CAPTURE NEW HORIZONS

Reigning FIA World Endurance Champion Mark Webber being interviewed during the event in Texas In November 2014 I had the opportunity to test the Fujifilm X100T alongside my original X100 Black Limited Edition ( CLICK HERE to see the blog).  At the time I thought the X100T was a big step up from the X100 and that I might be persuaded to upgrade from the camera that started my X Series journey. However I never did.  Not because the X100T wasn't the leap forward that I eluded to in my test, it was just that funds needed to be spent on my X-T1s and XF lenses for my work and I couldn't justify the expense when the X100 was still a great camera to use (it still is!). Anyway, nearly two years later I have finally got an X100T and it is still superb.  The small body, the build quality, the 16mp X-Trans sensor and that sublime Fujinon 23mm f2 lens all go together to make the photographic experience a joy.   Yes, compared to my X-Pro2 and X-T2 the AF is a lot slowe...

Fujifilm X-T2 + XF100-400mm  0.5s @ f22 ISO100 As regular readers of this blog will know I love pushing the boundaries with the performance of my equipment and also the exposure.  A good motorsport image will portray the sense of speed and the slower the shutter speed used the more the sense of speed is enhanced. While working trackside on Saturday evening at the Circuit of The Americas in Texas while the sun was setting to the west of the track, I decided to push the shutter speed from the usual 1/30th second to 0.5 seconds for a few laps.  The sun had just set and the sky was a vibrant orange.  The light reflecting off the red, white and blue stripes at the edge of the circuit and the metal barriers provided the framing for the cars speeding away from me across the frame. With the cars traveling at over 150mph at this point of the circuit, the intention was to get a lot of movement in the car, to almost get an impressionists view of a race car tr...

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...

Fujifilm X-T2 + XF50-140mm f2.8 (140mm) - 1/60 @ f2.8 ISO1600 Racing after sunset is part of the DNA of endurance racing and presents the photographer with some fantastic photo opportunities but also with some unique challenges.  I went trackside during the night practice session for the FIA World Endurance Championship event at the Circuit of The Americas in Texas with the Fujifilm X-T2 and the XF50-140mm f2.8. With floodlighting and car headlights getting the right exposure is going to tax any automatic exposure system so I set the shutter speed, aperture and ISO manually to ensure that the variation in light doesn't affect the end image. Fujifilm X-T2 + XF50-140mm f2.8 (50mm) - 1/30 @ f2.8 ISO400 The image above of the no42 Strakka Racing Gibson is a good example where I exposed for the pool of light and waited for the car to cross into the correct place.  The autofocus system on the X-T2 was able to track the car perfectly, in fact I used t...

After Mexico City the FIA World Endurance Championship headed north to the city of Austin in Texas for the 6 Hours of Circuit of The Americas, Round 6 of the FIA WEC. This is a shot I took in the first Free Practice session of the no7 Audi R18 of Andre Lotterer negotiating some of the fast corners on the track which are bordered by the red, white and blue lines that are a hallmark of this track in Texas. The second shot below was from the same position and is of Gianmaria Bruni in the no51 AF Corse Ferrari 488. The images were shot on the Fujifilm X-T2 and XF100-400mm f4.5/5.6, with the exposure of 1/200s @ f11 ISO200.  The camera was set to continuous AF and I was able to follow the car at high speed through the corners to capture this image.

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...

Downtown Austin is a vibrant place with bars, music, hotels and lots more to see and do.  The city is changing with new buildings being constructed in and around the older architecture that dates back to the 19th Century.  This eclectic mix of old and new gives Austin its charm. On the day I flew back to the UK I had a few hours before I needed to head to the airport after checking out of the hotel so I took the camera for a walk around Austin.  I first visited the Capitol Building and then strolled around taking in the sights. Here are some of the images I took on the Fujifilm X-T1 with either the XF10-24mm f4 or XF90mm f2 lenses before I flew back to the UK. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY VISITING THE ADVERTISERS ON THIS PAGE By clicking on the adverts you are helping support this blog - thank you...