N-Photo: the Nikon magazine

Every month we bring you 132-pages of step-by-step advice on how to get the best results from your Nikon digital SLR. Our camera skills section will show you how to shoot great pictures and how to edit them to make them even better! You'll be inspired by the beautiful images shot by top photographers and fellow readers. And you'll learn the basics through our Nikopedia reference pages – picking up tips from the pros with our exclusive interviews and masterclasses. ****Note: This digital edition is not printable and does not include the covermount items or supplements you would find with printed copies***

This issue’s special contributors…

Welcome to issue 144

Taking the fall • Our apprentice captures golden leaves in golden light with landscape pro Carmen Norman

LIGHTBOX • Our favourite Nikon images from the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition

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Reach for the stars! • With the nights drawing in, it’s the ideal time to try your hand at astrophotography. Dave Williams shows you how to shoot the Northern Lights, Milky Way, star trails, the moon and more…

Northern Lights • The biggest obstacle to capturing the aurora is actually finding it in the night sky in the first place, but there are a plethora of apps that will point you in the right direction

The Milky Way • With stars moving across the heavens, the 500-rule is a great technique for avoiding trails streaking across night-time shots, producing razor-sharp images without any distractions

Star Trails • Capture the movement of the stars through the night sky with a series of long exposures that turn these pin-pricks of light into elongated streaks

Shooting the Moon • The moon is the most familiar heavenly body in the night sky, but getting good images of our closest celestial neighbour requires a different method of shooting than distant stars

Night Landscapes • Panoramic views of earthly terrain beneath the night skies are elevated to a starring role, in a different approach that switches emphasis to produce spectacular results

Finding your way through the madding crowd • When everyone has a camera, a smartphone, or even a drone, just how do you carve out a living?

Nikon Skills • Ingenious recipes for stunning shots

★Project one: Core skills Read the meter • Mike Harris encourages you to learn all your Nikon’s metering modes; Matrix isn’t the answer to everything

★Project two: Creative techniques Go take a hike • Adam Waring travels light with minimal camera kit to capture the highlights of a week-long walking holiday

★Project three: Essential gear skills Dirt tracking • Mike Harris gets plastered in dust and dirt, while he shows you how to capture dramatic rally photos

★Project four: Affinity Photo Repair damaged prints • James Paterson shows you how to restore ravaged old photos and learn key layer skills in Affinity Photo

★Project five: Adobe CC Show off your shots like a pro • Jon Adams prepares gallery-ready prints with our one-click Actions

★Project Six: The big project Zoom blend landscapes • James Paterson blends two different focal lengths with a combination of shooting and Photoshop skills

Shoot a focal length blend • CAPTURE ONE FRAME FOR THE VITAL FOREGROUND DETAILS, THE OTHER FOR THE BACKGROUND

Bigger backdrops • REWORK YOUR LANDSCAPES BY ENLARGING THE BACKGROUND IN PHOTOSHOP

DISCOVER THE UNIVERSE

Somewhere over the rainbow • On a road trip with non-photographers around Ireland it can be a challenge to get good shots, especially with the infamous weather…

Harry Skeggs • Can wildlife photography be viewed as fine art? Harry...