CAPTURE NEW HORIZONS

A macro shot of a dandelion clock at the John Muir Country Park near Dunbar.   It was taken on the Fujifilm X-T2 and 35mm f1.4 Fujinon lens fitted with a 16mm extender to allow closer focusing on the subject.

Sometimes the most mundane objects can become a source of inspiration.   Yesterday evening while hosting a photo walk at the John Muir Country Park the grey skies were not providing me with any creativity and I was trying to find something that would provide the smallest spark. Near to the East Links Family Park we came across a stack of rails for the small railway that runs around the park through the animal enclosures.  These rails had been stacked and the light filtering through from the top set onto the rusting and eroded metal on the lower tiers were just the inspiration I needed. Using the Fujifilm X-Pro2 and XF50-140mm f2.8 lens I captured a set of images that looked great on the LCD and also on the iMac once they were imported into Lightroom.  I converted the images to mono using NIK Silver EFEX Pro2.  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY VIS

The  Glenfinnan Monument is located on the shores of Loch Shiel near the road from Fort William to Mallaig and commemorates the landing on the 19 August 1745 of Prince Charles Edward Stuart, or Bonnie Prince Charlie and the gathering of the clans to his banner at Glenfinnan.  The Prince's landing began the disastrous Jacobite Rebellion, which ended at Culloden near Inverness in 1746 where the Highland army was decimated. The government troops, under the Duke of Cumberland, known as 'Butcher Cumberland, purged the Highlands to put an end once and for all Scotland's resistance to Hanoverian rule in London and any thoughts of the restoration of a Stuart King. The 18 metre monument was raised in 1815, with a lone kilted highlander on top as a reminder of the lives given by the clans of Scotland to the cause of the Stuart royal line. The monument is maintained by the National Trust for Scotland and there is also a visitors centre next to the car park. These image

Fujifilm X-T2 + XF100-400mm f4.5/5.6 - 1/1000s @ f5.6 ISO400 Today we went along to the F oxlake Adventures Outdoor Festival which was a great day of action and fun.  The main part of the day was the Industry Pro Wakeboard Tour , with Foxlakes hosting the opening round of the four stop tour for Pro Wakeboarders. I went along to Foxlakes with my family and attended as a spectator but I couldn't resist taking along the X-T2 and XF100-400mm to capture a few action shots. Fujifilm X-T2 + XF35mm f1.4 - 1/6400s @ f1.4 ISO100 Like the Water Ski Trick event I attended a few weeks ago, the riders in this competition also have to perform as series of tricks for the judges.   However in this competition two riders going head to head to see which one will progress to the next round, with eventually two riders left in the final. Fujifilm X-T2 + XF100-400mm f4.5/5.6 - 1/1000s @ f5.6 ISO400 Fujifilm X-T2 + XF100-400mm f4.5/5.6 - 1/1000s @ f5.6 ISO400 Fujifilm X-T2

In July 2015 I posted a review of the Fujifilm X-T10 which I tested alongside my X-T1 as a lightweight alternative to the larger and more expensive camera.  So when Fujifilm announced the launch of the X-T20 I was keen to put one to the test.   I took an X-T20 along with me to the FIA World Endurance Championship event at Spa-Francorchamps and also shot the TCR International Series race during the European Le Mans Series event in Monza.  I also took a few shots with it during the recent Water Ski event at Hazelwood Ski Centre last month and these three events really put the X-T20 through its paces. Like the X-T10, the T20 is tiny compared to it's bigger brother.  Even with the battery grip removed from the T2,  the picture above shows the larger camera dwarfing the X-T20.   Now this can be seen as a good thing if you are traveling and need a lightweight camera with a big punch but when using it with long lenses such as the 50-140mm or 100-400mm the X-T20 can be a litt