DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY NEWS FROM ePHOTOzine

If you want an interesting challenge, head out with your camera and search for numbers and letters or better still, objects that look like numbers and letters. You'll be impressed with how many you'll actually find and when they're put together they can make an interesting panel to hang on your wall. All you need is your camera, a good imagination and some decent weather!

 

What Can I Photograph?

If you're looking for ideas, a lighthouse can be used as a number one, chimneys can look like a number 11 and a traffic light can be a 3 or and E depending on the direction they're facing.

When we say photograph numbers/letters, you can take this literally or you could put your imagination to the test and look for them in places other people wouldn't think to look.

If you have a door number start with that then take a walk up your street and into your town snapping shop signs, adverts and road signs. Make sure you fill the frame with what you find and watch out for reflections and glare bouncing off shiny door numbers.

 

More Ideas 

When you're ready to give your grey cells a bit of a work out start looking for objects that look like numbers and letters. You may need to stand and imagine what the object looks like flipped the other way or crop into a part of it to get the number you're looking for but with a little work with your imagination, you'll soon be on your way. Make sure you take a quick look at what's surrounding your subject as a busy background won't make the number jump out of the frame. Try using a large aperture to throw the background out of focus leaving all attention on your object.

 

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The UK's coastline has many lighthouses which are worth a visit with your camera. Some are open to the public and are definitely worth exploring, but here we discuss using lighthouses within the wider landscape.

 

1. What Kit? 

Take your camera and all your usual lenses and you will not go far wrong. You may find a camera with a smaller body more useful as they can be often fit in jacket pockets or if you prefer to carry your gear in a bag, it'll take up less room leaving space for a flask of tea and your packed lunch! 

A tripod is needed if you intend getting there early or staying in late. Other than that, it is perfectly fine to shoot handheld. Filters are also definitely worth packing, especially the polariser that can be used to cut-down glare to enrich colours and saturate blue skies.

In terms of lenses, wide-angle and telephotos are equally valid. Wides let you use more of the foreground while telephotos let you pull in detail and are also excellent at putting the lighthouse within its environmental context.

 

 

2. Do Your Research 

If you're looking for lighthouses have a look at the Trinity House website for more information and locations close to you. Have a look at where other photographers have visited too, plus a quick online search will find you visitor information as well as GPS coordinates and directions quickly.

Use your feet! Walking around your subject is always advised and is especially effective with using lighthouses. That way you can put your subject into context of the beach or town that the lighthouse is situated.

 

 

3. Time Of Day & Weather

Many lighthouses are still in use so a good time to shoot them is at dawn or at dusk when there is colour in the sky and the lighthouse's lamp is on. Do remember the lamp will be considerably brighter than the whole scene and you can end up with a light that's overexposed if you don't meter correctly. 

At this time of day, there's not much light around so you will need the tripod and a remote release. If you set a sufficiently slow enough shutter speed you will get a complete rotation of the lamp.

Low light and stormy skies shouldn't be overlooked either, particularly if you can capture the waves crashing against the lighthouse or rocks nearby. 

Lighthouses look photogenic in most lighting situations, but bright sun can be tricky because of high contrast problems – white is a popular lighthouse colour. Bland white skies are also an issue for the same reason. Other than that, get shooting.

 

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The right light is an interesting concept. I am a firm believer that there is no such thing as bad weather – only different types of lighting. I get annoyed at the number of articles that say you can only take creative landscape photographs in the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset. To me, that leaves a whole chunk of the day with a camera sitting unused in a bag!

 

It's Wet Out!

Certainly, though, certain subjects work better in particular lighting conditions and when the rain is hammering on my office window I'm fairly happy to be sitting in front of the computer rather than trying to capture landscape photographs! That said, I have been at the side of Buttermere in torrential rain and high winds and still managed to work with the conditions.

Mist and fog also create ideal light for pastel, almost painterly pictures, easily isolating foreground elements from the background; and while these conditions are certainly more prevalent early morning, they can happen at other times. Heavy snowfalls can also create monotoned, isolated elements, even resulting in pen-and-ink style pictures that are perfect for black and white.

 

 

The Sun's Out

When the sun does shine through, make the most of the textures, shadows and lighting angles; and even that doesn't always mean early or late in the day, I have a number of Lake District locations where the sun offers excellent graze lighting, really bringing out the textures of barn walls or dry-stone walls even in the middle of the day.

The best way to know where the sun works best in any location is to know the location well, and photograph it regularly; ideally even knowing which month offers the best elevation as well as the angle of the sun. If you're new to a location check on a map – remembering that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Even Google maps can provide some help if there is a road anywhere near your chosen location. Computer-based maps can give a good idea of the terrain and are sometimes easier to realise the contours than a traditional map.

Certainly early and late in the day offers low lighting angles which can naturally create longer shadows, but to truly reap the benefits, you need to either have side-lighting or even be shooting into the sun.

By all means, plan some of your shots before you go out, but always be ready to adapt to the conditions - don't come back without any photos because the light wasn't exactly what you had planned, but adapt to the lighting that's there. Only by doing that will you train your eyes to see opportunities that otherwise would be so easy to miss.

 

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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 James124 (Day 16- Bridges).

 

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

Stone Circles

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Day 10

Woodland

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Day 11

Creative Flare

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Day 12

Full-Length Portraits

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  Day 13

Stained Glass Windows

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Day 14

Garden Landscapes

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Day 15

Flowers

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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.

    Next time you're at a popular tourist spot, don't get annoyed by people in your landscape shot as when captured the right way, they can actually add interest, create a story and, more importantly, add a sense of scale to an image that will make the person viewing it go 'o, wow!'    1. Landscape With People Vs A Portrait Outdoors Bring a person or a group of people into your landscape shots and they suddenly get a different feel/look about them. But you have to be careful that it doesn't turn into an outdoor portrait where the person is the main focus of the image rather than part of the overall scene.   As you're not shooting an outdoor portrait you don't want to pose your subjects or better still, let them know you're taking their photograph at all. Make sure they're not bothered by you or your camera and are focused on whatever they're doing before you take your shot. For more tips on shooting candidly take a look at our article: Candid photography.

 

 

2. Create A Connection 

An empty shot of a forest or a mountainous landscape may be inspiring and pleasant to look at but if you add people to the shot the viewer can become more connected with the image as the person/people can help create more of a story. A sunset shot with a couple sat to one side of it will feel romantic while a rock climber scaling a cliff wall that's sat in your wide, landscape shot will create a totally different feeling.

 

 

3. Add Scale 

People can also help create a sense of scale within an image, for example, a backdrop of mountains suddenly turn into dominating structures that tower above two walkers or a lake stretches out for miles past a single man out fishing for the day.

 

 

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Westcott has introduced the S18 Mini Flash, a compact and accessible flash for shooters at every level. Weighing just 100 grams, it packs 18Ws of output, a tilting head for bounce flash, and a built-in USB-C rechargeable battery into a pocket-sized package. Small enough to fit in your pocket but powerful enough to get the shot, the S18 is built for photographers who want better light without the hassle.

 

From Lumesca Group:

Westcott, a leading manufacturer of professional photography lighting equipment, announced the launch of the S18 Mini Flash, a compact flash designed to give photographers of all skill levels a simple, affordable way to take better photos when natural light isn’t enough.

The S18 combines a tilting flash head, 19-step manual power control, and a built-in USB-C rechargeable battery into a package that weighs just 100 g and measures 2.4 x 2.1 x 0.9 inches.

The S18 is designed to remove every barrier that keeps photographers from trying flash for the first time. The price, the size, the simplicity — all of it is intentional. We wanted to create something that delivers real results from the very first shot. –  Brandon Heiss, President of Westcott

 

More Light Where You Need It

The S18 delivers 18Ws of flash output with a Guide Number of 16 (ISO 100), producing significantly more light than the built-in flash found on most cameras. Paired with a native sync speed of 1/250s and recycle times ranging from 0.01 to 2.5 seconds, the S18 is ready for indoor portraits, street photography, events, and low-light scenes where available light falls short.

 

Bounce Flash or Direct Flash

The S18’s tilting flash head adjusts from -3° to 72°, giving photographers the option to bounce light off ceilings and walls for softer, more flattering results rather than pointing the flash directly at a subject. Multiple optical slave modes support multi-flash configurations for photographers ready to explore more advanced setups.

 

 

Built-In Battery with USB-C Charging

The S18 features an internal 3.7V 1250mAh lithium battery that delivers up to 500 full-power flashes per charge and recharges via USB-C in approximately 2.5 hours. The S18 also supports charging while in use, eliminating the need for disposable batteries and keeping photographers shooting through long events and sessions.

 

Easy to Control

Simple onboard manual controls and a clear display screen provide quick access to all flash settings. Power adjusts across 19 steps in a 7-stop range (3.0–9.0) with 0.3-stop increments, making it straightforward for beginners to learn flash fundamentals while giving more experienced photographers the precision they expect.

Ready to Shoot, Right Out of the Box

The S18 mounts to most Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fujifilm, Panasonic Lumix, Olympus, and Leica cameras via a universal single-pin hot shoe. The kit includes five colour gels (Diffusion, CTO, 1/2-CTO, Yellow, and Red), a travel case, and a USB charging cable.

 

Availability

The Westcott S18 Mini Flash is available through authorised Westcott retailers and at fjwestcott.com.

    1. What Time Of Day Is Best? 

Early morning or late evening light will highlight textures and warmth to the scene but don't overlook bright days either as strong shadows will make statues and other detail stand out from the walls.

If you wait for the sun to go down have a play around with long exposures and capture the light trails created by traffic as it passes you by. Most DSLRs will happily create shutter speeds of 30 seconds but if you want something a little longer you'll need to switch to the B (bulb) setting. 

If you do use Bulb mode, keep an eye on your battery life as you don't want it to drain before you've captured your shot. Do remember you'll need your tripod and a remote release is handy if you have one.

 

 

2. Should I Use A Wide-Angle Lens? 

If you're shooting on the bridge a wide-angle lens is great for getting interesting foreground detail in the shot. Just remember to use a small aperture so everything in the scene is in focus. A wide is also handy for when you what to shoot the bridge in its surroundings and don't have the space to move back with a telephoto lens. If you can get down to the base of the bridge a wide-angle lens will exaggerate the size of the part closest to you while the distant point of it will look like it's shrinking towards the vanishing point.

If you find you have too much sky and land dominating the landscape shots of your bridges crop in and create a panorama.

 

 

3. When Will A Telephoto Lens Be Useful? 

When you want to isolate detail pick up your telephoto lens. It's also useful for when you have strong lines to work with such as bridge supports.

 

4. What Else Can I Photograph On A Bridge? 

Bridges, particularly old ones, have interesting detail that's worth a shot or two. Signs, supports, nuts, bolts and even rust can make good images.

 

 

5. How Can I Use Bridges Creatively In My Shots? 

You can use the bridges that stretch over roads, canals and rivers to frame whatever landscape sits behind it. Just watch your exposure if you do this as it'll be darker under the bridge than it is on either side so bracket if you need to.

 

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As many flower varieties are currently in bloom, now's a perfect time to explore the art of flower photography. In this article, we take a closer look at why shade's important to a flower photographer and how, with a simple bit of card, a photographer can improve his or her flower shots without too much fuss or extra cost. If you're looking for tips on what kit is good for flower photography, advice on angles to shoot from etc., have a look at ePHOTOzine's technique section where you'll find a section dedicated to 'Flowers and Plants'. 

  Direct sun   Taken in shade

 

Create Your Own Shade

When it comes to flower photography, it's best to avoid the middle of the day when taking shots of flowers but what do you do if you're in a place you can't return to easily, you see an amazing flower and you look up at the sky and see the sun's too high? Do you shake your head in disappointment and leave the flower behind? No. You get your camera out and create your own shade.

The easiest way to do this is move your body until your shadow's over the flower. But only do this if you're taking a close-up. You don't want a shot of a colourful flowerbed with your shadowy outline sticking right out at you. 

If you're a little more organised and have room in your bag or car to carry some helpful photography props there are a few you can take. Reflectors and diffusers are the obvious choices, but a cheaper option would be a piece of card, cloth or towel. Just remember you need something or someone to hold these up or you could do this yourself and put the camera on a self-timer. Make sure your shade-creator is a neutral colour too otherwise your image will have a slight colour cast.   Left: No shade. Right: With shade.     Create Your Own Backgrounds

If you like shooting blooms on location, you need to consider the background very carefully. Out of focus highlights and objects like fence posts, wheelie bins and people can easily ruin your pictures even with judicious depth-of-field control. Getting around the problem is potentially very simple. Not only that, but you can be creative too.

You can use something purpose-made like a reflector or a store-bought background or create your own from a print or a sheet of card.

Sheets of coloured card work fine but stay away from glossy finishes because there could be reflection problems. Matt, single-coloured card works fine, but you can also be more imaginative and paint or print your own using your photo printer.

To help with keeping the background blurred, produce a blurred background in the first place so you do not have to worry about aperture choice so much when you come to shooting.

Your 'background' does not have to be big either. If you are shooting macro studies, a sheet of A4-size card will do nicely.

 

 

Please do note that this approach will not be welcomed everywhere so please do not roll up to an award-winning garden and start setting up your background system. It's also worth remembering that not all botanic gardens allow the use of tripods or at least have restrictions on use so you need to check this before you head off in search of a potential subject. If you plan on sticking to public gardens, heathlands or even your own garden, you won't have to worry. 

How you work with your background is up to you. With macro work, it is possible to handhold your camera and the card background behind the subject but it is not comfortable, nor is it great technique. You'll also need faster shutter speeds and focusing can be a challenge. As a result, it's much easier to use a tripod so you can hold the background a little way behind the subject much more easily. If you have a spare tripod or a lighting stand, use that to hold the background in place.

When composing your images just make sure the background fills your viewfinder frame – or at least enough of your subject to allow cropping.
 

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Samsung Electronics today introduced its new T7 and T9 microSD Cards, expanding the company’s removable storage lineup designed for distinct user needs. Built on Samsung’s storage expertise, the new microSD Cards reinforces brand recognition through a more intuitive naming structure and refined design, strengthening the competitiveness of Samsung's Removable Storage.

The T7 microSD Card is an everyday expandable storage for light gamers, intermediate creators and daily users who continue to accrue data across their devices. With massive capacities of up to 1TB, read speeds of up to 170MB/s, and extensive compatibility, the T7 microSD Card is designed to support daily storage needs across devices such as smartphones, laptops, tablets and handheld gaming consoles, delivering a simple and dependable way to expand everyday storage.

The T9 microSD Card is built for users who require relentless performance, such as gaming enthusiasts and professional creators who handle large data files and performance-intensive workloads. Featuring read speeds of up to 200MB/s and 6-proof protection for reliability and broad compatibility, the T9 microSD Card is designed to help users transfer large files quickly and work with confidence, especially on performance-driven devices such as drones and action cameras, as well as smartphones, laptops, tablets and handheld gaming consoles.

 

 

With the launch of T7 and T9 microSD cards, as well as the P9 Express, Samsung is evolving its removable storage portfolio from the previous microSD range—comprising of the EVO Plus, PRO Plus, and PRO Ultimate—into a streamlined lineup to unify the brand identity and align the brand experience across Samsung’s removable storage portfolio. The 'T' lineup signifies 'Trustworthiness' and 'P' for 'Peace of Mind,' highlighting the ample storage and powerful performance of Samsung’s removable storage offerings. The rebranding is expected to enhance consumer clarity, allowing for more intuitive and informed product selections based on specific user requirements.

The Samsung T7 microSD Card is offered in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB options, while the T9 microSD is offered in 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB. Manufacturer's suggested retail prices for T7 microSD Card (MSRP) are set at £52.39 for the 128GB, £81.99 for the 256GB, £164.19 for 512GB and £303.29 for the 1TB model. T9 microSD Card starts at £60.89 for the 128GB, £96.59 for the 256GB and £193.29 for the 512GB model, available to consumers from April 14, 2026. Availability may vary by market.