Photography News issue 26

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

Camera Club of the Year IN ASSOCIATIONWITH

Masterclass: Low light David Noton Canon ambassador and landscape shooter David Noton dishes out advice to help you and your club take home the top prize. For his first masterclass, we turn the lights down low

David’s kit for low light

Canon EOS-1DX The low-light capabilities of this pro DSLR are formidable. Generally speaking cameras with high pixel

densities are less capable at high ISOs than ones with big sensors with fewer pixels.

Canon EF 85mmf/1.2L If you’re into travel portraiture in dark huts or markets (as I am!) this lens is the tool for you. The combination of the fast f/1.2 maximum aperture with a camera like the EOS-1D X enables me to shoot hand-held in the darkest alleyway.

Gitzo 3542 Shooting under the night sky requires a good stable tripod you can trust;

compromising on your legs is always a bad move.

With his camera in hand, David Noton has travelled the world to find and capture some of the most breathtaking views. From the Yorkshire Dales to the French Pyrenees to Nepal, David’s photo albums make for envy-inducing viewing. He started off capturing on film and one of the great liberations he’s found with shooting digital is the ability to take his camera into the darkest corners or out into the starry night and come back with pictures that are astonishing and worth every bit as much as those taken in daylight. “When I’m travelling now, I know I can walk into the dingiest dwelling in Burma lit only by candlelight and still be able to make worthwhile pictures of the inhabitants,” says David, speaking of the benefits of working with his Canon kit. And your kit is everything when it comes to making low-light photos shine. “To make an image in low light, we either need a long exposure with the camera locked off on a tripod or a camera capable of super high ISO setting, sometimes, as is the case with night sky photography, both.”

sensor comes a tripod and a torch. “Fast lenses with wide maximum apertures are also handy, enabling evocative portraits for example to be made in the dimmest of light,” he says. “My EF 85mm f/1.2L and EF 35mm f/1.4L are particularly useful in this regard.” One late night shoot in Argentina at Iguassu Falls particularly stands out in his mind as one of the most memorable experiences shooting in the dark. “I was on the lip of the gorge with my heart in my mouth and the water roaring all around me in the darkness all night until dawn,” he recalls. “It was a truly awe-inspiring experience. I’ll never forget that night as long as I live.” Youdon’t have to travel far though to capture something amazing after hours, the key is just getting out there and having a go. “I’d urge readers to experiment and push the boundaries using the evocative low light to be found in the shadows of life, under twilight and at night for landscapes, cityscapes, wildlife, even portraits.”

Taking pictures in low light is not an easy task, but the results aremore than worth putting in the time and effort to achieve. “Making pictures in total darkness takes considerable planning, meticulous preparation and skilled camera craft, but that’s all part of the fun,” he explains. Knowing your equipment inside out is one of the most crucial factors in getting low-light photography right, something that’s come naturally to David with his Canon EOS-1DX and EOS 5DMark II, both of which he praises for achieving “amazing image quality” even at sky high ISO settings. “I often use an ISO setting as high as 12,800 to capture a night sky,” he begins. “When I consider that I used to think of ISO 400 as high, that’s pretty incredible. Of course the downside to high ISO settings is noise, that gritty grainy look which can spoil a picture, but then again if it’s the price of capturing an image or not, I’d always opt for raising the ISO and going for it.” For his must-have kit list on a darkened shooting trip, after a camera with a super-sensitive

A practical and inspirational guide from behind the lens of an internationally recognised landscape and travel photographer, Photography in the Raw examines the fundamentals of how to improve as a photographer; how to read the light, be in the right place at the right time and make the most of a situation to produce the best picture possible. Photography in the Rawby David Noton

Head torch It goes without saying, setting a shot up in the pitch black is not easy so a torch is a must. I keep mine permanently in my camera bag.

Above left A lady, Inle Lake, Myanmar, Burma. Canon EOS-1D X and 85mm f/1.2L, 1/640sec at f/1.2, ISO 800. Above right The Milky Way over the Sierra Nevada from Hanging Rock, Sequoia National Park, California, USA. Canon EOS- 1D X and 14mm f/2.8L, 20secs at f/4, ISO 12,800.

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