CAPTURE NEW HORIZONS

Just below the lighthouse at Barns Ness there is a wooden structure that looks like the wreck of a wooden barge.  The wood has weathered to give some some beautiful shapes and colours and the iron bolts have rusted away to a wonderful red and orange colour.  I don't know the history of this structure but I have added this to my growing list of photographic subjects to return to on the East Lothian coastline. All images taken on a Fujifilm Finepix X100S ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 ...

T he Barns Ness Lighthouse was my first photographic subject when we arrived from England on the 31st July.  I've been meaning to go down to the shore and take some more images of the tower and yesterday the conditions were perfect for a short walk to get some pictures on the Fuji X100S before it is returned next week. The first shot is actually three images stitched together in Photoshop Elements 11 looking northwards towards the lighthouse and the North Sea beyond. HISTORY - from Northern Lighthouse Board website HERE The Lighthouse at Barns Ness was built by David A Stevenson, Engineer to the Commissioners. The light was first exhibited on 1 October 1901, approximately 2½ years after building operations commenced. The tower is 121 feet high, and is constructed of stone from Craigree (near Cramond) and Barnton quarries, as are the other buildings. The stone has proved to be tough as Barns Ness was machine gunned during the War, and no damage was sustained.  ...

In June, as a user of a wonderful Fujifilm Finepix X100 Black Limited Edition, I was given access to a X100S for a long term back-to-back test.  I did an initial report ( CLICK HERE ) on my findings on the improvements the 'S' offered and whether they were worth spending the extra £250+ over the standard X100, which is still available as the old stock is run out by retailers.  A month on and I thought I would report back on whether I had changed any of my initial impressions. Fujifilm Finepix X100S Fujifilm Finepix X100 Black Limited Edition In a word the answer is 'no'.  Don't get me wrong, the X100S is a wonderful camera and the extra 4mp on the sensor, the quicker start up and auto focus is well worth having but I still find myself reaching for my X100 when I go out and not the 'S'.  Why is this?  Well there are two reasons.   The first is the RAW files on the 'S' can't be opened by Photoshop Elements 11 but they can with Lightroom...

At the eastern end of Princes Street in Edinburgh and just off Leith Walk is the Old Calton Cemetery.  The cemetery opened in 1718 for the burial of tradesmen and merchants and was extended in 1767.  However in 1818 it was divided by the building of Waterloo Place and the larger part, which is the place I visited, includes a number of memorials to leading members of Edinburgh society. The obelisk by Thomas Hamilton remembers the political martyrs of 1793, who were 'transported' for sedition. The classical monument to philosopher David Hume (1711-76), seen in the top left of the images above, was built in 1777 by Robert Adam (1728-92). Other residents include painter David Allan (1744-96), Robert Burn (1752 - 1815), who had built the Nelson Monument on Calton Hill, publisher Archibald Constable (1774 - 1827) and sculptor Sir John Steell (1804-91). CLICK HERE for more information on the Old Calton Cemetery Image taken on Fujifilm Finepix X100S and ...

While in Edinburgh last Friday I spent a little time visiting the Old Calton Cemetery where several notable people from Edinburgh are buried (more on this in tomorrow's blog).  Walking up the steps from Leith Walk, my attention was immediately drawn to a statue of Abraham Lincoln.  On investigation this statue was mounted on top of a monument to the Scottish American soldiers who fought in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The Scottish–American Soldiers Monument depicts a standing figure of Abraham Lincoln, with a freed slave giving thanks at his feet. A bronze shield bears the old US flag, and is wreathed in thistles to the left, and cotton to the right. Two regimental flags lie furled, the battle being over. The black man holds a book, indicating that he is not only free, he is also now educated. This was the first statue to an American President in any country outwith the USA. It is the only statue of Lincoln in Scotland, and the only monument to the ...

One of the things I do for the FIA WEC is video interviews with drivers that can be streamed on the website, on the WEC Facebook page and on the championships Daily Motion page.  I usually use the Nikon D800 for this but at Le Mans I filmed an interview with Aston Martin driver Bruno Senna in preparation for the next race in his home city of Sao Paulo in Brazil using the Fujifilm Finepix X100S. The Reasons to Visit Sao Paulo by fiawec The X100 has a video function that takes 10 minute videos in HD (720P).  The X100S also takes 10 minute videos but in full HD (1080P).  Unlike the Nikon D800, the Fujis cannot use an external microphone, which is a real shame.  However with the video with Bruno we went somewhere quiet so the internal stereo mics had the best chance to pick up the interview.   The results are pretty impressive and I wouldn't hesitate to use the Fuji for further video interviews in the future. -----------------------------------...

Experimenting with different filters and lenses is great in photography but sometimes it can be very expensive.  Infrared photography has been around for many, many years but with the advent of digital photography it is now easier to give it a go.   The best way is to have an old camera converted to infrared photography.  There are plenty of companies who are able to carry out the conversion, which can cost a over £100 to carry out, and once it is done then the camera can only be used for one type of photography - hence the use of an older model.   But these cameras do give the best results. A cheaper way of dipping your toe into Infrared Photography is to buy one of the cheap lenses available on eBay.  I did this recently, spending a grand total of £15 on a 77mm screw in filter.  Fitted to the Fuji X100S, the results are very striking.  I use a 77mm filter because the majority of my Nikon lenses are 77mm or less and it is cheaper to buy step...

The other night I went out to take some images of the poppy field near Burton Coggles - see blog post on 27 June.  I took these images on my Nikon D800 but at the same time I took some pictures with the Fujifilm X100 and X100S to do a side by side comparison. To do this I set the tripod in position and then put the X100S on it to take an image of some poppies.  The camera was set to ISO500 and Aperture Priority with the camera set to f4.  I took two images and then did exactly the same with the X100, using the same settings.  The two images came out at 1/110s @ f4. The image on the left was taken on the X100 and the image on the right by the X100S.  Both images were downloaded in RAW and the same changes made to the exposure, clarity and highlights. The images are so similar that if I swapped them over I don't think anyone would be the wiser.  The older 12.2mp sensor certain holds it own against the newer 16mp X-Tran sensor. I will be doing...

Anyone who reads this blog will know that the Fujifilm Finepix X100 is my favourite walkabout camera. It can produce images that rival the much larger Nikon D800, it is beautiful to look at and is so well screwed together that I'm sure it will last me years.  My X100 is a limited edition 'black' version and came with a few special extras in the box when I bought it last October. In March 2013 Fuji unveiled the X100S, an updated version of the X100 with improvements in several areas including the use of a 16mp X-Trans sensor from the X-Pro1 / XE-1, full 1080P HD video and a faster AF system.  I played with an X100S at the Focus on Imaging Show in March but last week I was able to get my hands on one for a long term test. X100 on the left and the new X100S on the right REAL WORLD TESTING: Like all my tests on this blog there is nothing scientific about how I go about assessing a camera. I use it in real world situations and then report how I found using th...

Today was the worst day in my career in motorsport and this was the last picture I took on the grid before the start of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.  During the first few laps Allan Simonsen (on the left) was killed after his Aston Martin Vantage hit the barriers and little did I know when I gave Allan a thumbs up and a 'good luck' that this would be the last time I would see him.    I had the pleasure of working with Allan for most of my career, first meeting up with the happy-go-lucky Dane during our time at the European Formula Palmer Audi Championship in 2000.  A blindingly quick driver in single seaters but lacking the backing to move up to the upper echalons of the category he switched to sportscars and this where he really made his mark.   Allan spent a lot of time in Australia where he became a well known and successful GT driver, he stayed so long that the Danish driver picked up an Aussie accent.   I started working with Alla...