CAPTURE NEW HORIZONS

Welcome to the first day of the FIA World Endurance Championship in Texas. The colourful run off areas are painted in the national colours of the United States and Texas. Today is the first of three days of track activity with the WEC cars on track for two 90-minute Free Practice sessions starting at 12:00 CT / 18:00 BST. This shot was taken during my track inspection yesterday morning on the Fujifilm X-T2 and the XF16-55mm f2.8 lens ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE...

The fourth edition of the 6 Hours of Circuit of The Americas, which is the 6th round of the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship, took place in Texas yesterday in sweltering conditions.  The thermometer hit 96 degrees F / 36 degrees Celsius - it was VERY hot! I took the opportunity to get some shots during the build up to the race and then capture some track images as the sun went down and the race finished under the stars. Once again the event was organised very well by the US crew and Austin is a great place to visit.  Next stop on the WEC calendar is the 6 Hours of Fuji in Japan but before that I head to Belgium for the next round of the European Le Mans Series at Spa-Francorchamps next weekend. Here are some images from the build up and race taken on the Fujifilm X-T2.   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY V...

While I was walking up Congress Avenue in Austin Texas I came across a bronze life size statue of a woman firing a cannon.  The plaque next to the statue told the story of Angelina Eberly, the saviour of Austin. In December 1842, President Sam Houston ordered the secret removal of the archives of the Texas Republic to safekeeping in  Washington-on-the-Brazos . Mrs. Eberly, realizing that the symbols of national government were being removed from the city, fired a six-pound  cannon  into the General Land Office Building, arousing the town to what they considered theft. The ensuing conflict became known as the  Archive War , which was won by the Austinites, preserving Austin as capital of Texas and keeper of the archives. The statue of Angelina Eberly firing off her cannon was erected at the very spot this historic event took place: Sixth and Congress in downtown Austin, TX. The sculptor of the Angelina Eberly statue is Pat Oliphant, the most w...

At the top of Congress Avenue, which runs from the bridge over the Colorado River and up the hill, stands the Texas State Capitol, home of the Governor of Texas and the State Legislature.  I visited the Capitol in 2014 but this was after the sun had set and the building was lit by floodlighting ( CLICK HERE to view the 2014 blog). Building started in February 1882 and was completed on the 21 April 1888 - which was the 52nd anniversary of the Battle of San Jacinto , where the Texan army defeated the Mexicans and gave Texas its independence in 1836. The Texas State Capitol is 308 feet / 94m tall making it the sixth tallest State Capitol and taller than the building in Washington.  The building is clad in Red Sunset Granite giving the Texas State Capitol a distinctive red colouration and subsequently many of the buildings in downtown Austin were also constructed using the same red coloured stone.   On top of the central dome sits the 'Goddess of Liberty' hol...

Over the past few months I have been putting the Fujinon XF50-140mm f2.8R OIS WR through its paces and this lens has become my new best friend of the Fujinon range.  My favourite Nikon lens was my Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8 and so it is no surprise that I the 50-140mm (76mm-213mm equivalent) found its way into my camera bag in June. Physically there is no denying that the 50-140mm f2.8 is a big lens but it is smaller than the equivalent Nikon or Canon lens and on the price front it beats the other two Japanese manufacturers as well. The build quality of the product is what we have come to expect from an X-Series lens, superbly screwed together - it feels like a professional lens and has the new red XF badge on the lens barrel denoting its status. However it is the results that are the most important and this lens does not disappoint.  In fact I would go so far as saying the 50-140mm f2.8 is the best XF lens so far. The AF is snappy and the OIS system works so well that yo...

The Texas State Capitol, located in Downtown Austin, is the fourth building to house the state government of Texas. The capitol building contains the chambers of the Texas Legislature and the office of the governor. Originally designed in 1881 by architect Elijah E. Myers, it was constructed from 1882 to 1888 under the direction of civil engineer Reuben Lindsay Walker. A $75 million underground extension was completed in 1993. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 and recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 1986. After dinner we decided to walk up to the Capitol building to have a closer look.  Situated on a small hill, the Capitol sits at the top of North Congress Avenue in Austin and can be seen from the street all the way down to the river. These two shots were taken on the Fujifilm X100 with it's fixed 23 mm f2 lens.  Exposure was 1/30 @ f2 ISO800 CLICK HERE for more information on the Texas State Capitol Buil...

Today is set up day ahead of this weekend's FIA World Endurance Championship race at the Circuit of the America's in Austin, Texas.  After a long journey by sea freight from Europe the teams are busily unpacking the containers and rebuilding their race cars ahead of this weekend's event. Track action begins on Thursday afternoon so the teams have two days to set up their garages and prepare the cars for battle.   The 6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas is the fourth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship and the first of five rounds outside of Europe.  This race in USA will be followed by 6 hour races in Japan, China, Bahrain, with the season concluding in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on the 30th November. For further information on the FIA WEC CLICK HERE More images can be found on the FIA WEC Facebook feed HERE Images shot with a Fujifilm X-T1 + Fujinon XF10-24mm f4R OIS ------------------------------------------------------------------------...