CAPTURE NEW HORIZONS

I was able to borrow a pre production sample of the Fujinon XF50mm f1 telephoto prime lens for the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans for a quick review of Fujifilm's fastest prime lens. I am going to be honest but for the way I work in the pitlane I find the 50mm focal length a bit short, I much prefer the 90mm f2 or 200mm f2, if using a prime, or the 50-140mm f2.8 if I need a bit of flexibility.  With a 50mm you need to get in close and this can cause problems with the pit crews, you don't want to get in their way, or if the subject is at the back of the garage, we've not allowed to cross into the garage due to the Covid-19 protocols - breaking a bubble is the technical term! With that said I wanted to give it go as I was intrigued to see how the 50mm f1 operated, how shallow the depth of field was and how fast the AF was on the X-T4.  I did have a 56mm f1.2 but sold it for the reasons stated above but also because the AF was a bit slow - admittedly this was when I had an X-T2. I f...

The 24 Hours of Le Mans, the greatest motorsport event in the world and a race that I am very proud to be involved at the FIA Media Delegate.  It is ten days of intense preparation and action and this is one of the reasons I have not posted on the MacLean Photographic blog for a while. I am still sorting through my images from Le Mans for various projects I am working on but here is a selection of different pictures taken on the Fujifilm X-Pro2 or X-T1 from trackside or in the pitlane that I have cropped into a 12:5 panoramic format in post production. I didn't necessarily take these images with a panoramic crop in mind but when viewed on the computer screen I immediately saw the potential of a 12:5 ratio image in each one. The images were taken on a variety of Fujinon lenses - XF10-24mm f4, XF16-55mm f2.8, XF50-140mm f2.8, XF100-400mm f4.5/5.6, XF90mm f2 - and a Samyang 8mm fisheye. ----------------------------------...

One of the major sponsors of the World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans is the French tyre company Michelin.  Their branding is everywhere around the track and includes the massive electronic scoreboard at the end of the pitlane at Le Mans. Bibendum, the mascot and face of the Michelin company is also present around the track on posters, on the signs, painted on the pitman concrete and there is even a man in a Bibendum suit parading up and down the pitlane during the public autograph sessions and appearing on the podium during the driver celebrations. The 56 competitors on the grid at Le Mans use either Michelin or Dunlop tyres, with all of the LMP1 manufacturers using Michelin rubber on their hybrid sportscars. Here are some images featuring Michelin branding at last weekend's 24 Hours of Le Mans.   All images taken on a Fujifilm X-T1 + 50-140mm f2.8 --------------------------------------------------------------------...

One of the challenges of sport photography is to capture the emotion of the moment.   This can be difficult with motor racing because, unlike other sports, a driver is rarely visible while they are working and their face is covered by a helmet and, in sportscar racing, they are hidden from view in the cockpit of the car. The best time to capture the emotions is when disaster has struck either by a crash or technical failure or when a driver is celebrating finishing on the podium. This was the case in this picture from yesterday's podium ceremony after the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Corvette Racing driver Oliver Gavin had just won, along with teammates Tommy Milner and Jordan Taylor, the LMGTE Pro class in a Corvette C7R against the might of Ferrari, Porsche and Aston Martin.  The emotion of this win is clear to see on the British driver's face and it speaks volume about the sport. The image was taken on the Fujifilm X-T1 using the 50-140mm f2.8, which is fast becoming my...

This is a shot taken just after sunset at the 24 Hours of Le Mans from the top of the main grandstand.   The light was just perfect for a slow pan shot using the Fujifilm X-T1 and the XF10-24mm f4, the exposure was 0.3 seconds @ f4.5 ISO400 and it took several attempts to get one shot that was good enough. This shot of race leader Nick Tandy in the no19 Porsche Team Porsche 919 hybrid works really well and the very slow shutter speed gives a real sense of movement.  

Here are a couple of images from Le Mans using the Fujifilm X-T1 and the new XF50-140mm f2.8.  I am beginning to love using this lens, it is very flexible and is so sharp across the frame, even when used wide open at f2.8. My favourite lens when I used Nikon was the Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8 AF-D I bought new for £1600 in 1996.  This was my 'go to' lens and despite Nikon bringing out subsequent versions of this superb lens I kept the 80-200mm f2.8 for 18 years. When I switched to Fujifilm last year the one regret I had was selling this superb lens, so when Fujifilm announced they would be producing an equivalent lens, 50-140mm f2.8 (76mm-213mm f2.8) with image stabilization then I knew I would have to try one.  And with a RRP of £1200 it is £400 cheaper than I paid for the Nikon 80-200mm f2.8 19 years ago!  Last October Fujifilm lent me a pre production copy during race day during our trip to Japan for the World Endurance Championship race at Fuji Speedway but...

Last night during the two hour qualifying session I went out onto the balcony of the Module Sportif at the Le Mans circuit to capture some night shots. The Ferris Wheel has been moved to a new location for the 2015 race and is now situated on the inside of the track directly in front of the final sequence of corners on the 14km circuit.  Standing on the balcony I could look down into the pitlane and capture shots of the cars coming into the pitlane from above.  This part of the track was in almost complete darkness but using the 90mm f2 Fujinon lens wide open and a high ISO setting I was able to get a reasonable exposure . I stayed out for 20 minutes before returning to the media centre to continue my report on the session for the website. There will be the final two qualifying sessions this evening ahead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans on Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 June. -----------------------------------------------------------------------...