CAPTURE NEW HORIZONS

Last week I hosted a Maclean Photographic workshop and one of my clients wanted to know how to get images of birds in flight using her X-T20 and XC50-230mm lens.   At this time of year the seabirds along the East Lothian coast are starting to return and I knew there were Fulmars starting to set up home in the cliffs above the beach at Seacliff.  So that is where we headed for a couple of hours to get some pictures of the Fulmars ( Fulmarus glacialis). While my client was using her X-T20 I decided to put the new Fujifilm X-H1 fitted with the XF100-400mm lens through it's paces to test the Auto Focus capabilities and I am pleased to say it is as good shooting wildlife as it is shooting sport. Fulmars Glacialis Fulmars are actually related to the mighty albatross and they fly low over the sea on stiff wings and shallow wingbeats.  They glide on the sea breezes and nest high up in the cliff faces, riding the  up draughts.  Fulmars defend their nest...

I started this review of my ten favourite images of 2016 with an image from Japan and it is fitting that my favourite shot of the year was also taken on my last day on my trip in October a few hours before I boarded a flight back to the UK via Qatar. This image was taken on the X-T2 and the Samyang 8mm f2.8 fisheye lens of one of the many stones in the grounds of the  Naritasan Shinshoji Temple.   Using a low angle below the stone, I took the shot upwards using the ultra wide angle lens to get a different view of the subject surrounded by the trees. CLICK HERE to view the blog   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY VISITING THE ADVERTISERS ON THIS PAGE By clicking on the adverts you are helping support this blog - thank you. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------...

The John Muir Way winds its way across the south of Scotland from Muir's birth place in Dunbar and ends in Helensburgh 133 miles away on the north side of the Clyde, which was the place that Muir family set sail for the United States. We have walked small parts of the John Muir Way, which isn't very difficult as it passes a few hundred metres from the front door of our house in Dunbar, but in September this year we decided to head out to a section of the pathway on the south bank of the Forth River, west of the road and rail bridges. The part of the John Muir Way we decided to walk was from Blackness Castle in the west along the side of the Firth of Forth, past Hopetoun House and onwards towards the beach near South Queensferry which gave a great view of the three bridges. We also had a view across the water towards the naval dockyard of Rosyth, where the new Royal Navy aircraft carriers are being built.  HMS Queen Elizabeth is nearly complete and will sail out ...

Yesterday morning, after three months of trying, I finally got to land on Bass Rock to visit the Gannet colony that is visible from the end of my road here in Dunbar.  The Bass has been described as one of the natural wonders of the world by no less than Sir David Attenborough, so who am I to argue with 'the man'?  I just also happen to agree with him! On Monday evening, for the fifth time this year, I waited anxiously for a text from the Scottish Seabird Centre to say that the trip had been cancelled. No text arrived so I set the alarm clock for 5:30am and went down to Dunbar harbour to meet our guide Maggie and the other guests on this trip out to Bass Rock on the Dunbar based fishing boat 'Fisher Lassie'.   Now we had got this far on the 26th June and with the island shrouded in mist I still wasn't convinced we would be able to land. However my doubts were banished when the mist lifted enough to see Bass Rock and the thousands of Gannets that ...