CAPTURE NEW HORIZONS

Sunrise over Hiroshima Bay GFX50R + GF100-200mm f5.6 - 1/250s @ f5.6 ISO100 One of the joys of my job is the bonus of travelling to some fantastic destinations.  Of all the countries I visit Japan is by far and away my favourite and I have been lucky to have visited the Land of Rising Sun nine times since 2012. I usually fly to Tokyo and spend a few personal days travelling around the city or in the area to the north or south of Tokyo, but in 2019 I decided to fly to Osaka and spend some time in the south of the country.  I also decided to take the medium format Fujifilm GFX50R, along with the GF32-64mm f4 and the GF100-200mm f5.6 zooms, to see if this was going to be my ultimate travel camera outfit. TWO DAYS IN HIROSHIMA I flew into Kansai International Airport and, after collecting a hire car, I drove 230 miles west to Hiroshima for the first stop on my itinerary.  As a student of history I have always wanted to visit the Peace Park and museum in Hirosh...

Today is the last day of my latest trip to Japan and once again it has been an absolute pleasure to visit the Land of the Rising Sun for the sixth time.  I never get tired of discovering new things in this country whose people are welcoming and the culture ancient and respectful.   Of all the places I have visited, Japan has to be second only to Scotland on my list of favourite countries. On this trip we visited Nikko National Park before heading to Fuji Speedway for the seventh round of the FIA World Endurance Championship and I have a lot of images for several features which I will be posting over the next few weeks. This is the shot of the sunrise yesterday morning over Mount Fuji.  I watched as the sun hit the clouds and then lit up the top of Japan's sacred mountain (Fuji San).   I was going to get some more shots of Fuji San this morning before I headed back to Tokyo but the beautiful weather that we have enjoyed for the past five days has gone an...

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. -----------------...

Mount Fuji was visible for the first time during our 2014 trip to Japan this morning.  This was the view of the 12,000 foot volcano from my hotel in Sosuno taken, quite aptly, on the Fujifilm X-T1 and XF35mm f1.4 lens.

October 2013 was dominated by a 10 day trip to Japan for the Formula One race at Suzuka and Round 6 of the FIA World Endurance Championship at Fuji Motor Speedway.  This enabled me to climb Mount Fuji and spend some time in Tokyo to see and photograph some of the sights. This shot of Mount Fuji with a snow cap was one of the first shots I took on my newly acquired Fuji X-Pro1 and I decided this was a good omen. However it wasn't a good omen for the race, which was curtailed due to heavy rain. Returning to Scotland and I soon got out and about with the X-Pro1 to capture some autumnal images for the MacLean Photographic portfolio. CLICK HERE to see the October 2013 archive ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 ...

We woke up yesterday morning to the iconic sight of Mount Fuji with a snow cap.  This is the first time we have all seen Fuji-San with snow at the summit and it had everyone grabbing their cameras for a picture. Perfectly this was one of the first shots I took on my new Fujifilm X-Pro1 - Fuji-San taken on my new Fuji!  I now have a Fuji X-Pro1 with 14mm f2.8, 18mm f2, 35mm f1.4 and 60mm f2.4 prime lenses to complement my Fuji X100. I will be doing an initial 'first impressions' test on the Fujifilm X-Pro1 shortly.  I mages taken on a Fujifilm X-Pro1 + 18mm f2 and 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 we get a small fee for every click thru from Google and this helps support this blog - thank you for helping ----------------------...

Mount Fuji is one of the iconic landmarks of Japan and last year I took plenty of images from ground level.  This year, along with my FIA WEC colleague Lisa Crampton, we stopped at the mountain on our way down to Suzuka from Tokyo airport to get a closer look at Fuji-San and attempt to climb the 3775 metre (12389 ft) volcano. Driving up to the 5th station at 2440 metres the Fujinomiya Trail to the top is clearly marked and well worn.  The climb is not difficult but it is tiring and takes 3-4 hours on average.  We arrived at 2:30pm and with the sunset due at 5:20pm we decided to see how far we could get up the trail. The trail is marked with ropes and the path covered with loose rocks and shale from the volcano.  There are parts that are steeper than others but it is never a need to be a mountaineer.  That said warm closes, plenty of drink, choclate and sturdy boots are a must as at 12...