CAPTURE NEW HORIZONS

This morning saw another sunny start in the Ardennes forest as we prepare for the opening day of track action for the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, Round 5 of the 2017 European Le Mans Series. As usual at this time of year there was a low lying mist on the fields and in the trees surrounding the 7km Spa-Francorchamps circuits.  As the sun rose above the tree line the warm sunlight streamed through the tops of the trees creating a stunning display. Standing on the top of the pit building I shot across the valley with the Fujifilm X-T2 and the XF50-150mm f2.8 + 2x converter.  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY VISITING THE ADVERTISERS ON THIS PAGE By clicking on the adverts you are helping support this blog - thank you. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------...

This afternoon we went for a walk up at the Thornton Glen Nature Reserve near Innerwick, which also includes the ruins of Innerwick Castle. At this time of year the woods are a blaze of colours as the wild flowers bloom in the spring sunshine.  The banks leading down to the burn are covered in white flowers of the wild garlic, and there are also small pockets of bluebells but not was many as in previous years. The sunshine was coming down through the tree tops, with the branches creating shafts of light that highlighted some of the flowers. I used the Fujifilm GFX and the 120mm f4 macro lens to photograph some of the flowers in details and also used the GF32-64mm f4 zoom to get a wider view. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY VISITING THE ADVERTISERS ON THIS PAGE By clicking on the adverts you are helping support...

Fujifilm X-T2 + XF100-400mm f4.5/5.6 - 1/800 @ f8 ISO200 On Wednesday I spent the day in the Scottish Borders, primarily to recce the area for the up coming Borders Rally on the 18th March and to also meet with a workshop client who wanted some advice.  It also gave me an opportunity to stop and take in the beauty of this area of Scotland. Fujifilm X-T2 + XF16-55mm f2.8 - 1/1600 @ f8 ISO200 Unlike on my recent trips to the Highlands, the Scottish Borders had received a covering of snow, especially on the higher ground, which made this wonderful landscape even more beautiful.  The Borders are not as dramatic as the Scottish mountain further north, but the high, rolling hills provide a different perspective for a landscape photographer to focus their lens on. Fujifilm X-T2 + XF16-55mm f2.8 - 1/250 @ f5.6 ISO200 With cloudy, grey skies, with some breaks forming to give a bit of texture, I decided to switch the Fujifilm X-T2 to ACROS fil...

As a landscape photographer I am often asked what do I do when the clouds gather and it starts to rain?  Well I certainly don't pack up and go home if that is what you are thinking.  Up here in Scotland the weather can change very quickly and it is not impossible to have all four seasons in one day up here. Now on my wall at home we have a small plaque and it says, "life is not about sheltering from the storm, it is learning to dance in the rain!"  Well this applies to photography as well and if the weather is not going quite to plan, then it is time to switch to Plan B or even Plan C. When it is raining and the sky is overcast I go looking for natural shapes and colours, usually a copse or forest.  We found these silver birch trees on the side of a loch up in Sutherland and the muted orange and yellow colours of the bracken highlighted the silver branches and the green lichen. Using the X-T2 and the XF50-140mm f2.8 lens I captured a variety of images, u...

On Friday I spent the day in the Highlands photographing the autumn colours along the River Tummel. While shooting from the footbridge over the river near Pitlochry I decided to take a few images using the Samyang 8mm Fisheye on the Fujifilm X-Pro2.  This 180 degree field of view lens is very good at keeping distortions under control but sometimes I like to take images that enhance the fisheye look of the lens. The top image is using the bridge handrails as a lead in line to the copse of trees at the end, while the A9 road bridge spanning the river provides a nice frame for the river and the trees, with the fisheye effect adding a curve to the bridge that was actually right above my head when I took the image. Images taken on the Fujifilm X-Pro2 + Samyang 8mm f2.8 fisheye lens   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY VISITING THE ADVERTISERS ON THIS ...

After two weeks away in Japan and Portugal today was the first opportunity I have had to visit one of my favourite places near to my home in Scotland.   With autumn in full swing we decided to go for a walk in the woods near Tyningham beach and with the sun shining through the trees there was some great photographic opportunities to be had.  I decided not to go loaded down with lots of photographic gear and took only the Fujifilm X100T in my pocket.  Going small and light meant I had to think creatively about what I was going to photograph but with the X100T that isn't such a hard thing to do. With the sunlight coming down through the trees, there were plants and leaves being highlighted by the shafts of light so I switched the X100T to macro mode to get in close with the Fujinon 23mm f2 lens.  This sharp lens picked up all the detail in the backlit leaves and the forest floor. All images taken on the Fujifilm X100T with its fixed 23m...

The main reason we spent two days in Nikko National Park in Japan was to capture the autumn colours that this region is famous for.  Unfortunately we arrived in Nikko Province about ten days too early as many of the trees were still in their summer livery.  But when we headed north of Lake Chuzenji, climbing up into the mountains, the leaves started to show their autumnal sheen, with some trees a blaze of fiery reds and yellows.  The trees surrounding the impressive Ryuzu Falls provided a great display and the shot on this page is one of my favourites from the whole day.  The picture was taken on the Fujifilm X-Pro2 with the XF100-400mm lens. I will be posting a series of features of the travels in Japan in the coming weeks once I have completed the European Le Mans Series event in Portugal this weekend.   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY ...

When you asked what is a good landscape lens you would probably say a wide angle prime or good quality zoom.  My preferred wide angle for landscapes would be the XF10-24mm f4 or the XF18mm f2.   However a good telephoto lens can be used to great effect to isolate parts of the landscape or compress the perspective and while the new XF100-400mm f4.5/5.6 Fujinon is probably thought of as a good lens for sport ad wildlife, I use it a lot when I am out shooting landscapes. Earlier this week I spent two days shooting in Nikko National Park in Japan and I used the X-Pro2 with the 100-400mm telephoto zoom to good effect.   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY VISITING THE ADVERTISERS ON THIS PAGE By clicking on the adverts you are helping support this blog - thank you. ---------------------------------------------...

I went for a walk down to the Tyne Estuary today to take in the glorious spring sunshine before the Arctic weather returns tomorrow.   While walking through the woods to the beach I spotted some wild Primulas growing in the trees beautifully lit by the strong sunlit filtering down through the branches over head.  So I stopped to take a few shots on the X-Pro2 and XF100-400mm.   This super telephoto zoom lens is surprisingly good at focusing close in on the flowers and all of these shots are full frame, none of them are cropped. I also used the same lens and camera combination to capture a few shots down by the beach. The next MacLean Photographic Woodland Exploration workshop will take place on Sunday 22 May - more details HERE ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY VISITING THE ADVERTISERS ON THIS PAGE ...