Amateur Photographer - Ken Gilbert

Christmas Gifts Buyers’ Guide
…£50 to £150
In this price bracket we’ve included
darkroom equipment, software,
kit bags and tools to produce
high-quality images and prints
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP
ELEMENTS 8 £75
www.adobe.com
Adobe’s Photoshop Elements is no longer the
poor relation of Photoshop CS4 and the latest
version is hitting the shops now. It offers to
meet your entire image organisation, editing
and sharing requirements.
Elements 8’s easy-to-use Organizer has been
turned into a separate package that also works
with Adobe’s video editor, Premier Elements
8. It allows users to sort images with tags and
keywords, so the images can be found quickly
at a later date. This new version even promises
to recognise individual faces (once you’ve taught
it who is who) and automatically tag pictures of
people appropriately.
The Photomerge feature has been enhanced
with the addition of an Exposure option that allows
elements from up to 20 images with different
exposures to be combined into one composite
image. It’s designed for creating natural-looking
results rather than extreme HDR images. In
addition, content-aware scaling allows scenes
to be fi tted within a preset size or aspect ratio
without distorting or cutting into the main subject.
Look out for our new series all about Photoshop
Elements 8 starting in AP next month.
VANGUARD UP-RISE 48
BACKPACK £119.99
www.vanguardgb.com
A number of great bags have been launched this
year, and the Vanguard Up-Rise 48 is the latest
to impress us. The bag combines the layout of a
standard rucksack with a side-loading camera
pocket in a similar way to a sling bag. This changes
the way the camera and equipment can be
accessed, as the front opens either fully or in two
halves, and the side pocket allows for quick access
to a camera with attached lens. There is a tripod
holder on the side of the bag and a compartment
for a laptop on the rear. Another useful feature
is the bag’s expandable main compartment. By
unzipping around the bottom of this compartment
the bag expands by an inch or so, just like a
suitcase. Capable of holding a larger camera
like a Sony Alpha 900 and 80-400mm lens,
along with two other lenses and accessories, the
Up-Rise 48 is the perfect travel companion.
NOVA DARKROOM KIT
£52.95
www.theimagingwarehouse.com
This kit contains all the hardware you need to
process black & white fi lm and develop the prints.
It’s ideal for passing darkroom skills on to your
children and grandchildren, or developing
your own fi lm and contact sheet.
There are two fi lm spirals, a daylight fi lm
tank capable of processing one 120 roll or
two 35mm fi lms, a thermometer, fi lm clips,
two measuring cylinders, print tongs and a set
of three 10x8in trays. All you need to add are
the chemicals for processing the fi lm and an
enlarger or scanner to start work on making
some enlargements. Perhaps 2010 could
be your year for traditional photography.
PHOTOBOX ACRYLIC
PRINT from £68.49
www.photobox.co.uk
Acrylic prints are a great way of adding a modern,
clean look to any room (including bathrooms and
kitchens) and PhotoBox offers a collection of
different sizes. The diamond-polished acrylic is
8mm thick and comes with four pre-drilled holes
and aluminium wall fi xings. It’s worth noting that
10mm is lost on each side of the image when it is
mounted on acrylic.
46 I www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I 28 November 2009 subscribe 0845 676 7778
www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com
ALL PRICES QUOTED IN THIS FEATURE ARE THE AVERAGE STREET PRICE