CAPTURE NEW HORIZONS

no2 Porsche Team Porsche 919 Hybrid (LMP1) - 1/60 @ f13 100ISO It now 12 months since I first used a prototype of the XF100-400mm f4.5/5.6 and just over 6 months since I received a prototype Fujifilm X-T2 and I have been happily shooting motorsport with this combination.  The X-T2 has proven to be a great track camera and combined with the long reach of the XF100-400mm I have been able to take shots of moving cars with ease. no95 Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Vantage V8 (LMGTE PRO) - 1/450 @ f5.6 200ISO Last weekend I used the X-T2 and XF100-400mm to capture these images (and others) of the track action at the Shanghai International Circuit in China where I was working on the FIA World Endurance Championship. The autofocus on the X-T2 is more than capable of tracking a fast moving race car and the 11 frames per second drive means I rarely miss the decisive moment.  The 100-400mm is a great lens, brilliantly sharp and easy to use despite its size. ...

Fujifilm X-T2 + XF100-400mm  0.5s @ f22 ISO100 As regular readers of this blog will know I love pushing the boundaries with the performance of my equipment and also the exposure.  A good motorsport image will portray the sense of speed and the slower the shutter speed used the more the sense of speed is enhanced. While working trackside on Saturday evening at the Circuit of The Americas in Texas while the sun was setting to the west of the track, I decided to push the shutter speed from the usual 1/30th second to 0.5 seconds for a few laps.  The sun had just set and the sky was a vibrant orange.  The light reflecting off the red, white and blue stripes at the edge of the circuit and the metal barriers provided the framing for the cars speeding away from me across the frame. With the cars traveling at over 150mph at this point of the circuit, the intention was to get a lot of movement in the car, to almost get an impressionists view of a race car tr...

After Mexico City the FIA World Endurance Championship headed north to the city of Austin in Texas for the 6 Hours of Circuit of The Americas, Round 6 of the FIA WEC. This is a shot I took in the first Free Practice session of the no7 Audi R18 of Andre Lotterer negotiating some of the fast corners on the track which are bordered by the red, white and blue lines that are a hallmark of this track in Texas. The second shot below was from the same position and is of Gianmaria Bruni in the no51 AF Corse Ferrari 488. The images were shot on the Fujifilm X-T2 and XF100-400mm f4.5/5.6, with the exposure of 1/200s @ f11 ISO200.  The camera was set to continuous AF and I was able to follow the car at high speed through the corners to capture this image.

Yesterday I flew to Munich for the Audi Sport 2015 review where the German manufacturer celebrated their achievements during the past 12 months. The evening concluded with the revealing of the 2016 Audi R18 e-tron quattro, the car Audi Sport are confident that will regain them the World Endurance Championship that they last won in 2013 and also score them their 14th victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Sitting in the audience I was only able to get this shot of the car as it was unveiled as the covers went back on as the presentation came to a close.  There are some official shots of the new car on the Audi website.  The image above was taken on the Fujifilm X-T1 and the XF18mm f2. This morning I am heading back to Scotland for a few days before I head to Paris for the FIA Awards Gala, the official closing event of the 2015 season where all the world champions for WEC, F1, WRC, WRX and WTCC will receive their trophies. --------------------------------------------...

The official cars for the FIA World Endurance Championship are provided by Audi and at each round of the world championship a number of cars are provided for functions such as Safety Car, Medical Car and Course Car. Yesterday morning the Audi R8 quattro that was being used as the Safety car this weekend was on the track for a photo opportunity with 1 54 children from the 6th Grade at Gotenba Minami School were the first to visit this morning and the children, all aged between 10 and 11 years old. After the main photograph was taken the car was left on track for five minutes while the children went back into the pitlane and I managed to grab this shot at the top of the page with the dark rain clouds forming over the hills in the background.   Images taken on a Fujifilm X-T1 + Fujinon XF35mm f1.4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY VISITING THE ADVERTISER...

Andre Lotterer - Audi During a race weekend the manufacturer teams hold 'Meet the Team' events for the international and national media that gather to report on the FIA World Endurance Championship.   Today at the Circuit of the Americas, near Austin, Texas, Audi and Toyota both held 'Meet the Team' events in the foyer of the International Media Centre.  First up was Audi with their six drivers - Tom Kristensen, Loic Duval, Lucas di Grassi, Marcel Fassler, Benoit Treluyer and Andre Lotterer.   Next up was Toyota with Nicolas Lapierre, Sebastien Buemi, Stephane Sarrazin, Anthony Davidson and Alex Wurz. The two events gave me the opportunity to further test the new Fujinon XF56mm f1.2 lens, shooting wide open to create a very shallow depth of field. The images were then converted to black and white in Silver Efex Pro2. Loic Duval - Audi Marcel Fassler - Audi Tom Kristensen - Audi Anthony Davidson - Toyota Nicolas Lapierre - Toyota ...

Last week I posted a couple of 'sneak peek' images of the Audi R8 I had on loan from the Audi UK Press Office for a feature I was writing for the FIA World Endurance Championship website and the championship's official social media feeds.   This feature is now live HERE and so I can unveil the other images from the three days I had with the car. The Audi R8 is a staggering machine but then, for nearly £100K, you would expect it to be.  With a top speed of 188mph (not that I got to test that figure of course) and 0-60mph is 4.6 seconds the performance seriously impressive but it was the usability of the R8 as an everyday car was the best bit.  This isn't a stripped out race car but a luxury Audi that could blow the socks off most other cars on the open road.  A very early start on Wednesday morning was nearly called off when heavy fog blanketed the East Lothian coast but a little voice at the back of my head told me to get up and get out to White S...