast (bright) maximum aperture. It excels, and the bokeh is just sublime, especially at wider apertures. Lovely.

Flare is almost totally eliminated, and even with bright light sources in frame it is all but impossible to generate any artefacts.

Vignetting is minimal, with some of the lowest figures seen in any lens.

 

Aperture Vignetting f/1.4 -0.8 f/2 -0.8 f/2.8 -0.4 f/4 -0.4 f/5.6 -0.4 f8 -0.4 f/11 -0.4 f/16 -0.4

 

Sigma 135mm f/1.4 DG Art Sample Photos Previous Next

 

Sigma 135mm f/1.4 DG Art Aperture range Previous Next

You can view additional images in the Equipment Database, where you can add your own reviews, photos and product ratings.

 

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Value For Money

The [AMUK]Sigma 135mm f/1.4 DG Art|Sigma+135mm+f/1.4+DG+Art[/AMUK] lens is priced at £1649.00 and is available in Sony FE and L mount versions.

As it is the only 135mm f/1.4 AF lens available at the time of writing, it stands alone in terms of VFM. However, we can compare its cost with the increasingly large number of top quality 135mm f/1.8 lenses:

• [AMUK]Canon RF 135mm f/1.8L IS USM|Canon+RF+135mm+f/1.8L+IS+USM[/AMUK], £2399
• [AMUK]Nikkor Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena|Nikkor+Z+135mm+f/1.8+S+Plena[/AMUK], £2299
• [AMUK]Samyang AF 135mm f/1.8 FE|Samyang+AF+135mm+f/1.8+FE[/AMUK], £794
• [AMUK]Sigma 135mm f/1.8 DG Art|Sigma+135mm+f/1.8+DG+Art[/AMUK], £1149
• [AMUK]Sony FE 135mm f/1.8 GM|Sony+FE+135mm+f/1.8+GM[/AMUK], £1599
• [AMUK]Viltrox 135mm f/1.8 Z|Viltrox+135mm+f/1.8+Z[/AMUK], £829

The new Sigma is pitched at an impressively low cost and seems excellent VFM.

 

 

Sigma 135mm f/1.4 DG Art Verdict

The current trend seems to be for large, fast lenses with high quality optics, and the new Sigma 135mm f/1.4 DG Art lens fulfills that brief perfectly. Although in the past I have felt that 135mm was a little too long for a portrait lens, when coupled with the current wider apertures it does deliver a new look of its own. We can add to that suitability for close range sports, landscape and wedding/social photography.

It has the quality, has a character of its own and is priced very attractively. It's a great lens at a great price and is Highly Recommended.

 

Sigma 135mm f/1.4 DG Art Pros

• Excellent to outstanding sharpness
• Central CA virtually banished
• Excellent flare resistance
• Minimal vignetting
• Very well made
• Virtually rectilinear
• Dust and splash resistant
• Sublimely smooth bokeh
• Slick handling
• Excellent pricing

Sigma 135mm f/1.4 DG Art Cons

• Heavy and bulky

 

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The latest winner of our popular daily photography theme which takes place in our forums have been chosen and congratulations go to mitchellhatpeg (Day 23 - Mist / Fog).

 

Daily Theme Runners-Up

If you didn't win this time, keep uploading your images to the daily competition forum for another chance to win! If you're new to the Daily Theme, you can find out more about it in the Daily Theme Q&A. 

Well done to our latest runners-up, too, whose images you can take a look at below.

  Day 24

Market Stalls

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Day 25

Motion

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Day 26

Good Weather

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  Day 27

Mountain Landscapes

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Day 28

Forests

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Day 29

Arboretum

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Day 30

Autumn Close-Ups

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You’ll find the Daily Themes, along with other great photo competitions, over in our Forum. Take a look to see the latest daily photo contests. Open to all levels of photographer, you’re sure to find a photography competition to enter. Why not share details of competitions with our community? Join the camaraderie and upload an image to our Gallery.

    1. Be Patient  Photographing lively animals like cats is all about patience – try not to get frustrated if your animal won't do what you want. Remember, it is at heart a wild animal and they won't always do what you want them to do. You might want to sit around with your camera without taking photos a few times too so they get used to seeing the camera and won't attack it or run away when you take it out of its bag.   2. Be Ready The most difficult thing about photographing animals, no matter how large or small, is that they move at the most inopportune moments. Setting your camera to continuous shooting mode may help you capture a good shot as they run off in a different direction. DSLRs feature quick continuous shooting modes but don't worry if you're not a DSLR owner as many compacts also have a continuous shooting mode built-in. Compact camera owners can also switch to sport/action mode to increase your chances of getting a blur-free shot.    

 

3. Ask For Assistance 

If you are looking to capture some action or movement shots, get someone else to play with your cat, distracting them so you can get some shots of them swiping and jumping without them going for your camera. Try getting your cat to run by throwing a toy or treat, and snap it in full run. Quicker shutter speeds or switching to sports/action mode will help you freeze your cat's movement. To further enhance the feeling of speed, pan your camera, following your cat as they run. This will, hopefully, keep your cat sharp while the background is thrown nicely out of focus. If you don't want to have a go at panning, pre-focus on a spot where you know your cat will run through and hit the shutter button when they come into frame.

 

4. Candids & Close-Ups

Another technique, to create a more wild effect, is to watch your cat outside for a while and snap more candid style shots of it hunting or climbing on a wall. Try shooting side-on so you can get a shot just as it leaps into action.

If you want some close-up shots of your feline friend, try dangling a toy above it to get it to look up from the ground. You could also try getting your cat to paw at you to give the impression that it's leaping. Dangling a toy will also encourage your cat to keep still and keep its attention focused, to stop it from wandering off. For less action-based shots, why not try capturing it lying down or stretching. Some really lovely shots can be taken while they're resting/sleeping, for example.

 

You've read the technique now share your related photos for the chance to win prizes: Daily Forum Competition  

 

The punchy shades of autumn give a photographer the perfect opportunity to capture images with a much more arty feel. For those who enjoy playing around with Photoshop there's a way to turn your autumn forest shots into streaks of bold colour in a few easy steps, or you can create a similar look in-camera if you prefer. If you're out on a breezy day there's a third way you can create autumn abstracts by capturing the movement of leaves. 

 

1. Move Your Camera And Lens

This technique is better known as a drag landscape and we have tips on how to do this in a previous article we published back in the spring. To summarise, you set the exposure going then drag/pan the camera in a particular direction. By doing so the trees will be turned into strong lines of colour that give a twist to the normal autumn shot.

You can also focus in on the leaves and play around with your panning directions to create movement in the image. Moving in a circular motion can work particularly well when you're working with the canopy which tends to have less prominent lines and hard edges. Experiment with the size of the circle you 'draw' as again, this will alter the shapes in the image. 

  2. Create The Look In Photoshop

If you've got a few autumn shots hiding away in your computer's folders you can recreate the look the above technique creates in Photoshop. For step-by-step tips on how to do this, take a look at this tutorial: Abstract Autumn Shots In Photoshop

While you have Photoshop open, why not turn your Autumn drag landscapes into a Triptych too? 

  3. Take Your Images On A Windy Day 

Instead of worrying about wind movement of trees spoiling your shot, take advantage of the weather and emphasise the movement. A long exposure will render the autumn leaves into a creative blur. If you're going for a landscape shot where trees are featured but you do have other parts of the scene you don't want to be so blurred, do make sure you take plenty of images as you don't want to head home and find out nothing was actually sharp in frame. You can then just delete the ones you don't want to keep. You will also have to experiment with shutter speeds to ensure you get movement in the leaves but not in other parts of the image. You could achieve the desired result with multiple exposures, too.    

 

When buildings are illuminated at night their shapes and features are enhanced in a very different way than by daylight and it's a great time to take photographs. The most challenging thing is getting the exposure and colour balance right, which we'll help with, otherwise, the standard rules of composition apply which we'll cover briefly first.

 

1. Composition - Don't Forget The Basics 

When shooting upwards expect the building to slope inwards at the top, especially when a wide-angle lens is used. Move to a higher position to reduce the distortion or use a special shift lens that's designed to correct perspective but these are expensive and aren't really a sensible option for the casual shooter.

Try to include the whole building by using a wider angle lens or stepping back to a more suitable viewpoint. Choose the position carefully. The same building could be shot head-on, at an angle of, say, 3/4 or by using a telephoto to capture a section with a more graphical feel. Don't forget you can zoom with your feet as well as your lens, too. When it comes to focusing, manual is your best option. 

  2. Exposures

When the sun goes down the light changes in two ways; firstly the exposure time required increases and secondly the colour of the light becomes warmer. Let's first look at the exposure. In low light, the shutter speed that's necessary to ensure a good exposure will usually be too long to avoid camera shake when hand-holding the camera. Using a tripod enables you to shoot at these long exposure times of between 1/15sec and several seconds or even minutes. If you don't have a tripod you can usually find a wall, lamppost or tree to support the camera, which can help considerably. Or you can try switching to a higher ISO as most cameras now cope well in the higher ranges. This means that in low light situations, such as shooting buildings at night, you can take photos with minimal noise or blurring. You'll also want to put your camera's self-timer into action or use a remote release if you have one as even pressing the shutter button can introduce shake that'll leave your with blurry shots. Consider using the Mirror Lock-up function, too which can be accessed via your camera's menu. 
 

3. Metering

Low light can also fool the camera's meter and this happens because it looks at the mass of dark and tries to compensate to make it mid-grey. By doing so, you get an exposure time that is too long for all the illuminated parts of the scene, such as neon lights, street lights or spotlit areas of a building as they become grossly overexposed.

To avoid this, you need to compensate for it. As a guide, use your exposure compensation setting to reduce the exposure by a couple of stops when most of the area is in darkness and by one stop when the building has a medium coverage of illumination.

 

4. Colour Balance

Illuminated buildings offset against a dark sky can look great, but you have to be careful with the colour as there can be a slightly orange or yellow cast created. Buildings illuminated by artificial light can also be problematic, depending on the lighting used in them. Two popular types are Fluorescent and Tungsten. Fluorescent tend to be used inside in offices and Tungsten in spotlights that part illuminates buildings.

With digital cameras, you can preview the image to check the colour balance and if it doesn't look right, just change the white balance setting you're using. Cloudy will warm your shots up while the Tungsten options will give your images a more blue tone. 

  5. Security

Take care when carrying a camera around at night, especially if you're venturing off the beaten track. Keep alert and where possible, take a friend with you.

  6. What To Capture 

Look for tall buildings you can shoot from. From up high you'll be able to shoot skylines as well as focus on single buildings. For something different, try to shoot the same location in daylight and in the evening. You'll soon see how buildings have a very different feel at night. Cropping in on illuminated buildings can make the image more striking and reduce the black from the surrounding, unlit areas. To give streetlights a 'starburst' use a small aperture which will also give you front-to-back sharpness in your shots too. Exposure times will be longer but if you have your tripod, this won't be an issue. If people are still exploring the city you can use them to add more interest to your shots. Get creative with silhouettes against well-lit structures or how about using slightly longer shutter speeds, say 1/2 a second, to blur the movement of people who pass through your shot. Don't increase your exposure times too much if you want to keep the patterns people create passing through your images though as anything above 15 seconds will probably remove them from your image. Bridges can be used to draw the eye through the image to a particular structure or focus your attention on famous buildings and landmarks which are guaranteed to be lit-up at night.

 

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1. Gear Suggestions

• Wide-angle lens
• Polarising filter – Helps boost colour
• ND Grad filter – Balances the exposure of the sky and foreground
• Waterproofs – It rains a lot in the UK!

  2. When To Take Your Shots

Early morning or the end of the day is perfect for autumnal photography as the warm colour temperatures of the setting or rising sun boost the autumnal shades. The end of the day tends to be warmer than early morning too which is good news for those stuck in offices all day. Keep an eye on the weather forecast for the evening before you plan on heading out as a cool night helps the autumn shades develop.

Another advantage of heading out of the door early in the morning or later in the evening is the light is more diffused which means the difference between light and shadow areas isn't as extreme. It's still worth keeping an eye on your histogram, something which can be done in Live View on many cameras which means you can see the histogram display change as the scene in front of you alters or as you make tweaks to the exposure. This not only saves times but is a lot easier than making changes, taking a shot then checking the histogram. 

If the sky's proving to be a problem as it's too light, fit an ND filter to your lens to balance the exposure. Of course, if you're not an early riser and don't fancy heading out after your tea you can use editing software to boost the autumn colours in your shots too.
 

3. Where To Go

The Lakes, Peak District and the Brecon Beacons look particularly impressive during autumn but really you just need to go somewhere that gives you a little bit of height and a few breath-taking views.

 

 

4. White Balance

Switch from auto to cloudy or shade to add an extra level of warmth to your shots that really boosts the autumn shades.

5. Look For Contrast

If you're shooting sweeping shots of a forest canopy from a hillside have a look for spots where the oranges and yellows are broken up with greens. Lower down, shoot at the forest's edge, using the shades of a field to contrast with the orange tones of the forest.

Golden coloured leaves pack some punch when framed against a blue sky but don't dismiss dark skies either as overcast days can give you moody, richer looking images. Rain clouds look great on the horizon and once the rain has passed, colours naturally become more saturated. If there's a breeze blowing have a go at using slower shutter speeds to capture the movement of leaves and branches as they blow in the wind to give your images a more abstract feel.

 

6. Foreground Interest

For sweeping scenic shots, it's important to have foreground detail to add depth and to fill what can be a big empty space in front of the lens. It can also add a sense of scale to a shot but don't fill it too much as your shot will end up looking too busy and it'll be hard for the viewer of your shot to find a single point of focus on.

Large rocks and tree stumps work well as foreground interest or you could try setting up your composition with an object that can lead the eye from the front to the back of the shot. Paths created by walkers, streams, walls, fences and bridges all work well. Just remember to use a small aperture (bigger f-number) such as f/11 to keep front to back sharpness.

If you don't want to shoot wide pick up the telephoto lens and use it to focus on a particular point of interest, using its pulling power to isolate your subject.

Remember: Get out of bed early or be prepared to stay out later if mornings aren't your thing, use foreground interest, keep it simple and think about composition before hitting the shutter button.
 

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The latest winner of our popular daily photography theme which takes place in our forums have been chosen and congratulations go to Mike43 (Day 13 - Stairs & Steps).

 

Daily Theme Runners-Up

If you didn't win this time, keep uploading your images to the daily competition forum for another chance to win! If you're new to the Daily Theme, you can find out more about it in the Daily Theme Q&A. 

Well done to our latest runners-up, too, whose images you can take a look at below.

  Day 9

Bridges In The Landscape

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Day 10

Music Photography

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Day 11

Shopping

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  Day 12

City Skylines

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Day 14

Lights

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Day 15

High-Up

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You’ll find the Daily Themes, along with other great photo competitions, over in our Forum. Take a look to see the latest daily photo contests. Open to all levels of photographer, you’re sure to find a photography competition to enter. Why not share details of competitions with our community? Join the camaraderie and upload an image to our Gallery.

 

When using a tripod on terrain that is rocky, uneven, or hilly, there are a few things that you can do to make sure your tripod is as stable as it can be. Some of these tips may seem like common sense, but they will hopefully help prevent any accidents such as your camera taking a plunge in a river!

 

1. Weight And Load

Before you venture out make sure you're using a tripod that can support the weight of your gear. Also, if you're buying a new tripod and are planning on getting larger heavier lenses in the future do take this into consideration when making your purchase. Look for a light tripod rated for the highest weight as you'll soon notice the weight of your tripod once you're halfway up a wet, uneven hillside. 

 

2. Assess Your Environment

It's always better to be safe than sorry, so make sure that the area is stable enough to stand your tripod on before setting up. If you're working on very rocky terrain or near the edge of a big drop, make sure the tripod is not liable to slip.

It can also take a while to set your tripod up so it's always a good idea to find your location and have some ideas about composition before putting your camera on its support. 

 

3. Legs Before Column

When setting up, extend the legs before extending the centre column. Extending just the centre column is one quick operation and you are ready to shoot, but it is not good technique and can leave you with an unstable base to work with.

 

 

4. Adjust The Legs

Extend the fattest leg section first and keep the thin, spindly legs till last for when you really need the height. Having a wider base to work with is always a wise decision as they are more stable. Many tripods now offer various angle settings that lock at different degrees.

 

5. Ensure Your Tripod Is Level

Many tripods and tripod heads have built-in spirit levels to help you keep the tripod level. If your tripod hasn't, buy a spirit level to fit onto the camera's accessory shoe.

 

6. Position Of Your Tripod's Legs

Point one of the legs towards your subject so you have room for your feet between the two other legs. This will mean you have one less thing you have to worry about falling over when working on tricky terrain. 

 

 

7. What Feet Does Your Tripod Have?

Most tripods have rubber feet which absorb shock and offer good grip, but some do have spiked feet. Spiked feet can be bought as optional accessories or sometimes you can get both types in one. They're particularly useful for outdoor photographers as most of the time you'll end up working on loose soil, dirt, and other surfaces that will be uneven. 

8. Keep It Stable On Windy Days

Some tripods have a hook which you can feature a centre column hook, you can hang a bag of stones or other weighty objects off it to balance the tripod. Another option is to take a heavy camera bag and wrap the strap(s) around the tripod's head to add extra weight. For lighter tripods, use your body as a shield from the wind. Sticking spiked feet into the ground will also help keep the tripod still, they're particularly useful when working at the coast to stop waves knocking your gear into the sea. 

Another option is to use a piece of string or some nylon webbing can add extra stability. Tie one end to the centre column and have the other tied in a loop. Next time in a strong wind, have the string/webbing hanging down and slip your shoe into it and lean down. Your body weight will give extra stability.

   

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