Page 7 - Amateur Photographer - August 5, 2017

New Books

The latest and best books from the
world of photography. By Oliver Atwell © MARKUS VARESVUO

The Laowa Magic Shift Converter acts as a lens adapter
Laowa turns ultra-wide

angles into shift s

CHINESE horizontally relative to The Laowa MSC is
manufacturer Venus the sensor. available to pre-order from Birds in Pictures
Optics, creator of the With converging verticals www.laowalens.co.uk for by Markus Varesvuo, New Holland, £30,
Laowa line of lenses, has and perspective distortions £299, with stock for both 384 pages, hardback, ISBN: 978-1921517952
unveiled the Laowa Magic particularly diffi cult to avoid the Canon and Nikon FOR years, Markus Varesvuo was, like
Shift Converter (MSC) for when shooting buildings variants listed as being due many of us, trapped in the drudgery of a
use with Sony full-frame such as skyscrapers, lenses at the end of July. nine-to-fi ve life. However, back in 2005
E-mount cameras – with good shift capabilities The MSC will be the he made the decision to focus his
specifi cally for the Laowa are often prized by fi rst in the Magic attention on the hobbies that had
12mm f/2.8 Zero-D in its architecture and interior Converter family to be become his true passions: birdwatching and
Canon and Nikon versions. photographers. available to consumers. photography. Since then, Varesvuo has been slowly
As the name implies, the By applying the MSC, the Venus Optics had
idea of the MSC is to act as 12mm f/2.8 Zero-D previously announced building an impressive portfolio of work, and in this book
we see the results of years spent trudging through the
a lens adapter that becomes a 17mm f/4 the Laowa Magic Format wilderness. Birds in Pictures is Varesvuo’s personal
effectively turns an Zero-D lens with +/-10mm Converter which uses taxonomy of European birdlife. It benefi ts hugely from
ultra-wideangle lens into a shift capability. According the same optics system the fact that the photographer has set himself such a
shift lens without causing to Venus Optics, when – this time to fi t a stringent parameter. By focusing on European birds,
vignetting to occur. It does tested at maximum shift full-frame lens onto a Varesvuo is able to offer a solid and thorough survey of
this by optically expanding the lens exhibited no GFX medium-format the birds that are right on our doorstep. Varesvuo is
the image circle of the vignetting and there was body without vignetting therefore able to present a clear and well-researched
lens, allowing it to be no noticeable drop in its – but it isn’t due until later account of Europe’s fascinating feathered subjects. It’s a
shifted vertically or performance. in the year.
lovely book and one well worth the attention of any
budding ornithologists. +++++
AP reader takes a diff erent view

I Know Not These My Hands
AP reader Brian Dion has developed
a way to get close to the ground for by Sarah Cooper and Nina Gorfer, Kehrer,
those impractical shots – the Slingpod. £39.70, 416 pages, hardback, ISBN: 978-
He has built a system for taking 3868287783
pictures that might otherwise prove SARAH Cooper and Nina Gorfer, an
diffi cult, by placing the camera on a plate artist duo, are a pair whose primary
that can then be lowered safely down to objective is to highlight issues of cultural
ground level and triggered with a remote identity through a series of projects that
release. Inspiration struck a few years combine multiple methods and
ago. ‘I wrapped a remote cable around aesthetics. In this utterly gorgeous book
my lens and held both camera strap and the pair has created a deeply affecting meditation and
remote switch in one hand and got some exploration of northwestern Argentina. The book
really good shots,’ he writes. consists of a collection of interviews and ethereal
Dion hopes that the Slingpod will help portraits, all of which look into the ideas of identity,
older people or those with wheelchairs colonialism, forced migration and political
wanting to shoot closer to the ground. displacement, all big topics for the historically troubled
For more on this ingenious system visit region. The portraits are seriously captivating, perhaps
www.briandionphotos.com. Brian Dion’s Slingpod in action some of the best examples of the genre so far this
year, and the publisher, Kehrer, has done an admirable
For the latest news visit www.amateurphotographer.co.uk job of presenting them in the best light. This is a
beautiful book. +++++

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