CAPTURE NEW HORIZONS

When I visited Japan in October 2015 I went for a walk around the Roppongi district of Tokyo with the Fujifilm X100 where I took some shots of the colourful Tokyo taxis against the bright neon lights of the shops and restaurants.  I found the standard 23mm Fujinon lens on the X100 a bit limiting so I decided that on my next trip I would revisit Roppongi with the X-T1 and the wide angle 10-24mm f4 zoom.  I then switched lenses to the XF90mm f2 to get some closer shots of the cars as they negotiated the very busy junction. Here are the shots I took on the first evening in Japan on the 14th January before I headed back to the Fujifilm HQ for a dress rehearsal for the next day's Fujikina press conference. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY VISITING THE ADVERTISERS ON THIS PAGE By clicking on the adverts you are helpin...

One of the key features of the new Fujifilm X-Pro2 is the brand new 24MP X-Trans CMOS III sensor with the X-Processor Pro engine which gives the camera superb image quality and much greater processing speed.   Part of the benefits of the increased processing speed is the X-Pro2s ability to shoot RAW images without the camera buffering, which freezes the operation of the camera for a few seconds while the images are written to the memory card. The X-Pro2 can take the faster UHS II SD cards in slot 1 of the camera's two memory ports and this combined with the X Processor Pro means that with the X-Pro2 set to 8 frames precession the camera can process 27 uncompressed RAW files or 33 lossless compressed RAW files or up to 83 JPEG images before the camera buffers.  The faster cards and processor also means the camera's buffer clears quicker than previous X-Series cameras, meaning the operation of the camera is restored far quicker. I use Sandisk Extr...

On arrival in Japan and after visiting the Skytree tower we went to the Senso-ji temple.  Sensō-ji is an ancient Buddhist temple located in Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan. It is Tokyo's oldest temple, and one of its most significant. Formerly associated with the Tendai sect of Buddhism, it became independent after World War II.  In the central courtyard worshippers buy incense sticks which they place in a communal  censer which they then waft the smoke over their heads. In Buddhist temples, the inner spaces are scented with thick coiled incense, which are either hung from the ceiling or on special stands. Worshipers at the temples light and burn sticks of incense in small or large bundles, which they wave or raise above the head while bowing to the statues or plaques of a deity or an ancestor. Individual sticks of incense are then vertically placed into individual censers located in front of the statues or plaques either singularly or in threes, depending on the sta...

One of the places we visited on the recent trip to Japan was the Tokyo Skytree, taking in the breathtaking views of the Japanese capital from the lower observation deck 350m above the ground. Tokyo Skytree is a broadcasting, restaurant, and observation tower in Sumida, Tokyo, Japan. It became the tallest structure in Japan in 2010 and reached its full height of 634.0 metres (2,080 ft) in March 2011. The tower is the primary television and radio broadcast site for the Kantō region; the older Tokyo Tower no longer gives complete digital terrestrial television broadcasting coverage because it is surrounded by high-rise buildings. Skytree was completed on 29 February 2012, with the tower opening to the public on 22 May 2012. The 360 degree observation tower gave a great view over the city with clear blue skies enabling us to see to the horizon.  I chose to use the Fujifilm X-T1 to get these shots because we were accompanied by some journalists and it was...