CAPTURE NEW HORIZONS

On Friday I spent the day in the Highlands photographing the autumn colours along the River Tummel. While shooting from the footbridge over the river near Pitlochry I decided to take a few images using the Samyang 8mm Fisheye on the Fujifilm X-Pro2.  This 180 degree field of view lens is very good at keeping distortions under control but sometimes I like to take images that enhance the fisheye look of the lens. The top image is using the bridge handrails as a lead in line to the copse of trees at the end, while the A9 road bridge spanning the river provides a nice frame for the river and the trees, with the fisheye effect adding a curve to the bridge that was actually right above my head when I took the image. Images taken on the Fujifilm X-Pro2 + Samyang 8mm f2.8 fisheye lens   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY VISITING THE ADVERTISERS ON THIS ...

While on our quick one day tour of the Highlands yesterday we headed to the old bridge on the River Lyon.   This stone bridge is visible from the road on the opposite bank of the river but is usually obscured by the foliage on the trees that line the road.  However with it being winter we were hoping that we could get a clear shot. While there were no leaves on the trees, the river was running very high after all the recent heavy rain and the usual place to stand on the side of the river was underwater.  So we took some shots of the bridge through the branches of the trees to give a 'hidden secret' feel to the shots. The images were shot in black and white using the monochrome film simulation on the X-T1 and I used the XF50-140mm f2.8 to zoom in on the bridge and the falls. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY VISITING THE ADVERTISERS ON T...

With a population of 60,000 Zhujiajiao is a water town on the outskirts of Shanghai, and was established about 1,700 years ago. Archaeological findings dating back 5,000 years have also been found. 36 stone bridges and numerous rivers line Zhujiajiao, and many ancient buildings still line the riverbanks today. The village prospered through clothing and rice businesses. Today, old historical buildings such as rice shops, banks, spice stores and even a Qing dynasty post office can still be found. Zhujiajiao has many sights of historic interest, such as Fangsheng Bridge, and Kezhi Garden and the  Chenghuangmiao /Town God Temple  and I will be doing separate blogs on some of these areas of Zhujiajiao. The most iconic of the 36 bridges in Zhujiajiao is the 70-meter long Fangsheng bridge. Resting on 5 symmetric arches, the height of the bridge peaks at 5.8 meters. It was originally built by the monk Xingchao of Cimen Temple in 1571, and then rebuilt in 1812. The ce...

One of the functions on the Fujifilm X-T1 that I have been meaning to try out, but hadn't found the time until this morning, was the 'Interval Timer Shooting' to produce a timelapse video. I headed down to the bridge at Belhaven Bay at High Tide and set the camera to shoot an image every 10 second for 180 shots to capture the receding tide around the bridge. As the tide went out people were able use the bridge to access the beach on the far side.  I did three sets of 180 shots to produce the following video on the Fujinon XF35mm and XF55-200mm f3.5/4.8 lenses. I found the   'Interval Timer Shooting' function very easy to use.  I did set the camera to shoot Fine JPEG only (I usually shoot JPEG + RAW) as the number of images that were going to be produced during the sequence was going to exceed the capacity of the 16mb card if I shot RAW files. I am now going to use the  'Interval Timer Shooting' function to record some other areas around Du...

We've been living up here on the Firth or Forth for nearly seven months now but tonight was the first time we've had the opportunity to go down to South Queensferry to photograph the iconic Forth Rail Bridge.  We didn't have a lot of time but I managed to get this 30 second exposure of the bridge on the Fujifilm X100. Image taken on a Fujifilm Finepix X100 and a Fujinon 23mm f2 lens.  30s @ f8 ISO200 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY CLICKING THE GOOGLE ADVERTS It doesn't cost you anything to click on an advert but we get a small fee for every click thru from Google and this helps support this blog - thank you for helping ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ALL IMAGES ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT PRIOR PERM...

In the centre of Pont Neuf, in the Square du Vert-Galant, stands a bronze statue of King Henri III astride a horse.  Henri III was responsible for the building of Pont Neuf (New Bridge) and laid the first stone in 1578.  Henri died before the bridge was completed in 1607 when it was opened by his successor Henri IV. The statue is actually an exact replica of the original that was melted down during the French Revolution.  The bronze statue was replaced after the fall of Napoleon in 1818. CLICK HERE for more information on Pont Neuf and King Henri III Images taken on the Fujifilm X-Pro1 and Fujinon 35mm f1.4R -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY CLICKING THE GOOGLE ADVERTS It doesn't cost you anything to click on an advert but we get a small fee for every click thru from Google and this helps support this blog - thank you for helping ...

Pont Neuf  Pont Neuf (New Bridge) is the oldest surviving bridge across the River Seine in Paris with construction starting in 1578 by King Henri III.  The plans for the bridge were drawn up 22 years early during the reign of Henri's father, Henri II, but opposition from the merchants of the city delayed the start of this new crossing.   The bridge wasn't actually opened until 1607 during the reign of Henri IV but it marked the end of the medieval style of bridge building because Pont Neuf had no shops or houses on it.  Over the years the bridge has been altered and restored but it is essentially as it was 400 years ago. Along each side of the bridge 380 faces have been carved in stone and set facing the river.  In addition the lamp posts all have the same four faces cast into the base and these stretch from the north bank near the Louvre to the south side of the river. Using the Fuji X-Pro1 and the Fujinon 35mm f1.4 lens I captured a set of images sh...

The Passerelle Debilly (Debilly Footbridge) is an arch bridge situated in Paris bestriding the Seine. It is a footbridge that connects the quai de New York to the quai Branly, close to the Eiffel Tower. The bridge was built in 1900 to accommodate foot traffic at that year's World's Fair.  Originally it was to be a temporary structure but in 1906 the bridge was relocated to its current position and accorded permanent status. The similarities in construction between the bridge and the Eiffel Tower are clear to see and I shot a series of images to try and highlight this fact.  There are also a growing number of padlocks with messages of love on the bridge, something that is more abundant on the Pont des Arts and other bridges further up the Seine.  CLICK HERE for more information on the Passerelle Debilly. All images taken with a Fujifilm X-Pro1 and Fujinon 14mm f2.8 or Fujinon 35mm f1.4 ----------------------------------------------------...

The Bridge to No Where across Biel Water in Belhaven Bay is proving to be a popular subject for my camera lens at the moment as it is only a 5 minute walk down to the bay from our house in Dunbar. This is another image from the other evening and was shot with the Fuji X-Pro1 and 60mm f2.4 lens as the sun was setting behind the Lammermuir Hills. The image was taken on the Fujifilm X-Pro1 and Fujinon 60mm f2.4 lens - 1/1400 @ f8 ISO400 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY CLICKING THE GOOGLE ADVERTS It doesn't cost you anything to click on an advert but we get a small fee for every click thru from Google and this helps support this blog - thank you for helping ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ALL IMAGES ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY...

A walk around Budapest yesterday evening saw us walking down towards the bridges on the River Danube.  The bridge that caught my eye was the Szabadság híd or Liberty Bridge which was originally called the Franz Josef bridge after the emporer who opened the crossing from Buda to Pest in1896 after two years of construction. All images taken on a Fujifilm Finepix X100, 19mm f2 (WCL-X100 converter fitted) and Manfrotto tripod ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY CLICKING THE GOOGLE ADVERTS It doesn't cost you anything to click on an advert but we get a small fee for every click thru from Google and this helps support this blog - thank you for helping ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ALL IMAGES ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT P...

Travelling between Copenhagen and Odense yesterday along the E20 meant crossing the Great Belt Fixed Link, a huge suspension bridge (East Bridge) and then a box bridge (West Bridge).  The total length of the East Bridge is 6,790 metres (22,277 ft) and the West is 6,611 metres (21,690 ft), running to a total of over 13km. East Bridge On the way back to Copenhagen I took the opportunity to stop and take a walk on the beach after the funeral of Allan Simonsen I had attended in Odense. The Great Belt Fixed Link (Danish: Storebæltsforbindelsen) runs between the Danish islands of Zealand and Funen. It consists of a road suspension bridge and railway tunnel between Zealand and the island Sprogø, and a box girder bridge between Sprogø and Funen. The "Great Belt Bridge" (Danish: Storebæltsbroen) commonly refers to the suspension bridge, although it may also be used to mean the box-girder bridge or the link in its entirety. The suspension bridge, known as the East Bridge,...