iJourneys

John Gough Photography

David Hurn in Conversation

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I have for a long time been a fan of David Hurn’s work. In many ways, he is the photographer’s photographer. This is because he cares so deeply about the medium, and is so anxious to encourage anyone who wants to seriously point a camera.

I first came across his work when I saw a BBC Two documentary: A Life in Pictures, which I have included above.

I also have a gallery of his work here.

Hurn is a massively successful photographer and a founder member of Magnum. In 2017, Hurn gifted two collections of photographs to the National Museum Wales; approximately 1,500 of his own photographs that span his sixty-year career as a documentary photographer; and approximately 700 photographs from his private collection of ‘swaps’, which he has compiled throughout the course of his career. 

I have been reading, On Being a Photographer, A Practical Guide, written by Bill Jay. A conversation between him and his friend David Hurn.

On Being a Photographer

I have curated some quotes from Hurn, that are in the book and that should inspire any serious photographer.

“My advice is: learn from the best or teach yourself. And do not bother at all if you do not have an exaggerated sense of curiosity.”

For David, photography is inextricably linked with life; the photographer is not invisibly behind the camera but projecting a life-attitude through the lens to create an interference pattern with the image.

“just wandering around looking for pictures, hoping that something will pop up and announce itself, does not work. Sorry about that, photographers, if it offends your fantasy of how a photographer behaves!”

“The photographer must have intense curiosity, not just a passing visual interest, in the theme of the pictures. This curiosity leads to intense examination, reading, talking, research and many, many failed attempts over a long period of time”.

“The best pictures, for me, are those which go straight into the heart and the blood, and take some time to reach the brain”.

“In all cases the pressing of the button is a reasonably continuous process, because you never know if the next fraction of a second is going to reveal an even more significant, poignant, visually stronger image than the previous one”.

“frames build up to a crescendo where a gesture, expression, or arrangement of shapes, signal that the image is captured — or the sequence abruptly ends because the event has collapsed”.

“Then someone who knows little about this way of working will see a single image, say in a book or at an exhibition, and think: that was a lucky shot!”

“Josef Koudelka who was shooting pictures around my cabin. I couldn’t understand what he was seeing, as the images seemed to have no connection with his known work. He said: “I have to shoot three cassettes of film a day, even when not ‘photographing,’ in order to keep the eye in practice.” That made sense. An athlete has to train every day although the actual event occurs only occasionally”.

The book is full of good advice and does not pretend that photography is easy and that anyone can do it.

Canon RF 24-240mm Lens Review of Reviews

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Canon RF 24-240mm
Canon RF 24-240mm

Canon announced the Canon RF 24-240mm lens in July, for launch in September 2019. This lens is for the latest RF full frame mirrorless cameras like the Canon EOS R and Canon EOS RP. It sounds like an amazing lens, with ten times zoom, and five stop image stabilisation. This could be a lens that covers all bases and will end up being glued to your camera.

Specification

Before going on to the reviews lets look at the spec’

  • 10x zoom
  • Dynamic Image Stabilization rated to five stops
  • Maximum aperture f4-6.3
  • Nano USM autofocus. What’s that?
  • Approximate weight of 750 grams/26.4 ounces
  • Customisable control ring to adjust exposure compensation, shutter speed, aperture or ISO
  • No weather sealing
  • 21 lens elements in 15 groups including.
  • 12-pin communication system
  • Lens hood included

Reviews

How good is it though? It is not an L lens, so it is not the best quality lens that Canon can manufacture. However, Canon claims that the lens is RF quality because the new mount and flange distance provide Canon with new optical opportunities.

Only now are reviewers getting hold of the lens and putting it through some tough testing.

Digital Camera Review

This review gave this lens 5 stars.

Key Points

  • ‘exploits the new RF lens mount width and flange distance and Canon’s latest lens technologies to meet new, higher standards of performance’. 
  • ‘Canon is also very excited about this lens’s 5-stop image stabilisation system. The ‘steadying’ effect is very visible in the viewfinder, though in practice we found it no better or worse than most other stabilisers’.
  • The lens relies heavily on digital correction. Uncorrected raw files show the corners clipped by vignetting. This is corrected in camera for JPEGs. Canon however, has not yet incorporated correction data into its raw files, and so requires fixing using Adobe Camera Raw.
  • ‘Is digital correction cheating? Well, if it means we get lenses and results that wouldn’t otherwise be possible, we say it’s all fair’. 
  • This lens is reliant on both digital and optical correction to reach its full potential,  but Olympus and Fuji have been doing this for years with their lenses 

Christopher Fox Photography

Christopher is an urbane English guy. This is his review:

Key Points

  • Is this really a budget lens when priced at £$900?
  • The Nano USM autofocus is quick and accurate
  • The build is plastic but solid
  • The focus and control ring are interchangeable
  • Images are sharp in the centre but softer in the corners.
  • Distortion and vignetting is apparent but handled well by the in camera software.
  • Close up images are sharp and can be shot as close as 75cm.
  • Conclusion: this is a mediocre lens optically improved by the camera software

Testing the New Canon RF 24-240mm Over Three Weeks in Pakistan

This review from PetPixel by Martin Bissig a Canon Ambassador who took the lens on a trip through the rugged terrain of Pakistan.

Key Points

  • ‘it was the image quality that surprised me the most: for a lens of this size and weight, I was expecting lower imaging capabilities’.
  • ‘It’s a good and practical compromise between size, weight, quality and zoom range. If you travel a lot and are not a fan of changing lenses, the 24-240mm lens is ideal, provided you already have a Canon mirrorless camera or you’re ready to make that leap’.
  • Cons are weather sealing, wide apertures and no lens hood.

Conclusion

There was a time when professional photographers would not use telephoto lenses. They just used prime lenses. However as quality improved, there is now not a professional photographer who has not got one in their bag.

There is currently a similar disenchantment with superzooms. What press photographer would not want to use a superzoom rather than have multiple cameras hanging around their necks.

Times change. A smartphone can take superb images, but it does not have a Canon L lens, it has a tiny lens which has it’s shortcomings overcome by the clever software built into the phone.

Why then should Canon not do the same with this full frame superzoom? Superzoom lenses are fantastically convenient, but notoriously difficult to build. As a result Canon have taken a leaf out of Apple, Samsung and Hauwie’s playbook and made a good lens a great lens with the addition of algorithms.

Wait for the professionals to join us amateurs, when they realise glass is not everything.

John Gough ARPS

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I am delighted to report that I have been awarded an Associate distinction by the Royal Photographic Society. I am now an ARPS!

My submission was in the travel category, which required me to submit a panel of fifteen photographs on a travel theme. I chose to do mine about Cambridge.

The panel is judged by five experts, who are usually Fellows of the society. They assess the panel based on a statement of intent.

Statement of Intent

My statement of intent was:

Cambridge is an easy city to cover on foot. Most sights are within easy walking distance, and much of the central area is traffic-free. The footpaths and pavements provide the best view of the universities, the river and the Backs. It is also possible to access many of the famous colleges and landmarks, such as Kings College Chapel.

My panel is a meander in and around the colleges of Cambridge, capturing some of the architecture, heritage and atmosphere of this famous seat of learning.

Cambridge Travel Panel

The panel is shown above. The images are available here.



Camera Wrist Strap

I have avoided dropping my camera so many times using a simple inexpensive wrist strap like this one. Cameras and expensive lenses do not bounce!

UK

USA



Marketa Luskacova

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Marketa Luskacova
Marketa Luskacova

There is now an exhibition by Marketa Luskacova at the Martin Parr Foundation in Bristol entitled By the Sea and I encourage you to visit.

Marketa Luskakova is a Czech documentary photographer, whose wonderfully gritty observation of humanity shows through in the cold tones of her black and white images. You can see her work on her website and I have collated some North East images here, and there are more on her website here and here.

Have You Seen This ….. Martin Parr in Conversation

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This is an interesting video of Martin Parr talking to a group of students. It is a few years old now but worth a view. It is very short.

If you are not familiar with Martin Parr’s work then this is my Pinterest Board

Three things to take away from what he says:

  1. First take a lot of crap photographs, without taking the crap you will never get to the good.
  2. Connect with your subject. The only difference between your photograph and that of someone else is the quality of that connection.
  3. The connection, however, has to be so powerful that the photograph will stand on its own. Does it talk to us without you being in the room?

Here is more of his work. If you want to understand the meaning of connection then look through this book.

 

 

Canon EOS R Setup

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Canon EOS R

The Canon EOS R is a camera that can be customised precisely for the type of photography that you enjoy. The setup here is for general photography but it can easily be tweaked towards the photography that you do most. As an example, I have set my own camera up for street photography and saved it as a preset. All will be explained in this guide to the Canon EOS R setup for the everyday photography of places, things, and people.

The settings described are in the Menu.

First

Format the Card

It is worthwhile getting into the habit of reformatting the card every time you use it. Getting rid of all the data reduces the risk of data corruption.

WRENCH 1> Format Card

Canon EOS R Menu

Most menu settings can remain as set by Canon when the camera left the factory. These are the settings I would change:

Starting Out

Image Type

Shooting in RAW gives the utmost flexibility in post production, but if you are not into that, shoot in JPEG. I set the camera up for both..

CAMERA 1> Image Quality> CRAW + S1

Power Saving

ECO Mode does not seem to slow the camera down so set.

WRENCH 2>ECO mode> On

Shooting Settings

I prefer not to have a view of the picture I have just taken appear in the viewfinder. It slows down shooting speed, so I disable this feature:

CAMERA 1> Image Review> Off

It is an easy mistake to make to go out without a card installed. To prevent shooting your best pictures ever, and then realising that they have not been recorded.

CAMERA 1>Release Shutter Without Card> Off

Auto Focus

There are two autofocus modes that can be set in AF 1. ONE SHOT AF where the camera focusses and locks on the subject and SERVO where the camera continually refocusses on a moving subject. A convenient way to shift between the two is to use the M-Fn button to the left of the shutter button.

Continuous AF

When switched on the camera is continually refocusing so that when you come to take the picture it is already in focus before the shutter is pressed. This means that it is working when the camera is just being held.

There seems no need because the focus works instantaneously when the shutter is pressed.

AF 1> Continuous AF> Disable

AF Method

AF 1> If you want to use the face and eye detect features on the camera then set to Tracking. Personally, I do not. Instead I set to AF 1> AF method> 1-Point AF which has more flexibility for all sorts of photography.

Eye Tracking

AF 1> Eye Detection AF> Enable (NB has to be set to Tracking)

Touch Screen AF

Use the screen to move the AF point. With a bit of practice, it works great just using your thumb.

AF 1> Touch and drag AF settings> Touch and drag AF> Enable

AF 1> Touch and drag AF settings> Positioning method> Relative

AF 1> Touch and drag AF settings> Active touch area> Btm left (depends which eye you use and need to avoid your nose changing the AF position)

Useful Tips

Drive Mode

I leave the camera in Single Shot but if you need to change to Self Timer or Continuous shutter release then the quickest route is via the M-Fn button to the left of the shutter button.

Vertical Finder Display

The information in the EVF will rotate if the Canon EOS R is held vertically.

WRENCH 4> Shooting info disp> VF vertical display> ON

Grid in Viewfinder

I find a grid in the viewfinder useful for composing. I am always trying to shoot those thirds. 

WRENCH 4> Shooting info disp> Grid display> 3×3

Using Non-Canon Lenses

To use other branded lenses with the Canon EOS R adapter.

CUSTOM 5> Release shutter w/o lens> ON

Beep on Focus

Do you want to let everyone know that the camera has focused? Probably not.

WRENCH 3> Beep> Disable

Setting Custom Buttons and Dials

Control Ring

The ring on EOS lenses and the EF lens adaptor is a useful feature. As it is possible to see in the viewfinder the effect of different exposure values so I set to Exposure Compensation.

CUSTOM 4>Customize dials> Control ring> Exposure compensation ( hold meter btn)

M-Fn Bar

This control is controversial, some people find it OK others hate it. It might be OK when I get used to it. I have it set for ISO

CUSTOM 4> Customize M-Fn bar> ISO

Save Settings

To save these settings WRENCH 6> Custom Shooting Mode (C1-C3)> Register Settings> Custom shooting mode> Register camera settings to Custom shooting mode> OK.

Winner: RPS Monthly Competition May 2019

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It was this Big! /John Gough / Canon EOS M

This picture was one of the winners of the RPS Monthly Competition in May 2019. It will appear in the RPS Journal in July. I was asked to write a few comments:

I live close to Bedford and originally started taking pictures of people in the town to participate in an exhibition a few years ago. I have continued this theme as a project.

These three ladies were chatting away, waiting for a bus. I just loved their expressions and can only guess at what they were talking about.

I used a Canon EOS M3 which is a small and inconspicuous camera. The flip out screen and wide angle lens meant that I could get in close and shoot at their level.

Canon EOS R Street Photography Set Up

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New Baby / John Gough / Canon EOS R

 

I like street photography because you can walk out of your front door and start taking pictures. Well, that’s not true because where I live in a village in the UK, there are not that many people about. Unless it is the day of the village fete or harvest festival. Anyway a short drive away, there are streets, people and loads of photo opportunities. On the face of it, the Canon EOS R is not an obvious choice as a street camera, but on closer examination, it is right on the button. So what are the Canon EOS R street credentials?

Canon EOS R Street: Lens

Prime lenses are ideal for street photography, they are generally smaller and lighter than zoom lenses and usually have wider apertures. As a result, there is no need to ramp up the ISO to avoid a blurry shot or too narrow depth of field.

Zoom lenses also make you feel furtive and more like a sniper than a photographer. So a 35mm lens is ideal. It is probably the most used street lens there is. Wide enough to capture detail from the right distance, and so as long as you have the nerve to shoot close up it is ideal. Otherwise, try a 50mm lens.

It just so happens that Canon has a lovely 35mm lens designed especially for this camera. It is the Canon RF 35mm f1.8 Macro STM Lens.

I waxed lyrically about this lens here. The EOS R and this lens make a consummate camera combination. Small enough so that finding the shutter button does not involve keyhole surgery, and compact and light enough to carry all day.

Remember mixing it in the street can easily knock the camera from your hands, so take my advice and use a wrist strap. This is what I use:

Canon EOS R Street: View

Canon EOS R Flippy Screen

An articulated screen is now almost a must for street photography. OK, Cartier Bresson did not have one, but we no longer use film either. An articulated screen has two advantages. Firstly, you can shoot from the hip, which is a far more hip vantage point than eye level. Secondly, lifting the camera to your eye is like shouting your intent to take a photograph. Using a discrete flip out screen is far more incognito.

The Canon flippy screen is especially good for this. It opens outward so that the screen is just left of the camera. A picture can be taken by just touching the screen, and using the electronic shutter rather than the mechanical one makes this camera completely silent. Your finger does not even have to go near the shutter release, and there is no sound.

Canon EOS R Street: Set Up

Most street photographers would normally recommend P or Programmed Automatic for street photography. You can set the ISO and then the camera will calculate the best combination of aperture and shutter speed. This works well most of the time, but there is a Perito Principle at work here. Usually, 80% of images are passable and around 20% result in some motion blur or lack depth of field. Fortunately, on the Canon EOS R there is Fv mode, which is a customisable P mode.

Fv Mode

Fv mode is like Programmed Automation but it is possible to switch between the shutter speed, aperture, ISO and white balance, in the viewfinder, using just the top mode dial. Change any one value, and the others change automatically. This is massively quicker than manually changing the mode from Av, Tv, P, etc. Just do it in camera. This is ideal for street shots, where there is no time to fiddle with the camera, and any fiddling would just draw attention to yourself.

Touch Screen Shooting

To enable a touch screen shutter release. CAMERA 5> Touch Shutter> Enable> Use the icon on the screen to toggle between  ON / OFF (the camera will focus on the area touched)

Silent Shooting

To silent beeps when focussing etc: WRENCH 3> Beep> Disable

To enable the electronic shutter: CAMERA 6> Silent Shutter> Enable

Focus Beam

To disable the focus beam that assists focus in low light: AF 4>AF assist beam firing> OFF

Save Settings

To save these settings WRENCH 6> Custom Shooting Mode (C1-C3)> Register Settings> Custom shooting mode> Register camera settings to Custom shooting mode> OK.

Not the Obvious Choice

So this camera is not a Leica M10 which many purists would see as de rigeur for this type of work. No, this camera is better than that.

Where I Buy

I buy my equipment from Wex because of their exceptional customer service. I once returned a camera after 30 days, and the next day they called to return my money to my account. Their prices are always competitive and they offer good prices on the trade in of your used gear


Photo London 2019

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Photo London 2019 / John Gough / Canon EOS R

As a photographer going to an exhibition by Don McCullin or Martin Parr is uplifting and inspirational. What though if you could see the best work from hundreds of great photographers in one place. That would be amazing, and that is what Photo London which is now on at Somerset House in London delivers. Art dealers from around the world, gather to sell prints from the best photographers in the world.

Collectors can be seen buying photography at phenomenal prices. Not yet quite the price of paintings by the greatest, but obviously photography is now a sound investment. It has taken a long time but photography is now part of the art mainstream, as demonstrated by the partnership of Elton John and David Furnish with the V&A. 

If you get a chance go to Photo London it is on for another couple of days

The Joy of Bokeh

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bokeh

May Morning / John Gough / Canon 6D

At 7 am the morning the sun was up and flashing at a near horizontal angle through the trees. The temperature was a bit fresh, but in my local country park,  the opportunity to photograph wildlife, plants, flowers and trees was everywhere.

Blur were right:

 …morning soup can be avoided if you take a route straight through what is known as Parklife

but for me, it was not just blur but the joy of bokeh.