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Yearly Archives: 2021

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BPPA ASSIGNMENTS
Author Jonny Helm Categories News Posted on 0 Comments

BPPA Assignments 2021

Fixation and Canon are proud to sponsor the the British Press Photographers Association annual exhibition Assignments. After a two-year break we are pleased to see Assignments return with an exhibition set for August at the Bargehouse gallery in London.

Stormzy performs at the 2019 BRIT Awards in London. 18 February 2020. © Samir Hussein
Stormzy performs at the 2019 BRIT Awards in London. 18 February 2020. © Samir Hussein

Assignments 2021 celebrates the best of British press photography from the BPPA members. Curated by five leading industry figures, this year’s exhibition covers stories from April 2019 and will include a mix of sport, celebrities, royals, protests and global events such as the pandemic as seen through the eyes of the association’s photographers.

The exhibition is an edit of 100 entries printed and framed, filling the Bargehouse London gallery across 4 levels.

Admission Free 11am-6pm daily. 27th August – 5th September

Bargehouse
Oxo Tower Wharf
Bargehouse Street
South Bank
London, SE1 9PH

Assignments 2021 Events Program

Activities and seminars running at the Assignments 2021 Exhibition. Booking is essential.

Hands on | Canon EOS mirrorless sessions

Canon EOS Mirroless digital cameras and lenses
Try the latest gear for yourself. Canon Tech Guru Justin will walk you through the features of the latest EOS R system cameras and lenses.

  • Friday 27th August
  • Tuesday 31st August
  • Wednesday 1st September
  • Thursday 2nd September

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Assignments Seminar | Heathcliffe O’malley and Jack Hill

Tuesday 31st August, 13:00
Join two leading newspaper photographers as they deliver talks about their work over the last two decades.
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Assignments Seminar | Marc Aspland

Wednesday 1st September, 13:00
The Times Chief Sports Photographer Marc Aspland talks about how he captures the most important moment of a sporting event creatively. He will also show you the Times Unseen project which often shows images that have never been published and which sometimes shows a different side to the sport.
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Assignments Seminar | Dan Kennedy

Celebrity photographer Dan Kennedy shares valuable insights plus tips and tricks on how he creates magazine cover portraits.
Thursday 2nd September, 13:00
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Assignments 2021 Curators

Each year different curators are selected from within the news and press industry. This year’s Curators are:

Police officers detain Patsy Stevenson as people gather and protest at a memorial site in Clapham Common Bandstand, following the kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard, in London. 13 March 2021. © Hannah Mckay
Police officers detain Patsy Stevenson as people gather and protest at a memorial site in Clapham Common Bandstand, following the kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard, in London. 13 March 2021.
© Hannah Mckay

Wimbledon display at Fixation

We are displaying some of our favourite BPPA images from past year’s Assignments exhibitions in the Fixation Showroom. It is Wimbledon Championships fortnight so we are displaying some superb Tennis images of Serena Williams, Rafal Nadal, Andy Murray and more.

For us the photographers are the stars of the show so come along to see Wimbledon from the unique perspectives of Lindsey Parnaby, David Levenson, Andy Rain, Heathcliff O’Malley and Facundo Arrizabalaga.
If rain stops play, pop up to see us: Find Us London

Find out more about the BPPA Assignments exhibition and about the BPPA on the BPPA website.

the BPPA logo

TIPS & TRICKS | DON’T LIVE VIEW A SOLAR ECLIPSE
Author Jonny Helm Categories Tips & Tricks Posted on 2 Comments on Tips & Tricks | Don’t live view a solar eclipse

Tips & Tricks | Don’t live view a solar eclipse

A solar eclipse is definitely a photo-worthy event but, just like looking into the sun, pointing your camera at the sun can have damaging consequences.

After a partial eclipse we received a Canon EF 400mm f2.8 L II IS lens with an Error 01. On closer inspection the aperture blades were bent and twisted. We have treated sun-damaged cameras in the past but this time the lens was damaged. We called the photographer to find out what had happened.

To protect their eyes the photographer had decided to use Live-View to get the sun in frame and wait for the right moment for the exposure. To cut the amount of light reaching the CMOS imaging sensor the lens was stopped right down to f/22.

In live view shooting the aperture stops down as you change the setting, so when f/22 is set the aperture blades close and stay closed while you view the image on the rear monitor.

The lens was pointing at the sun for approximately 2 minutes with the aperture stopped down and absorbing most of the light. This was enough to heat and warp the thin aperture blades in a way that we had never seen before in our workshop.


Luckily it was the aperture mechanism alone that was damaged and our technicians were able to replace that with a new part from Canon for under £300. The lens is otherwise in full working order however this repair could have been avoided.

How to photograph the sun

First we must stress that you should never look directly at the sun through lenses, cameras or optics. Doing so could cause permanent damage to your eyes. Even the filters below are for photographing the sun and are designed to protect electronic equipment, not eyes.

Tip 1: Use a solar-filter

Lenses with filter threads: Use a Lee or screw-in solar filter. Unlike ND filters, specially made solar filters block UV and Infra-red light as well as the visible spectrum. This protects your lens and camera from a much wider range the radiation that could otherwise damage your lens and sensor.

Telephoto lenses: use Solar Foil. Large aperture telephoto lenses like the 400mm above do not have filter threads at the front of the lens. Solar foil comes in A4 sheets which can be fitted over the front element or lens-hood of a super-telephoto lens.

Tip 2: Keep your lens covered

Once your image is composed, use a lens cap to stop all light entering your lens until you are ready to shoot. This keeps your lens and camera cool and able to function better when it comes to making the exposure.

If you have any questions about shooting difficult subjects or in unusual environments we have decades of experience supporting photographers working around the world and are happy to help.

Fixation Team: Nathan Wake, B2B Account Manager image
Author Jonny Helm Categories Feature Posted on

Fixation Team: Nathan Wake, B2B Account Manager

Introducing Nathan Wake our new B2B Account Manager in the Fixation sales team.

Nathan Wake Portrait

Nathan’s role at Fixation

We are delighted to announce that Nathan Wake has joined the Fixation Sales Team. He joins Mike McNamara in offering our business and professional customers advice on the latest professional photographic equipment, rental, and repair services. Nathan is based out of Fixation in London and is happy to visit your location to demonstrate products and discuss your requirements.

At Fixation we pride ourselves on finding the right photographic solutions for our customers. Nathan brings to Fixation over 30 years of experience in supporting the photographic industry at Fujifilm and prior to that at KJP.

 

About Nathan

Nathan has always had a passion for photography and has used and owned a wide variety of different formats of digital and analogue cameras. He always carries a camera, has shot stock for travel picture libraries, weddings, landscapes, and enjoys street photography. He will often make time to shoot with other photographers to gain a better understanding of their field within the industry.

Before joining Fujifilm Nathan worked on the trade counter at KJP for 3 years where he built up his knowledge on analogue materials and equipment.

At Fujifilm he joined the Fujifilm Professional Customer Service team before going out on the road as a sales rep covering Northern England and Scotland where he looked after a wide spectrum of products and customers including photo wholesalers, medical illustration departments and newspapers.

He then jumped at an opportunity to move back to London and look after professional photographic labs, wholesalers, Police, and retail display labs spending over 15 years in this roll. During this time, he saw many changes within the industry the biggest being the move from analogue to digital for both capture and print.

For the last four years Nathan has been the Technical Product specialist for the digital camera department looking after product training, feedback, customer support and demonstrations to higher education, B2B and museum customers.

Contact Nathan and Mike at sales@fixationuk.com

 

COMPACT FULL FRAME LENSES FROM SONY
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Compact full frame lenses from Sony

Sony has announced a trio of compact lightweight prime lenses. These are all lighter and smaller than their closest G-Master equivalents thanks to their f2.8 and f2.5 apertures. The lenses are compatible with all Sony full frame mirrorless cameras for a travel friendly photography kit.

The Trio:
Sony FE 28mm f2.8 G
Sony FE 40mm f2.5 G
Sony FE 50mm f2.5 G

The lenses are £629 each including VAT
Put your name on our waiting list and our sales team will be in touch as soon as stock is available. Email us at sales@fixationuk.com or call 0207 582 3294

Compact and strong

Sony have made each lens around 170g and have not compromised on build quality with metal exterior barrels and a metal lens hood to keep the lenses robust. The iris ring markings and focal length information are all engraved in the metal work for longevity.

Uniform design

Their uniform size 68mm diameter x 45mm length, makes these lenses easy to add to a kit bag and the Designers at Sony have even kept the filter thread uniform 49mm for each lens so they can share polarizing filters or a Lee filter kit.

Image quality

There is no compromise in image quality with aspherical and ED (extra-low dispersion) elements in use to control chromatic aberration. With smaller optics these lenses will deliver consistent sharp images that stand up to the test of Sony’s high resolution imaging sensors.

We are excited to see these lenses and hope to have our first delivery from late April.

The lenses are £629 each including VAT
Put your name on our waiting list and our sales team will be in touch as soon as stock is available. Email us at sales@fixationuk.com or call 0207 582 3294

SONY FE 50MM F1.2 GM LENS
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Sony FE 50mm f1.2 GM Lens

Sony have added a 50mm f/1.2 lens to their G Master stable of full frame lenses. With a fast maximum aperture of f1.2 this 50mm lens will deliver beautiful bokeh and shallow depth of field to isolate your subject from the background, ideal for portraiture.

The Sony FE 50mm f1.2 GM is £2099 including VAT. To get your name in our order book contact our sales team on 0207 582 3294 or email sales@fixationuk.com

Lens Features
Sharpness

With three XA (Extreme Aspherical) elements the FE 50mm f1.2 GM controls the light even when shooting wide open for excellent image quality from corner to corner.

Smooth Bokeh

Sony use eleven curved aperture blades in their lens design to give a circular aperture. This offers the smooth defocus effects for objects in front of and behind your subject.

Nano AR Coating II

This optical coating from Sony dramatically reduces flare and ghosting even when shooting backlit subjects and under bright sunlight. You can rely on the Sony FE 50mm f1.2 GM to deliver clear images with excellent contrast in all shooting conditions thanks to this lens coating technology.

Fast Autofocus with Four XD linear motors

Four motors drive the heavy f/1.2 optical elements for rapid focusing and tracking. This high level of responsiveness is a great benefit for a lens with a shallow depth of field. The focus speed will also be a benefit for tracking focus for video.

Professional build quality

Sony G Master lenses are made for professional use. The FE 50mm f1.2 GM features dust and moisture sealing for indoor and outdoor use. The lens also has intuitive controls such as an aperture control ring and programmable buttons for rapid control or access to menu options. You can adapt this lens to suit your working style.

Close focusing with a wide field of view

A minimum focus distance of 40cm lets you capture details with a wide angle of view for a more dynamic perspective in close up shots. Ideal for adding the environment in to detail images that would be lost with a longer telephoto lens. This is a feature seen on Sony’s last G Master lens release the FE 35mm f1.4 GM.

The current lineup of Sony G Master prime lenses

A 50mm G Master lens from Sony was never a case of if? but when? This new announcement fills the gap between the existing 35mm and 85mm f1.4 G Master lenses, the prime lens range is listed in full below. To see a wider range of options for Sont full frame mirrorless cameras view our guide to Sony lenses.

  • FE 24mm f1.4 GM
  • FE 35mm f1.4 GM 
  • FE 50mm f1.2 GM
  • FE 85mm f1.4 GM
  • FE 100mm f2.8 STF GM OSS
  • FE 135mm f1.8 GM
  • FE 400mm f2.8 GM OSS
  • FE 600mm f4.0 GM OSS

The Sony FE 50mm f1.2 GM is £2099 including VAT. To get your name in our order book contact our sales team on 0207 582 3294 or email sales@fixationuk.com

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