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Showing posts from September, 2017

SEPTEMBER: This Month on Fujilove.com

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Earlier this month I was pleased to announce that I would be a regular contributor to the Fujilove.com website.  I will be writing two articles per month about using and traveling with the Fujifilm X-Series and Fujinon lenses. Here are the two articles for September. One Lens Challenge in Mexico - XF50mm f2 (Published 9th September 2017) When I travel with the FIA World Endurance Championship I always pack my four Fujinon zooms for their flexibility allowing me the best opportunity to get the shot quickly and easily at the race track. Sometimes I like to challenge myself by using just one prime lens and seeing what shots I can get with the limitation of one focal length.  I did this with the XF50mm f2 on a recent trip to Mexico City where I was working on the latest round of the FIA WEC. CLICK HERE to read this article Sense of Speed: Panning with the X Series (Published 26 September 2017) Sports photography is all about freezing the ac...

Shooting Sport as a Spectator Part 8: Mountain Bike Racing

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A few weeks ago Fujifilm published the eighth episode in the series of features I am writing and filming on shooting different sports from a spectators point of view.  This series has been well received by the readers of the Fujifilm blog and on social media and it has been really interesting for me as a sports photographer to explore different sports without the benefit of a media pass. I have been pleasantly surprised how good the access is at the sports that have been featured so far and by the fact that at some a media pass wouldn't have provided me with any better access than I got as a spectator. Part 8 was on the Scottish X Country Mountain Bike Racing series.  Unlike the previous seven sports in this series, I haven't shot this sport before, so it was a bit of a learning curve.  But it turned out to be a great day out in the forests of Dumfries and Galloway. I am now planning another four features which will feature some winter sports over the coming mo...

Down at the Harbour

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After two weeks on the road in Texas and in Belgium I now have a few days at home in Dunbar and today I hosted my first Back to Basics workshop for nearly a month. As usual the workshop was conducted in and around the beautiful working harbours we have in Dunbar.  We first visited the older Cromwell Harbour before moving across to the newer (and by newer I mean 19th century) Victoria Harbour. While we were walking about the 'Acturus' came back into harbour from a trip out into the North Sea and we were able to get some close up shots of the boat as she came through the harbour entrance by the castle. All of the images were taken on the Fujifilm X-T2 using either the XF16-55mm f2.8 or 50-140mm f2.8 lenses.  For more information on MacLean Photographic workshops visit www.macleanphotographic.com   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUP...

Glory for Glorieux at Spa

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Jean Glorieux - no3 DKR Engineering Norma M30-Nissan - 2017 Michelin Le Mans Cup Drivers Champion Congratulations to Jean Glorieux who, along with teammate Alex Toril and the DKR Engineering team, secured the 2017 Michelin Le Mans Cup Driver and Team titles at his home track of Spa-Francorchamps. I took the opportunity on the grid ahead of the 120-minute race this afternoon to take some driver portraits as they prepared for themselves for the battle ahead. The images were taken on the Fujifilm X-T2 and the XF50-140mm f2.8. The files were then converted to mono using NIK Silver Efex Pro2 software. CLICK HERE for more information on the 2017 Michelin Le Mans Cup Tony Wells - no79 Nielsen Racing Ligier JS P3-Nissan  Adrien Chila - no65 Graff Ligier JS P3-Nissan Eric De Doncker - no98 Motorsport98 Ligier JS P3-Nissan ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEAS...

Sunlight Through the Trees

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This morning saw another sunny start in the Ardennes forest as we prepare for the opening day of track action for the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, Round 5 of the 2017 European Le Mans Series. As usual at this time of year there was a low lying mist on the fields and in the trees surrounding the 7km Spa-Francorchamps circuits.  As the sun rose above the tree line the warm sunlight streamed through the tops of the trees creating a stunning display. Standing on the top of the pit building I shot across the valley with the Fujifilm X-T2 and the XF50-150mm f2.8 + 2x converter.  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY VISITING THE ADVERTISERS ON THIS PAGE By clicking on the adverts you are helping support this blog - thank you. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------...

Seeing Red and Gold at Spa

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The view from the bottom of Eau Rouge to the top of Raidillon is one sight in motor sport that I will not get tired of photographing.   Today was set up day for the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, round 5 of the 2017 European Le Mans Series.  Part of the day was taken up with track inspections and driver interviews ahead of track running tomorrow. Looking at the track all you see is Belgium's national colors of Red, Gold and Black, with the kerbs and tyre barriers all painted in red and gold paint, with the black ashpalt circuit proving the third element to the national colours. The paint around the track is flaking and the textures certainly draws my photographic eye. All of the images were taken with either the Fujifilm X-T2 or X-Pro2 and the XF10-24mm f4, XF16-55mm f2.8 or XF50-140mm f2.8 lenses ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY ...

On the Grid in Texas

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The pre race grid walk ahead of the 6 Hours of The Circuit of The Americas was a good opportunity to put the Fujinon XF16mm f1.4 through its paces for a few portraits.  The shallow depth of field on the 24mm equivalent field of view makes the subject jump of the screen. I fitted a polariser filter to the 16mm to give the colours a little more punch and to take a couple of stops off the exposure to allow me to shoot wide open in the bright and sunny conditions. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY VISITING THE ADVERTISERS ON THIS PAGE By clicking on the adverts you are helping support this blog - thank you. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ALL IMAGES (UNLESS INDICATED) ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND C...

Race Day in Texas

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Richard Lietz - no91 Porsche 911 RSR  Fujifilm X-T2 + XF100-400mm f4.5/5.6 (zoom 400mm) - 1/2000s @ f5.6 ISO200 Today is race day here at the Circuit of The Americas in Texas, which is hosting round 6 of the FIA World Endurance Championship.  The race will begin at 12h00 local time, which is 18h00 in the UK. The most iconic landmark on the circuit is the observation tower, which stands 251 feet / 77 metres above the track and gives a panoramic view of the circuit and the Texas countryside.  At Turn 10 on the track the cars crest a small rise in the track and by moving down the fenceline you can place the top of the tower in the shot behind the car.   The image at the top of the page was taken during Free Practice 3 at 10h30 on Friday morning, while the shot below was taken at the same point but at 17h15 on Thursday afternoon during Free Practice 2.   no51 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE - Alessandro Pier Guidi / no36 Signatech Alpin...