CAPTURE NEW HORIZONS

On the 15 February 2018 Fujifilm launched the new X-H1 compact system camera.  As an X Photographer I was asked to be part of the test team for the new camera and Fujifilm sent a film crew to Bahrain to film an interview with myself and fellow X Photographers John Rourke and Andrew Hall. Over the past few weeks Fujifilm have been posting a series of videos entitled 'Proud of... celebrating their X Photographers and the video featuring me has been published today (4 March 2018).   Here is that interview - My Fujifilm X Series journey began with the X100 in November 2012, with the X-Pro1 and four prime lenses traveling in my camera bag in 2013 alongside my Nikon gear.  In April 2014 I bought the X-T1 and my Nikon gear was sold the following July.   After following my journey online, Fujifilm invited me to become a Fujifilm X Photographer in May 2015 and since then I have been involved in the launches of the X-Pro2, X-T2 and now the X-H1 as well as the...

Conveying the sense of speed is a prerequisite for most, if not all,  motorsport on track action images.    What makes this shot of the 2015 world championship winning car is the strong sunlight bouncing off the track in Bahrain.  The Ford GT entering the frame in the top right also adds to the sense of speed. It is why I have included this image in my top ten shots of 2016. 

no30 ESM Ligier-Nissan (Giedo Van der Garde) - Fujifilm X-T2 + XF100-400mm + 1.4x conv (560mm) - 1/250s @ f8 ISO400 The Fujinon XF100-400mm f4.5/5.6 (150-600mm equivalent) is the longest focal length lens in the Fujifilm X-Series arsenal and is more than adequate for most purposes when shooting sport and wildlife.   When shooting motor sport I am able to get 90% of my images using the standard lens but most of the circuits the FIA World Endurance Championship visits have the latest safety standards, which means the run off areas are quite large and the trackside locations can be a fair distance away.  This is the case at the Bahrain International Circuit, which hosted the season finale last Saturday. Luckily Fujifilm have produced two high quality teleconverters which increase the focal length of the 100-400mm at the expense of making the effective maximum aperture smaller.  The 1.4x converter increases the focal length range from 100-400mm ...

2016 FIA World Endurance Championship - 6 Hours of Bahrain Fujifilm X-T2 + XF100-400mm f4.5/5.6 - 1/4000 @f4.5 ISO400 The 6 Hours of Bahrain is now over, bringing to a close the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship.  The race saw the no8 Audi of Lucas Di Grassi, Loic Duval and Oliver Jarvis take an emotional victory for Audi in the manufacturers last endurance race after 18 years at the top of the sport. The race was also the last for Mark Webber who finished third on the podium alongside teammates Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley in the no1 Porsche while they handed over their 2015 FIA World Endurance Drivers' Championship title to teh teammates in the no2 Porsche Neel Jani, Romain Dumas and Marc Lieb. Lucas Di Grassi, Oliver Jarvis, Loic Duval - no8 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18 Fujifilm X-Pro2 + XF50-140mm f2.8 - 1/100 @f2.8 ISO1000 While out shooting during the first couple of hours of the 6 Hours of Bahrain I decided to shoot several images...

The 6 Hours of Bahrain is one of three races on the FIA World Endurance Championship calendar that are run at night.  The other races are the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas in Texas. Shooting at night provides some unique challenges but some of these issues are negated as the circuit has a massive floodlight system that provides light all around the track. Yesterday I went out and shot some images during the first Free Practice session which finished 20 minutes before sunset.  The low sun provided some deep shadows and also some amazing light on track as sunset approached. The second 90-minute Free Practice session was run under the floodlights which meant I had to push the ISO up a few notches to 1600 on the X-Pro2 and X-T2. The moon had risen just above the horizon and I was able to get a few shots with the exposure balanced enough to get both the car and the moon in the shot. I also took a few shots ...