CAPTURE NEW HORIZONS

In September I posted a feature on the rig shot conducted by fellow X Photographer John Rourke with the two Proton Competition Porsche 911s at Spa-Francorchamps ( CLICK HERE ).  I ended the feature by saying the next rig shot was going to be with the Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota TS050 Hybrid Le Mans Prototype (LMP1) at its home track at Fuji Speedway in Japan. This shoot was arranged for Thursday morning before the car was due to go through scrutinising (pre event technical checks) so we had just 45 minutes to complete this shoot. John, along with his photographers Ade Holbrook and Gabi Tomescu, worked swiftly to set up the carbon fibre rig and get the shots taken on the Fujifilm X-T2 and XF10-24mm f4 lens. I shot it all on video for the FIA World Endurance Championship website and social media feeds using my X-T2 and 10-24mm f4 zoom lens.    Here is the video - And here is the final image shot by John - The image above is the property of John R...

The Fujinon XF90mm f2R LM WR is not designed to be a macro lens but the 135mm equivalent focal length makes it ideal for keeping your distance from subjects that suit macro images.   To improve the close focusing abilities of the lend I have a 16mm extender that fits between the lens and the body of the X-T1 which allows the 90mm to focus closer. I used this combination to captures these images of this colourful spider that had spun its web near to the shrines that we visited near Fuji Speedway ( BLOG HERE ). Images taken on Fujifilm X-T1 and XF90mm f2R LM WR with 16mm extender fitted. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY VISITING THE ADVERTISERS ON THIS PAGE By clicking on the adverts you are helping support this blog - thank you. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------...

Taken on the XF16-55mm f2.8R LM WR For the past week I have been in Japan working on the FIA World Endurance Championship event at Fuji Speedway and also attending an X-Photographers meeting and filming at Fujifilm HQ in Tokyo.  Since June I have been using the Fujinon XF50-140mm f2.8 and this week I have been given the XF16-55mm f2.8 to test. I will be producing a full test report for this blog  next week when I get back from the European Le Mans Series season finale in Portugal but my first impressions of the 16-55mm f2.8 is this is am impressive lens and worthy of the excellent coverage and awards it has been receiving in the photographic press and online.   The 16-55mm is a big lens, but to get a f2.8 constant aperture it was never going to be small.  However, unlike the 50-140mm, the lens increases in size as you zoom, where the zoom movements are internal on the 50-140mm. Another difference between the two lenses is the inclusion of an Optical Image ...

After heavy rain and a wet race at Fuji International Speedway for Round 6 of the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship it was a nice surprise to wake up on the last day in Japan to find Mount Fuji had gained its familiar snow cap overnight. This image was taken from the hotel car park in Susono and then I headed off to try and find a better location to take some more pictures before heading to Tokyo.  But the cloud cover soon obscured the top of the mountain and the plan had to be abandoned. However I took it as a good omen on my last day in the land of the rising sun and I hope to be back in Japan in 12 months time. The image was taken on the Fujifilm X-T1 and the XF50-140mm f2.8. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY VISITING THE ADVERTISERS ON THIS PAGE By clicking on the adverts you are helping support this blog - thank you. ------------------...

Mount Fuji is one of the natural wonders of the world and at over 12,000 ft high Fuji San, as the Japanese refer to the dormant volcano, dominates the skyline from Fuji Speedway when the cloud cover isn't obscuring the view. Today was our first day on track ahead of the 6th round of the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship and there was hardly a cloud in the sky all day.  The views of Mount Fuji were brilliant as I took some set up shots around the circuit. Here are some of the shots I took of Mount Fuji today and you can find more on the official WEC website HERE . All images were taken on a Fujifilm X-T1 with either a XF10-24mm f4, XF50-140mm f2.8 or 90mm f2 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. -----------------...

Sebastien Buemi - Toyota (6 Hours of Fuji race winner) After the 6 Hours of Fuji on Sunday evening we hold the traditional post race press conference for the top three driver crews followed by a second press conference for the winning crews from each of the classes. The overall winners were Sebastien Buemi and Anthony Davidson in the no8 Toyota TS040 hybrid, with their teammates, Stephane Sarrazin, Kazuki Nakajima and Alex Wurz in second.  The Porsche crew of Mark Webber, Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley were third in the Porsche 919 hybrid, their first podium since Silverstone in April. All of the images were shot on the Fujifilm X-Pro1 with the  XF55-200mm f3.5/4.8R OIS lens.  The ISO was set at 3200 because the lighting in the room was such that I had to push the ISO to get a reasonable 1/200s shutter speed.  The quality of the images are, once again, more than just good for such a high ISO. Stephane Sarrazin - Toyota Mark Webber - Porsche ...

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...

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...

This is a shot across Belhaven Bay from Winterfield Golf Course.  The bench on the headland is very popular as a place to just sit and contemplate the world.  I have found out from a Dunbar resident that the bench is in memory of a local lady called Jane Baird, who used to walk her dog Sula on Belhaven Bay every day. She was a  familiar figure to lots of people and always had a kind word.  The bench is her memorial and what a view it has.  The beauty is this bench is a 5-minute walk from our house in Dunbar and I have to pinch myself every so often to make sure I'm not dreaming as Dunbar is such a beautiful place to live.  We are very lucky! The image was taken on the Fujifilm X-Pro1 and Fujinon 60mm f2.4 lens -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY CLICKING THE GOOGLE ADVERTS It doesn't cost you anything to click on an advert but w...

Walking down to Belhaven Bay this evening in some glorious winter sunshine (see it doesn't always rain in Scotland) to grab some test shots for my blog on the first three months with the Fuji X-Pro1 we spotted this kayak surfer paddling out from Biel Water to catch the waves as the sun set across East Lothian. The images were taken on the Fuji XP1 and 60mm f2.4 lens and then cropped slightly in PSE11. Kayak Surfing in East Lothian Paddling out to catch another wave for the ride back to the beach Timing it right to catch the wave Big waves in Belhaven Bay this evening You can make out the conoeist in the surf as the sun set on Belhaven Bay -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 - t...