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Audio and 'Easy emair Movie Function plus a MB SO Card. Just £ 499.99 DiiyVlGE F 300 www.dimage.minollti com DigitalCamera Jmogozine ^ MEET YOUR TEAM. Rob Mead Acting Editor Rob's been writing about technology for the past eight years, his work having appeared in T3, Digital Home, The Mail On Sunday and FHM Andrea Thompson Deputy Editor Andrea is the newest member of our team. She is a trained photographer and has worked on photography magazines for several years Ed Davis Our award-winning digital darkroom expert has years of commercial photography experience and is a member of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals Tim Daly Photographer and writer Tim is one of the UK's leading digital photography experts.

He's written numerous books on the subject and his photographs have been exhibited across Europe Steve Bavister Photographer and editor Steve is one of the UK's best-known photographic writers, having edited and published Practical Photography in the past. He now writes for a variety of photography mags Derek Lea Digital artist and contributor to the New Masters of Photoshop.

Derek has one numerous awards for his work and has written this month's Photo Surrealism project.Aidan O'Rourke Technical expert Aidan is a contributor to the Manchester Evening News. He lectures on digital photography around the UK Mark Harris Photographer and journalist Mark has been writing about photography for over ten years and has performed product testing duties at both Which and T3.

This month he looks at web photo album software ^ ISSUE 7 ON SALE 10TH APRIL STARTHERE Welcome. O he arrival of spring is always a welcome sight for photographers. After months cooped up at home, we can finally venture outdoors and explore the riot of colour and new life that surrounds us. This month's cover feature gives you the inside track on making the most of the opportunities that spring brings, from shooting outdoor portraits to capturing extreme close-ups using your digital camera's macro capabilities. Try out the technigues explored on page 16 and I'm confident that you won't be disappointed with the results. Don't forget we'd love to see any pictures you take - simply email them to gallery.dcm@futurenet.co.uk and we'll print our favourites in the next issue.

Elsewhere in the mag you'll find plenty of tips and technigues for improving your photos, from basic composition, exposure and lighting problems (page 79) to enhancing your images post-shoot using Photoshop, Photoshop Elements and Paint Shop Pro (page 57). And if you fancy posting your pics on the web for your friends and relations to see, we've tested eight web photo album packages that'll help you simplify the whole process (page 41). Throughout the issue you'll also notice that we've introduced key links to our website at www.dcmag.co.uk, where you can find out more information about a particular topic, post your own reviews or even join one of the many online discussions in our forum. And don't forget that if you have a comment about either the magazine or the website, please email us at the address below. We'd love to hear from you.

All the best. ■ Rob Mead, Acting Editor ^ditor.dcm@futurenet.couF Our promise to our readers We will show you how to capture and create better pictures, give clear, independent buying recommendations on the latest kit, and deliver two CDs or one DVD packed with the best PC software. ■ We use boxes, tips, quick fixes, quality photography, walkthroughs and diagrams to show you how to improve your photographic and image-editing skills ■ We have a cast-iron policy of editorial independence. All our kit is reviewed as- sold. We discourage our journalists from accepting gifts from advertisers.

■ We welcome your opinions on the magazine, ideas for articles, photography, thoughts and questions. Send them in today - see the email addresses below. We want your letters, ideas, photography, articles, tips and more! Write in today to the following areas: ■ Issues with your discs jsupport2@futurenet.co.ukl ■ Your letters jetters.dcm@futurenet.co.uk j ■ Photos for our galleries ballerv.dcm@futurenet.co.uk I ■ Events, ideas, places to visit betuDQo.dcm@futurenet.co.uk I ■ Camera/photo help and advice belD.dcm@futurenet.co.uk I ■ Articles/ideas for publication bditor.dcm@futurenet.co.uk I ■ Visit our website today! Www.digitalcameramagazine.co.uk ■ Customer services/subscriptions customerservice@futurenet.co.ul: THIS ISSUE WE: SHOW YOU HOW TO. FULLThumbsPlus 3.3 (PC) DEMO Photoshop 7 (Mac) DEMO Deneba Canvas 8 (Mac) PLUS all the software on the CD edition discs!

TAKE BETTER PICTURES Capturing the natural world this spring! P16 Using light and shadow p16 Choosing the best angles! P16/17 Faking abstract shots! P18 Photographing flowers!

P19 Making the most of spring colours p19 Close focusingl p20 Photographing birdsi p20 Springtime portraitsi p21 Avoiding common photo mistakes p80 Using Macro lenses for close up shots p82 Exposure controll p84 Image diffusioni p85 Faking professional portrait photos p86 IMPROVE YOUR IMAGE-EDITING SKILLS Using Photoshop to create a surreal image p58 Restore a ripped/stained photoj p64 Correcting flash errors in Elements p68 Using Photoshop filters! P70 Simple 3D effects in Paint Shop Pro p72 Making people look younger in Paint Shop Pro p74 USE YOUR PC BETTER Bitmap, PEG and TIEF image files explainedi p90 Converting image files! P91 Freeware image-editing tools onilnel 2li Tour questions answerej g84 Using watercolour paper for printsi YOUR PHOTOS 8 LEHERS Trailblazersl p48 fOLD-OUTSECrioil AFTER PAGE 66 North Yorkshire's monastic trail pay in the lifj iViewfindej p50 253 The gothic glory of Whitby Abbey The magic of Cape Cornwall Steam engines HOTSHOTSTURNOVER OFFERS iSubscribell Taking silhouette photos p76 lUpqrade your softwarel p95 DEALER BANK iSuppliersI Every issue, we print the best digital photography we can find. Turn over now and see some of the shots that have inspired us this issue. P92 p94 A A A p1 02-11 9 DIGITAL CAMERA MAGAZINE 007 CD Eyewitness 02/ WIRED ICE Faye White / ' took this shot when wire, which is used to keep leaves from falling into a garden fountain basin, became encased in ice.' FujiFilm S2 Pro w www.pbase.com/fayewhite 03 ^ LIFEGUARD STATION Richard Hughes / 'Taken on New Brighton Beach, Merseyside.' Nikon D100 e richypix@hotmail.com REFLEQIONS Colin Spencer / 'Taken in the Dordogne, France.'

Nikon CoolPix 5700 e crs@greatoaks.fsworld.co.uk TUMBLING (II) June Marie Sobrito / Minolta Dimage 7:© Eyewitness DIGITAL CAMERA MAGAZINE 009! Ae ond my camera Eyewitness 010 DIGITAL CAMERA MAGAZINE 01 y ICE HOCKEY Nikon D1, 80-200 lens at f2.8/250 shutter speed 03/ LIZARD / Nikon D1, 17-35 lens up against a reptile tank 02/ SARAH / Nikon D1, super wide-angle lens, fill-in flash 04y/ FLOODS / Nikon D1, 80-200 lens on 2,000sec shutter speed JAMES WILSON James started his career as a professional photographer after working as an assistant to a fashion photographer in Italy. On his return to the UK, he worked as a press photographer for a local newspaper. James's career soon progressed and he started working for the national press through a local press agency. 'It was at this point that I was introduced to digital cameras and started to use a Nikon D1. From that moment my approach to photography completely changed. I have not looked back - 1 love the spontaneity the post-production using Photoshop and the way that photography has become accessible to everyone' James decided to undertake a post graduate course in photography.

This enabled him to make the move from press to editorial/ studio photography. 'I was fortunate enough to be offered a job in a studio for a major publisher. This studio championed the use of digital cameras and is now fully digital.' NOW SEND US YOURS! Email us a 100K JPEG thumbnail of your best shots!

Please remember to include your name, the title of the shot and the digital camera you used. Ballerv.dcm@futurenet.co.uk Eyewitness www.olympus.co.uk/be-original 0800 072 0070 Most serious photographers regard digital cameras as being a bit beneath them.

However good the results, they argue, the pictures always look a little, well, digital. The new Olympus E-20P is different.

Its lens has all-glass multicoated elements and is specifically designed for digital photography (1). It has a 4x optical zoom equivalent to 35 -14 0mm @ OLYMPUS with the added option of wide angle, telephoto and macro lens converters. And then there’s the 95% optical viewfinder (3) making the E-20P a true SLR. Which brings us back to the image quality and the little matter of 5 million pixels.

If all that isn’t enough to give you perfect pictures, perhaps you’re not as good a photographer as you thought. Eyewitness Frontline Send in your news! Email us today at news.dcm@futurenet.co.uk NIKON COOLPIX SQ BEHIND THE IMAGE: THE FUTURE OF DIGITAL Nikon launches three new ANTI WAR PROTESTS PHOTOGRAPHY? Compact models We look around the world A camera in your sunglasses ■ See below ■ See page 13 ■ see page 1 4 Coolpix trio from Nikon Nikon crams high-end technology into a compact computer. The SQ is available now for £350.

Accompanying the SQ are cheaper models - the Coolpix 2100 and 3100, priced at £200 and £280 respectively. Although both cameras eschew the SQ's aesthetic in favour of a more conventional design, they're still stacked with spec, including 3x optical zoom lenses, 14 program modes and a 640 x 480 AVI movie mode - something each model shares with the more expensive SQ. As you'd expect, the Coolpix 2100 has the lower image resolution of the two, offering 2-megapixel images from its CCD, while the 3100 delivers 3.2- megapixels, enabling you to print pictures up to B4 in side. All three cameras come with 'small picture' mode which enables you to create highly compressed images for sending via email or posting on the web. For more info, go to www.dcmag.co.uk.

THESQ FEATURES A FAST BOOT- UP TIME OF LESS THAN A SECOND, COLOUR BALANCED MATRIX METERING AND MULTI- AREA AUTOFOCUS ikon has launched three new Coolpix I J I cameras aimed at the highly competitive compact market. Leading the charge is the rather guirkily styled SQ which features a remodelled swivel lens, making it easy to shoot your subjects from any angle.

Nikon claims that the all-metal body SQ features technology previously only offered in its high-end digital SLRs, including a fast boot-up time of less than one second, colour balanced matrix metering and multi-area autofocus. Based around a 1/2.7-inch CCD offering a 3x optical zoom lens with a focusing range eguivalent to 37-1 11mm in a 35mm camera. Nikon is making great claims for the SQ's flash too which has a shooting range of 5m for wide angle shots and 3m for telephoto. The camera also comes with 15 preset or program modes which optimise the camera's shutter and aperture settings for certain lighting conditions, and a, USB docking station for speedy transfer of your pics from camera to DCM EXPERT'S AWARD WIN Our resident photo retouching expert, Ed Davis, has picked up two gongs at a i recent awards ceremony in LA. Ed, ^ who helps revive old and damaged photos for our readers, was presented with two Guru awards by the National Association of Photoshop Professionals. You can witness the transformative effect of his powers on page 64. Adobe has launched a new Photoshop 7 plug-in that enables you to import RAW files direct from your digital camera.

The plug-in enables you to handle the image like a photo negative - free of the adjustments normally made in camera when saving an image as a JPEG or TIFF file. With RAW capability built into increasing numbers of cameras this looks like a timely release.

For more information, go to www.adobe.co.uk. Pentax has launched a trio of stylish aluminium alloy cameras. The 5MP Optio 550 and 4MP Optio 450 both have 5x optical zooms, while the 3MP Optio 33L has a tilt and swivel LCD.

Digital Camera Shopper launch Mag hits the shelves 24th April Whether you're splashing out on new kit or just looking to upgrade what you've got, then don't miss out on the very first issue of Digital Camera Shopper. Brought to you by the makers of Digital Camera Magazine, it's a complete, one-stop buyers' bible for all your digital photography eguipment needs. Our independent experts provide in-depth reviews and group tests, plus news of the hottest new compacts, SLRs, software, printers, flashguns, lenses and more. There's an exhaustive buyers' guide to help you compare prices and specs. Whether you're an absolute beginner or a seasoned pro. Digital Camera Shopper will help you find the right kit for your budget.

In the shops from 24th April, priced at £4.99, you can find out more at www.dcmag.co.uk DIGITAL CAMERA SHOPPER Best sellers Best Seller Canon Powers hot A40 £210 Sub-£100 Logitech Pocket Digital £88 Sub-£300 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P72 £260 Sub-£800 Canon Powers hot G3 £598 Hi-fi cameras from FujiFilm New CCD technology hits the market in a double honeycomb chip FujiFilm has finally launched a brace of new cameras that use its fourth generation Super CCD technology, revealed last month. The first of the cameras - the FinePix F700 - comes with the company's double- honeycomb Super CCD SR chip which uses two 3.1-megapixel photosites to deliver extra dynamic range with your shots. This 'high-fidelity' camera offers an interpolated image resolution of 6.03 million pixels and also features a Super EBC Fujinon 3x optical zoom lens, AVI movie mode and the ability to store images on the supplied x-D Picture card as uncompressed RAW files for maximum picture guality. Somewhat confusingly, FujiFilm's second camera, the FinePix F410 also offers an effective resolution of 6-megapixels, but uses only a single 3.1-megapixel Super CCD FIR chip to create your images instead. The camera offers similar spec to the F700, including a 3x optical zoom, movie mode and the ability to save digital images in the uncompressed raw format.

Both cameras will be available late spring, although pricing has still to be confirmed. For more, go to www.fujifilm.co.uk Image-editing made easy Roxio launches updated version of its PhotoSuite Platinum software Roxio PhotoSuite Platinum 5 offers fully automated image correction for beginners with a suite of tools, layers and palettes for more advanced users. Key features include a Red Eye Remover and the ability to create photo and video CDs directly from within the application.

There's an enhanced stitch mode for creating panoramics, a collage creator for making cards, image organisational tools and a variety of printing and sharing options. Available now for Windows XP and Mac OS X, it;s priced at £50. To find out more, go www.roxio.co.uk WIDEANGLE JK What's happening around the world GREAT BRITAIN DO YOU PICTURE MESSAGE? Taking photos is fast becoming one of the UK's most popular pastimes. Thanks to booming sales of mobile camera phones. Mobile networks 02 and Vodafone have already signed up over 200,000 users, and web photo sites are being swamped by demand from picture messagers who want to post pictures online for their non-camera phone owning friends.

Even pro photographers are getting in on the act, with shoots from fashion shows and celebrity events all being taken on camera phones. Flowever, the two most popular subjects for image-taking are pets and the drunken antics of pub-dwellers. LUSA I CALLING ALL CARDS. Gateway has launched the world's first laptop with 6-in-1 memory card reader. The reader adds $50 to the $1,099 asking price, but you have to sacrifice your floppy drive to accommodate it. The 400L joins other card reading laptops from Sony and Toshiba, which can usually only handle a couple of proprietary formats.

The time: 15th Feb 2003 I The Place: London, Glasgow, Paris, Rome, Madrid,' Athens, Berlin, Brazil, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Damascus, Sydney, Tokyo, Moscow, Dublin, Delhi Over one million Britons took to the streets of London 15th February, to join hundreds of thousands more around the world, in a global day of protest against war on Iraq. With these numbers dwarfing the Countryside Alliance march last September and even the infamous poll tax riots of the 1980s, this demonstration was officially Britain's biggest ever peace rally. Organised by the Stop the War Coalition, the London march featured nuns, schoolchildren and celebrities, drawing groups as diverse as Archaeologists Against War and the Bristol Samba Society. Popular banners included 'Make tea not war' and old favourite 'Make Love Not War,' One million marched through Rome and hung peace flags on the Colosseum, while protesters in West Palm Beach, Florida got naked and anarchists in Athens clashed with police. From Bulgaria to Brazil people took to the streets in their thousands, on a scale not seen since the era of the Vietnam war.

SIPA PRESS/WWW.REXFEATURES.COM 2003 TALKBACK. i. «. Tell us what you think! Our website forums at dcmag.co.uk are just the place. Add your comments, ideas and more and join the Digital Camera Magazine dub!

DIGITAL CAMERA MAGAZINE 013 CD Eyewitness HP unveils alwa^-on futuie In a few years' time, you might have a digital camera in your sunglasses. HP Research in Bristol is calling it the Casual Capture concept If you're happy to buy a cheap pair of sunglasses whenever you go for a holiday in the sun, HP is hoping to change your mind.

The company's Bristol-based research laboratory is working on a set of shades that incorporate a tiny digital camera, able to take shots without conscious effort on your part. It's only a prototype at the moment, but it's part of the firm's ambitious plans for a world where 'casual capture' is a part of everyone's life. The concept of casual capture is based around the idea that in the future, we won't be carrying a dedicated digital camera round with us to take snaps with. Instead, we'll have one (or probably more) wearable camera, which constantly takes pictures of whatever we're doing, without us telling it to. 'It might be in your sunglasses,' says Andy. 'Or in the lapel or buttons of your shirt, or in a badge that you're wearing.' The reason the department has focused on sunglasses for its first prototype wearable camera is their inherent advantage - they generally point in whatever direction you're looking, so can capture events, people or landscapes that have grabbed your attention.

Of course, the result will be hundreds of pictures at the end of each day. Storage won't be a problem - by the time this technology becomes available, the average person will have many terabytes of personal storage space to play with. But how will you sort through all these images to pick out ones you like? HP is working on that too. The answer will be software that can do the hard work for you, identifying the best shots according to their composition, or even by recognising familiar faces.

'You then might have a dynamic screen that plays a constant slideshow of your images, or even a printer that basically prints you a glossy magazine full of images of your wedding day, or holiday or whatever,' he says. STORAGE WON'T BE A PROBLEM SINCE THE AVERAGE PERSON WILL HAVE MANY TERABYTES OF STORAGE SPACE TO PLAY WITH 'The system might even be able to digitally zoom in on shots to give them better composition.' The other main element of casual capture is that you'll be part of the action, rather than a photographer standing apart from it. Think of all those parents who spend more time pointing a camera at their toddler than actually playing with them, or the fact that if you're taking loads of snaps on a big night out, you're probably not enjoying it as much as if you'd left the camera at home.

According to Andy, casual capture will also ensure you're always able to get images of those one-off moments that you wouldn't preserve otherwise. 'It's not about having one picture that you stick on your mantelpiece and that sums up a day,' he says. 'Although we'll still do that, and still go to studios and have a posed picture taken occasionally. But what you often want to capture is that glint in somebody's eye at a very special moment, or a smile on a child's face. It's the spontaneous moments where you wouldn't have time to get your camera out to take a picture of.' If you ask us, casual capture sounds like a great idea, and we can't wait to get hold of a pair of those sunglasses.

But aren't there privacy issues if everyone's walking around with tiny wearable cameras? HP is taking that into account too.

'It certainly has to be considered,' says Andy. 'You can imagine legislation being brought out that says that all cameras in public spaces must be able to respond to some sort of wireless interrogation that asks if the camera is on, and who its owner is.' However, Andy also thinks casual capture could have a positive side, with possible legislation reguiring it for the police, surgeons and firemen. You might even have cameras operating in your car to provide evidence in the event of an accident.

'There are positive, serious uses,' says Andy. 'But it's about the fun stuff too.' THE EASYSHARE 6000 ENABLES YOU TO OUTPUT PHOTOS FROM YOUR CAMERA AT THE PRESS OF A SINGLE BUnON Kodak's dock printer Hassle-free, computer-less printing from the digital imaging experts Kodak's has taken its EasyShare digital camera dock concept one logical step further and incorporated it into its next-gen photo printers. Previously offered as an optional extra for the company's digital cameras, the dock offered one- touch transfer of your photos from camera to PC and also provided a convenient means of recharging the camera's battery. Now incorporated into the Kodak EasyShare 6000 printer (pictured) the dock enables you to output photos from the camera at the press of a single button with borderless 4 x 6-inch prints taking less than 90 seconds to complete.

The 6000 costs £199, with refill packs - containing enough ink and paper for 40 prints - available for £20. Accompanying the new printer are new 600 and 6000 series EasyShare cameras, which were launched at the PMA show in Las Vegas. Chief among these is the new LS633, the world's first camera to use OLED display technology. OLED promises to make displays brighter and easy to see in direct sunlight and should use less battery power. Eor more details, go to www.kodak.com More than a hard drive. It's your digital life Personal Storage 5000XT External Drive 250GB It's not just data. They are your best moments.

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IT'S THE ONE WITH THE BUTTON: The Maxtor OneTouch™ Drive Mqi;^or. What drives you™ www.maxtor.com COVER FEATURE SPRING PHOTOGRAPHY YOUR GUIDE STEVE BAVISIER Steve is a photographic journalist and freelance photographer. He is editor of The Photographer, a leading magazine for pro photographers, and author of ten books on photography including Digital Photography and Take Better Family Photos bavister@easynet.co.uij PORTFOLIO STEVE BAVISTER say^St^e id ^hjirolr finger / I ike hedgehogs and tortoises, many I photographers qo into hibernation over the I winter montfis. Short, cold days'^illed with drab, grey weather h'ardly inspire you to get out snapping - and somehow the programmes on TV seem a lot more enticing, spring is heje at last, and if you've been champing at the bit to get outside and start reeling off lots of pictures, now's your chance.Suddenly everything seems to be coming to life, with bulbs bursting through the ground, buds turning into blossom, and birds doing something beginning with 'B'. There's more potential for portraiture as well, as people get out and enjoy the rising temperature, while everywhere you look there's the opportunity for capturing a fantastic- looking image.

Most importantly, there's a lot more light. Oncejhe clocks have been changed it's possible to get out and do a couple of hours photography after work, without the need for a ■ flash or tripod. And it's also one of the best times of the year in terms of the guality of light.

While there's not the. Ev6n the, average garden caifte a pt of tolour and offer a host of po$sibf sheer intensity you can get 'at thj^ight of summer, neither is there the harshness thatpftefftocomganies it. Instead, spring offers a crisp, sharp Irgfit that b^rtgs subjects to life., Scenic pictures While winter landscapes pn be charming, there's a much- limited palette to workjwith.

With more leaves on the trees, green in the fields, and a blaze of flowers and blossom, it's much easier to come up with successful landscapes in spring. The secret lies in finding the best viewpoint and shooting when the light is right. This time of year the sun doesn't get too high, but it's still a good idea to shoot early or late in the day.

Not only do you get longer shadows, which help create a sense of depth and mood. The light also atrriosphe^ric irnige’ To make the mostmf the shadows, find a^antage point that looks d^wn c^ the landscape, and to enhance the three-dimension feel even further compose the shot so there's something 5os to the camera - such as the branches of a tree or^-^ interesting, rocky formation. ^ But you don't h^e tL^ravel to remote locations this tim« of yeai^to come uf/jWh great pictures. Even the average ^ garden can^ be a jot of colour and offer a host of possibilities. BulK in particular are associated with spring, and in a walk^down any urban street or country lane you'll be greeted by everything from daffodils and tulips to crocuses and snowdrops - in every colour under the sun. 016 DIGITAL CAMERA MAGAZINE ABSTRACT THINKING Don't just go for obvious springtime subjects - think creatively and look for ways of coming up with something new Shooting abstracts, for instance, is a great way of pushing the boundaries.

Instead of photographing all of a flower, crop in tight so only part of it is seen. Rather than do a study of a flowerbed showing all of it, isolate part of it that has an interesting or unusual design. If you could get close enough, you might even frame a shot of a duck so all you see is the texture of its feathers. ■ If you're looking for more inspiration, check out the book Seeing Landscapes by Charlie Waite (Collins & Brown, ISBN ) and the RSPB Guide to Bird & Nature Photography by Laurie Campbell (David & Charles, ISBN ) Shrubs and trees, too, are worth investigating. Vividly composed against a blue sky, blossom looks absolutely fantastic Get down on the ground One of the best ways of capturing flowers is to get down to ground level - even going so far as to lie flat on the floor (make sure you've got something waterproof!). This will give you a more pleasing perspective than looking down on them. You'll be spoilt for choice, so find a clump of flowers that look attractive and which, more importantly, have an attractive backdrop.

This could be a traditional dry stone wall or the foliage of an evergreen bush. Avoid messy, complicated backgrounds, unless the flowers are unmissable - in which case you should try and throw them out of focus by choosing a large aperture, if you have exposure control. The most effective way to bring the colours of early blooms to life is by shooting when the sun's behind them.

This means that they become semi-transparent, and display their intricate detail and rich colour. By and large, stems aren't very interesting, so be prepared to crop in close and concentrate attention on the flowers themselves. While shots of single heads can be successful, generally a clump works better. Fill the frame with colour by shooting from slightly further away using the telephoto end of your zoom.

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Shrubs and trees, too, are worth investigating. Vividly composed against a blue sky, blossom looks absolutely fantastic, while lush new foliage positively glows when lit obliguely by sun diffused under fluffy clouds. One of the images that symbolises spring is of buds - and with the close-focusing capabilities available on most digital cameras, they're easy to capture. Unlike traditional compact cameras, where having a separate viewfinder and lens system makes it difficult to frame the shot accurately at close guarters, the monitor enables you to frame the shot precisely. And most digital cameras these days have startlingly good close- Q PARKS AND GARDENS One of the best hunting ground for pictures in spring, is your local park. Councils and local authorities spend thousands of pounds planting huge numbers of bulbs - and the displays when they all come up together can be quite breathtaking. Some beds are all one colour, while others are a riot of different shades and tones.

Parks are also home to all manner of wildlife, and it's not unusual to see squirrels and many different kinds of birds. In fact, some even have lakes or wildfowl areas with ducks, geese and more exotic species. Spend a couple of hours in a park on a sunny day and come back with loads of great pictures. Geese are readily accessible in a wide range of locations throughout the spring. Because they are bigger than most garden birds you should have no problem filling the frame with them using the top end of a zoom. To help them stand out find an uncluttered background such as the foliage here, and try to shoot when they are active rather than resting. DIGITAL CAMERA MAGAZINE 019 COVER FEATURE SPRING PHOTOGRAPHY Q FOOD FOR BIRDS Most birds eat a wide variety of foods, depending on how scarce food is in general, and what's available.

So if you just put out a mix of seeds, nuts, grain, fruit and fats, you won't go far wrong. But if there are specific species you would like to lure before your lens, try tempting them with their favourite nibbles, as follows: ■ Blackbirds - fruit in general; oatmeal ■ Robins - grated cheese; cake crumbs; meal worms ■ Wrens - crumbled biscuits ■ Starlings - bread; pasta ■ Green finches - sunflower seeds ■ Blue Tits, Coal Tits, Marsh Tits - peanuts ■ Nuthatches - fat ■ Redwings - chopped apples; pears It's important, of course, always to put out guality food, free from disease or infection. Whenever possible, chop it up finely - maybe by running it briefly through a food processor - so that both birds and their young can feed more easily.

In dry weather it can help to wet it first, and birds will always welcome water. Most digital cameras these days have startlingly good close- focusing capabilities. Focusing capabilities - enabling you to get right into your subject for eye-popping compositions. Careful focusing But care needs to be taken to get the best results. This is especially true when it comes to focusing. The closer you get to your subject the more limited your depth-of-field becomes. In fact, you may only have a few millimetres leeway in front and behind - so make sure you focus on what's most important.

This can be tricky if there's even the slightest breeze. If you have control over exposure, setting small aperture such as f/11 or f/16 will increase the depth-of- field. However, you have to be careful. As soon as you go for apertures like that you'll see your shutter speeds start to tumble.

On a sunny day, with an IS0100 setting, the best shutter speed you could hope for at f/16 is 1 /125sec - with a fair likelihood of camera-shake if there's a breeze. So what do you do? Well you could use flash, which freezes all motion, but can give a harsh effect. Or you could use a higher ISO setting, to give faster shutter speeds and smaller apertures, but with some loss of guality in terms of sharpness and colour saturation. Another option is to get an 'assistant' to hold a piece of card alongside the subject as a windshield. If you use white card, this can also double as a reflector, bouncing backlight into shaded areas for a better-balanced effect.

For maximum control, though, nothing beats working in a makeshift studio. Spring also heralds the arrival of many kinds of insect into the garden. But while they are marvellous subjects, especially colourful types such as butterflies, bees and dragonflies, they offer all the close-up challenges discussed so far and more besides. The key difference is that the little blighters can move as well, flitting hither and thither and generally making your life hell. Because insects are sensitive to movement, you need to avoid any jerky actions, and don't allow your shadow to fall over them.

The best technigue is to set the camera up on a tripod, focused on a particular bloom that seems to be attracting lots of insects, and then wait patiently. Once a likely candidate lands on your target you can fire away - and then review the shots. You might also want to try your hand at a bit of bird photography. From early spring, when they announce their presence with a dawn chorus, our feathered friends are constant visitors to our gardens - and that's a good place to start taking pictures of them.

Of course, how many birds you get coming depends on a number of factors. The simple way to attract them is to leave them food. Almost any kind will do - to start with put a variety of things out and see what turns up (see the 'Food for birds' box above for more information). You can't just feed them once and expect them to keep turning up, though. The key is regularity and reliability. Birds are lazy at heart, and if they know you'll have food out they'll come to you first. You don't 020 DIGITAL CAMERA MAGAZINE Spring is reasonably well represented among titles and sites relating to landscape and wildlife photography.

Check out the book, Wild Spring - In Praise of Nature, by Richard Fuller (Swan Flill Press, ISBN1 8531 05732), which captures many of the different faces of spring really want to have the food visible - it will spoil the picture. So you need to hide it, in such a way that it attracts the birds but doesn't appear in the picture. Hide seeds and grain in nooks and crannies, spread fat along branches, put peanuts and scraps out of Sight behind rocks and branches. Remember to think when you're doing this about where you'll be shooting from, and what the best background would be. Consider also the direction of light at the time of day you expect to be out snapping. Where to shoot from The house is the most obvious spot, through glass, if it's of sufficient guality and clean, or from an open window. Pulling curtains across will help keep you unseen.

With some of the tamer species, such as robins, you may be able to sit out in the garden and shoot. Make sure you switch off the flash, because that will send them flying, and you might need to go for a higher ISO setting to arrest any movement. Unless you get golden eagles or herons paying you a visit you'll obviously need a telephoto lens setting - and you may need to blow up part of the image later in order to fill the frame with the average subject. Depending on whereabouts you live, you may encounter other kinds of wildlife, as animals of all kinds come out of hibernation and become more active.

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Sguirrels, hedgehogs and even foxes can be found in urban as well as rural settings. These are much are harder to photograph, because they tend to be more unpredictable. The key at this time of the year is to keep your camera readily to hand, so you're prepared for what comes along. There's one classic spring subject you should have no trouble finding: lambs. Drive into the country over the next couple of month and you'll see lots of them gambolling in the fields. Often there's somewhere you can pull over, allowing you to capture a few shots. Sometimes they're inguisitive and come over; at other times they move away.

But if you wait for a Q EXPERT TIPS ■ Experiment with your apertures to find out what suits a subject best. Sometimes a small aperture, such as f/11 or f/16, with everything sharp, works best; in other situations it's large apertures, such as f/4 or f/5.6, with a limited zone of focus, that give the optimum result.

■ Try shooting a sequence - such as the same spot once a week, to show the effect of spring coming. Or, indoors, a vase of flowers every morning for a period of time to see them. ■ In springtime, riverbanks can be a haven for wildlife such as frogs and toads. See this month's Getupandgo section and get some tips on the best way to capture our amphibious friends. While they'll soon get used to you and come into range. Pictures of them on their own, in pairs, or with their mothers all work well.

Any light can be effective, but to capture lambs at their most photogenic find a vantage point that allows you to shoot towards the sun, when the woolly coat will gain a wonderful 'Ready Brek' halo. The great thing about spring is that it really gets your creative juices flowing, and encourages you to start snapping again - whatever subject you like to photograph. ■ Q SPRINGTIME PORTRAITS Spring is a great time for taking pictures of people outdoors. Not only is the weather more pleasant, so people aren't having to wrap up warm and worry about getting back indoors, the light is bright without being harsh. Because it lacks the intensity of summer, and sits lower in the sky, you get some great results by shooting into-the-light - so your subject's hair has a halo around it.

If the monitor shows the face dark, either use fill-in flash or increase the exposure so it appears well lit. To focus attention on your subject, make sure they're well away from the background and then use your zoom at its longest setting - adjusting your stance from the person to give the framing you want. That way they'll stand out almost three-dimensionally from the background. DIGITAL CAMERA MAGAZINE 021 COVER FEATURE SPRING-CLEANING - POST-SHOOT Giadient filters and the channel mixer Tim Daly shows you two ways to make great prints in Photoshop when tricky lighting leaves you with washed-out colour 1 EXPERT TIPS A TIM DALY PHOTOSHOP EXPERT WORKING IN 16-BIT MODE For superior gradients, consider working temporarily in Photoshop's 16-bit colour mode. With a huge number of extra colours at your disposal, subtle and gradual colour transitions are less likely to band into visibly separate tones.

Once complete, it's essential to convert your image back to 8-bits for printing out. Pring time is the season for extremes when m flat, colourless light can be replaced with I burning sunshine before you can change your camera settings. Digital cameras make a good job of coping with these extremes and can do this task much better than film-based cameras. Yet, on return from an inspiring shoot, there's always the inevitable number of files that are just missing the all-important wow factor.

Pale white or washed out sky tones never do your original subjects justice, but they can easily be renovated with two fantastic Photoshop routines designed to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. The Channel Mixer is the most exciting way to remix original image colour, be it from a slide, print or raw file taken straight from a digital camera. Just like re-shooting your original scene on a PC, with the ability to make certain tones more dominant than they were in the first place, the Channel Mixer provides a spectacular way to convert drab colour photographs into exotic black and white, just like conventional photographic filters, the second technigue looks at replacing clear white skies with subtle graduated colour. Introducing 'foreign' colour to blank, white image areas can be painfully difficult unless you are a renaissance artist, but with a crafty use of blending modes, a much less fake result can be achieved without spending hours over a complex selection task. ■ IN DETAIL ^ MAKING A MASTER GRADIENT FILTER FILE A great idea is to make a master filter file by assembling gradients of different colours into separate layers in one image file.

Create a new A4-sized document and fill separate layers with different colour gradients such as blue, tobacco, orange and violet. Once completed, the file can remain open on your desktop where you can simply drag the desired colour layer into your pale sky image. ENHANCE COLOURS TO BE MIXED The Channel Mixer can be used to make a dramatic conversion from colour to black and white. Decide which colours you want to make darker and enhance their intensity using the Saturation slider in the Hue/Saturation dialog. Only make a slight increase. USE AN ADJUSTMENT LAYER Next, make a Channel Mixer adjustment layer so you can isolate your forthcoming edit from your original background layer. With any adjustment layer, you've also got the option of changing your command at a later stage without the risk of posterizing your file.

CONVERT TO MONOCHROME Decide which colour channel you want to edit, then click Monochrome in the dialog box. Here, the Red channel was selected to make blue skies darker. Once clicked, the image will immediately convert to black and white but with a pale and washed out tone. ADJUST SOURCE CHANNELS Next, change the Red Channel to +200, Blue to -50 and Green to -50. The golden rule is to make all three values add up to 100. With each tweak, the tones will shift dramatically between light and dark, but will not balance until the third and final command. FINAL TONE CORRECTION If your results are brighter or darker than anticipated, avoid using the Constant slider in your Channel Mixer dialog, but press OK, then use your Levels sliders on your background layer to redress any problem.

Only a slight alteration will be needed. WARM UP WITH A TINT The final part of the edit is to flatten the image and apply a subtle tint by using the colour balance dialog box. Open it and apply +10 red and +10 yellow in both Midtone and Shadow areas to get the effect you see here. 022 DIGITAL CAMERA MAGAZINE ■ NEXT MONTH 200 WAYS TO IMPROVE WEB LINKS THE LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY OF JOE CORNISH If you're stuck for inspiration, admire the fabulous work of the UK's best landscape photographer. Www.joecornish.com TAKE BEHER HOLIDAY PHOTOS WITH KODAK If you're planning an Easter break, check out these useful tips from the Kodak website.

WwwJcodak.com/ US/en/( lagazin^ tips/2001 osTI TRAVELLING LIGHT Check out National Geographic photographer Chris Anderson's travels in China. www.nationalqeoqraphic.com/photoqraphv/ landerson/index.htmil MAKING GRADIENT FILTERS Use gradient filters and blend modes to saturate the pale areas of your photos with realistic colour MAKE A CAREFUL SELEQION Open your image and make all tonal corrections before applying the filter. Next, make a selection of your sky area using the magic wand tool until you've included all of the white areas. Feather this with a 50 pixel radius. CHOOSE COLOURS Now pick the Dropper tool from the toolbox. Sample the darkest colour in your sky area to provide a realistic colour for the edit. Open the Colour Picker and press Arrow Down on your keyboard to make your sampled colour slightly more saturated.

SET UP GRADIENT TOOL PROPERTIES Next, pick the Gradient tool and make sure that you have the Linear option as shown. Click on the gradient picker and choose the Foreground to Transparency option. If you can't see it, click on the pop-out menu and do a Reset gradients command. SET BLENDING MODE AND OPACITY Click on the tool's blending modes and select one of two options. To convert clear white skies to blue choose the Multiply blending mode and a 40% opacity.

To make light blue skies more saturated, choose the Colour blending mode at 100%. DEFINE THE GRADIENT POSITION Position your gradient tool at the top of the image, click and then drag the tool downwards until you have reached the bottom of your selection. This will produce a clean band of colour which will sit inside your selection area. FURTHER APPLICATION It's a much better idea to apply successive gentle gradients to the selection area rather than do it in one fell swoop.

To prevent your new colour looking false, vary the direction of your gradient slightly by working between opposite corners. EXPERT TIPS TIM DALY m PHOTOSHOP EXPERT SAVING YOUR CHANNEL MIXER FILES Like many other Photoshop dialog edits, you can opt to save and store your carefully designed Channel Mixer recipes by pressing the Load button in the dialog box.

This process creates a tiny data file which can be stored on your hard disk and replayed on any future image projects. Best of all, there's a worldwide community of Photoshop users who readily share their own individual recipe files over the internet. DIGITAL CAMERA MAGAZINE 023 PINNACLE From your digital camera. From your PC.' To your TV From your camcorder.

Digital artists who miss the smear of oil paints, the inconsistencies of chalk, and the weeping outline of watercolors can take refuge in Corel Painter. The latest version, Corel Painter 2016, is another solid release. No other digital media software simulates putting paint or pencil to paper the way Corel Painter does. With a rich array of brushes and media, Corel Painter 2016 is a worthy upgrade for those with older versions of the software. Anyone who anted up for Painter 2015 last year might find the improvements too modest to warrant another upgrade this year. But like Painter 2015, the 2016 version allows users to upgrade from as far back as 2001! That's generous, and it's a great reason to revitalize an old version of Painter if you have one.

On the whole, it remains an impressive package and a PCMag Editors' Choice. The upgrade price is $229, and upgrades are valid for customers using software as old as Painter 7. You'll need your original serial number, and the upgrade won't work on Academic versions (or Trials, OEM, and Not for Resale products). Whether an upgrade is worthwhile now depends on how long ago you last bought Painter and whether you run Mac or Windows.

Mac users who didn't bother with Painter 2015 will find the $249 well spent, as they'll finally get 64-bit support, which was only added last year. It makes the program run much faster and smoother. And when you're painting digitally, responsiveness is crucial. You'll notice from Corel's handy that the switch from 2015 to 2016 is really about having more brushes and tools, while the jump from previous versions is much more significant in terms of performance and support.

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What's New in Painter 2016 As I said, Painter 2016 is all about getting more brushes and tools, and some of them seem a little over the top. A few of its interface tweaks are nice to have, but they're not momentous improvements. The most bizarre new feature is called Audio Expression. When you use selected brushes and play sound, like music, the brush reacts to the change in noise.

Enabling the feature was actually simpler than I had imagined it would be, thanks to a helpful dialog box that walked me through the steps. I searched for Audio Expression in the brush search box, picked one at random, and turned on Gotye's 'Somebody I Used to Know,' a song with lots of volume fluctuations. I fiddled with the brush thickness and paint opacity until I hit a sweet spot where the Audio Expression was more than obvious on the canvas. You can set it to influence the brush stroke's size, angle, or color variability. My lines got fatter every time Gotye yelled. It was weird, but it worked.

I imagine the feature might be useful for adding variation to an artist's work, but it also feels a little hippy-dippy for my taste. Dynamic Speckles were much more fun. They combine Particle System physics and brush-thickness control to lay down paint with a splattered look. With some adjustment, you can tighten up the brush to make the speckles look more like independent spots of color. I had a glorious time painting a canvas that, in the end, reminded me of a crackled glaze on pottery.

A much more practical change is the ability to adjust the color scheme of the user interface to be dark, frost, sepia, or the default. It's easy enough to switch from the menu (Corel Painter 2016 Preferences Interface), but you can't preview the themes, and it requires that you quit and relaunch the program to apply one.

Frost wasn't what I expected at all. A thumbnail image showing the Frost theme before I rebooted would have saved me a chunk of time. Novices will appreciate Brush Hints and Visual Tooltips, which appear when you're using certain brushes or attributes that may be a little complex to master. Hover over one of the attributes to adjust the Dynamic Speckles, for example, and a tip appears to help you learn what happens when you adjust it. A few other new brushes and tools round out Painter 2016, such as Special Media brushes and Paper and Flow Map Rotation, and the best way to learn about them is to watch the many tutorial videos that Corel has posted online. Some of the tutorials are linked right in the application itself, but they bounce you out to a browser and drop you off at either YouTube or Corel's own site.

The only other big features worth mentioning for professional digital artists are those that allow you to extend where and how you use your custom brushes—or someone else's. For example, there's a new capability to import brush stamps of pixel-based brushes from. Not all the attributes carry over from the.ABR files, but shape, texture, and dynamics do.

You can further customize the brushes once they're in Painter, of course. With Painter 2016, you can also export not only custom brushes, but also papers, patterns, and flow maps. These go into a Custom Toolbox file that you can easily pass along to other artists. Compatibility and Requirements Corel Painter 2016 works on both Windows and Mac OS. The compatibility and requirements are as follows: Windows: Microsoft Windows 10 (64-bit), Microsoft Windows 8.1 (64-bit), or Windows 7 (64-bit), with the latest Service Packs; Intel Pentium 4, AMD Athlon 64, or AMD Opteron (Intel Core 2 Duo or higher recommended); 2GB of RAM (4GB recommended); 750MB of hard disk space for application files; mouse or tablet; 1024x768 screen resolution (1280x800 recommended); Microsoft Internet Explorer 11 or later.

OS X: Mac OS X 10.10 or 10.9 (with latest revision); Intel Core 2 Duo; 2GB of RAM (4GB recommended); 540MB of hard disk space for application files; mouse or tablet; 1024x768 screen resolution (1280 800 recommended); Safari v7 or later. For both Windows and Mac, you'll need a DVD drive if you purchase the shrink-wrapped software rather than the digital download. Some prospective Painter buyers wonder whether Corel's tool could be a replacement for Adobe Photoshop. The answer: It depends on how you use that program. Photoshop has a few capabilities that Painter doesn't, such as animation, 3D creation, and a much better set of intuitive tools for editing. Painter is, as the name suggests, about painting.

It's nearly impossible to use comfortably without a digital artist's tablet, such as a. Creating artwork in Painter is a lovely experience, but for editing everything from graphics to photographs, you'll still want Photoshop.

Painter has other capabilities, too, but digital painting is really at its heart. Like Painting on Paper Corel Painter succeeds in replicating the real-world experience of using oil paints, charcoal, watercolors, crayons, and other media in a digital environment that's a pleasure to use. For all those reasons, plus improvements over the years in speed and stability, Corel Painter is an Editors' Choice. Painter 2015 takes a lot of the credit, however, for the most important improvements in the last two years, particularly for Mac users, whereas the newest version is a more modest upgrade. If you have a Painter license older than 2015, the $249 upgrade is worthwhile. Otherwise, you might wait and see what the company has in store for 2017. Jill Duffy is a contributing editor, specializing in productivity apps and software, as well as technologies for health and fitness.

She writes the weekly Get Organized column, with tips on how to lead a better digital life. Her first book, Get Organized: How to Clean Up Your Messy Digital Life is available for Kindle, iPad, and other digital formats. She is also the creator and author of ProductivityReport.org. Before joining PCMag.com, she was senior editor at the Association for Computing Machinery, a non-profit membership organization for.