CAPTURE NEW HORIZONS

Yesterday was Scotland's National Airshow at the National Museum of Flight in East Fortune, just a few miles from our home base in Dunbar.  I hadn't been to an airshow since I left the Royal Air Force in 1996 and I thought it would be a good opportunity for another high speed test the new Autofocus software on the X-T1. The stars of the airshow was going to be a display by the world famous Red Arrows, the RAF's aerobatic display team and with the Hawk jets moving at speeds in excess of 400mph I decided this was going to be the display to test the version 4 software to the max. Using the XF50-140mm f2.8 I set the X-T1 autofocus to AF-C and to single point AF but switched to zone tracking halfway through the display. The 50-140mm, with its 210mm equivalent maximum focal length probably isn't long enough for single aircraft displays but for the nine aircraft display it was perfect as the Red Arrows flew right in front of us at low level.  The new Fujinon super...

While out photographing at sunrise yesterday morning at Barns Ness I spotted some Harebells growing in the grass on the top of the beach so I stopped to take some shots as the morning light cast a warm glow and long shadows over the small flowers. The Harebell (Campanula Rotundifolia) can be found all along the coastline here in East Lothian and these beautiful and slender blue flowers certainly add a splash of colour to the meandering coastal pathways.  Here in Scotland the Harebell is sometimes referred to as the Bluebell but most people know Hyacinthoides non-scripta as the Bluebell, which looks a lot different to the more slender and delicate Harebell.   All of these images were shot on a Fujifilm X-T1.  I used the Fujinon 90mm f2 lens with a 16mm extension tube to be able to focus closer to the small flowers.  The next three images were taken on this lens combination. I then took the opportunity to shoot some back lit Harebells using t...

Sunrise is probably my favourite time of day for photography.  Under clear skies the light is amazing and can lead to some beautiful colours and strong contrasts.  Yesterday I posted some images of the sunlight hitting the water coming onto the beach ( CLICK HERE ) and those shots perfectly illustrate the reasons why I choose to haul myself out of bed at 4:30am on a summer morning. The colours before the sun gets above the horizon can be quite vibrant, as demonstrated in the image at the top of the page.  As the sun climbs into the sky the colours shifts towards the blue end of the spectrum but the light is still warm and still very contrasty. Barns Ness is a good place to capture great sunrise shots as the sun rises just beyond the lighthouse, which is a great manmade focal point for coastal images. These images were all shot on the Fujifilm X-T1 using the 50-140mm f2.8 for the first two images and the 16mm f1.4 for the third shot. -----------------...

The Spear Thistle (Cirsium vulgare) is the national flower of Scotland and at this time of year can be found along the paths and roads here in East Lothian and all over the country. The thistle is actually a common weed and legend has it that a thistle saved a Scottish army from invading Norsemen when one of the attackers stepped on a thistle in bare feet. His cries of pain alerted the Scots to the danger and they won the day.   Since then the Thistle has become the emblem of Scotland and it can be seen all over the country, including the on the national rugby team's shirts and on the official tourist board website. This morning I spotted a big group of Spear Thistles at Barns Ness just as the sun came up over the horizon.  Using the X-T1 and the 50-140mm f2.8 zoom I took the image at the top of this page in the morning light. The second image below was taken on the headland overlooking the beach at Whitesands. CLICK HERE to read more about the Scottish Thi...

Photography is all about the light and when you get the perfect light a scene that would be 'OK' photographically is suddenly transformed.  This was the case this morning as I headed along the beach at Barns Ness just after sunrise. Halfway along the rocky shoreline between Whitesands and Barns Ness lighthouse are some rocks where the rain water pours onto the beach.  After days of heavy rain the ground above the rocky outcrop was quite sodden and the water was pouring down like a shower. Normally this would make an interesting image but with the low sun hitting the cascading water, there was a bright glow as the water hit the rocks.  I set the camera up on the tripod to allow me to use a slow shutter speed and set about capturing this set of images before the sun rose too high in the sky and the light changed. I also took some other shots with a higher shutter speed to freeze the water drops With in 10 minutes the light had changed ...

For me landscape photography is so much more than capturing a chocolate box images of beautiful sunsets and sweeping sun kissed beaches.   Living next to the Scottish coast we get to experience many types of weather, usually all in the space of a few hours.  I have a healthy respect for the sea and tides and I am in awe of the power of the water crashing on the shoreline when the weather does turn stormy. This shot is one of my favourites showing the waves crashing against the rocks with the dark clouds forming on the horizon ahead of a heavy rain storm.

When out shooting landscapes on a cloudy day I always keep one eye on the sky to see if the sun will break through to create some interesting light on the landscape.  I have got very good at anticipating changes in the light over the years and it is a skill that all landscape photographers acquire over time. On the west coast of Scotland the weather can change very quickly.  Just when it looks like it is time to pack the cameras away and head back home, the clouds can suddenly part or the rain can stop and the scene that 10 minutes earlier was grey and overcast is suddenly transformed. Take these two shots looking out from the northern coast of the Isle of Skye out towards Harris and Lewis.  The wind was blowing the clouds across the scene at a fair rate of knots and the moving clouds would suddenly open up to allow the sunlight through to illuminate part of the seascape. They say 'patience is a virtue', and for landscape photographers this is very true.  S...