Portrait photography, at its core, is about capturing the essence of a person in a single frame. As a photographer, you have to combine technical skills and deep understanding of human nature, and more to that, to be attentive to all those little details, using interesting combinations of colours and lines.
Another tip for a good portrait – keep it true. A wedding photographer, Cole Roberts (Nordica Photography duo), knows best how it works. He believes the best results come from telling the story like it is: the art happens in recognising the moments when the setting, subject and mood are in sync and the real story unfolds naturally, without being contrived. Recently, he had a special portraiture session in Spain with the new X-T50, setting up a creative challenge – experimenting in film simulations and shooting exclusively in pure, unedited JPEGs. The stills are all “straight-out-of-camera” (SOOC) and the video is shot entirely on X-T50.
“Weddings and workshops *are* fun, but this was different. Fujifilm handed me their latest tine beast, and the experience changed the way I approached the session. Simply messing around, having fun, all with a camera that feels analogue but delivers digital perfection,” –@nordicaphoto.
“If there was the perfect camera for influencers who care about incredible photos, it’s this camera.The reasons were pretty obvious when using it. First off, INSANE JPEGs (skip time-consuming edits with ready to share bangers). Second, it’s tiny (think slip-in-your-pocket tiny). Third, video capabilities,” – @nordicaphoto.
“Low light, no problem. (…) We were racing against the clock to get some shots before sunset, but when it dipped, we decided to keep playing around. And the little camera delivered in the dark with no issues,” – @nordicaphoto.
On his path to becoming an internationally acclaimed photographer, Russell Ord has squinted down the lens at an intriguing mix of subjects over the years. From shooting world-class surfers and celebrity chefs to exploring remote landscapes. He’s roamed with Uunguu Rangers in the Australian outback, island-hopped across tropical fantasylands, and followed his photographic instincts through urban meccas. Meanwhile, his ocean images are famous for portraying both cruelty and majesty of the sea.
As one of the world’s leading surf photographers, he documented a treacherous spot in the Indian Ocean known simply as “The Right”. In pursuit of a unique angle, Russell put himself in a situation where the ocean’s most powerful forces converge. This challenging shoot became central to his acclaimed documentary “One Shot”.
Innovative Gear for Dynamic Photography
Recently, Russell got a chance to try out the new GFX100S II camera, together with the GF500mmF5.6 lens introduced at the last X Summit. This combination has revolutionized his approach to sports photography, bringing new, exciting features to the table.
“In the past, I have used the 500mm focal length (not with large format), and those lenses are bulky and very heavy, opposite to the look and feel of the GF500mmF5.6. The GF500mmF5.6 equipped with the GFX100S II is lightweight, compact and well-built. I can easily imagine climbing rocks, scouring sand dunes, and walking some kilometers/miles along the coast without concerns.”
“If I could use one word to describe the performance, it would be “breathtaking”, I cannot believe I have a 102MP Large Format camera that continuously focuses on my subject (handheld) and can produce imagery of the finest quality. Now, I can shoot action sports imagery (surfing) and simultaneously have my eye on possible gallery pieces and photos I can enlarge on a grand scale.”
The GFX100S II features the highest level of 5-axis image stabilization with a benefit of up to 8.0 stops for limitless large-format creativity. Image quality is one of the most significant factors in this GFX system. Apart from allowing for printing stunning enlargements with the finest details, it lets you have amazing clarity even in challenging weather conditions. Shooting out of a helicopter, doors off, with the GFX100S II and GF500mmF5.6, Russell got beautiful, detailed images despite the very windy conditions, fast erratic movements, and suffering motion sickness.
More beauty to it, the GFX100S II can continuously focus on a moving subject, such as a surfer flying across the wave, with subject and eye detection following him from start to finish without any hunting. It works not only in favorable conditions with high contrast and bright light, but also in low-light, backlit, and dark conditions while shooting flash.
“A saying I use a lot, “press the trigger at the right time”, still applies, but I must admit I love having 7fps on a large format camera. It’s a fine line in and out of the water missing that critical shot; the 7fps gives you many more opportunities to nail that exact shot at 102mp (mind-blowing).”
On May 24th, the FUJIFILM INSTAX Undisputed Breakingcompetition lit up the night as part of the Playin’Paris festival. Paris witnessed a breathtaking display of skill and artistry as the world’s elite breakers competed for glory under the iconic canopy of Les Halles. It gathered competitors from all over the world, including renowned breakers such as Bboy PacPac (FR), Ana Furia (ES) and Raygun(AUS).
With Kaê (FR) winning the Solo Men’s Battle, San Andrea(FR) triumphing in the Solo Women’s Battle, and French crew Los Crapulos taking the Crew Battle, the electrifying event culminated in a French clean sweep.
“As breakers once revolutionised the dance scene in the 80s, they stand poised to ignite a new era for breakdancing. The FUJIFILM INSTAX brand is proud to continue to partner with Undisputed as breaking grows in stature and popularity. Together, we celebrated the bold spirit of these athletes who defy limits, push boundaries and put on incredible shows,” – Shin Udono, Senior Vice President of Imaging Solutions, FUJIFILM Europe.
The event was part of the Playin’Paris festival, which also featured a 3×3 basketball tournament final, a DJ contest, a series of indoor and outdoor concerts, and a live graffiti exhibition. Visit the Playin’Paris festival website for more details.
About Undisputed
Undisputed Masters is an international breaking competition established in 2014 by some of the top breaking events, judges, and competitors from across the globe. Undisputed has innovated in setting up competition rankings and developing the Trivium judging system which played a big role in getting breakdancing to the Paris 2024 Olympics. The Trivium Judging System is a digital platform that lets judges score dancers in real-time, based on three main criteria: the physical quality, interpretative quality, and artistic quality of the performance.
When women deal with machines and technology, magic is made. Throughout history, they were at the forefront of innovation, bringing unique perspectives, and creative problem-solving approaches to the table. They brought empathy and ingenuity to the world of machines, thinking not only how they work but also how they can improve lives. Every day, women in tech around the world are making incredible strides, developing software, designing hardware, managing IT systems, and driving innovation, and still, their contributions often go unnoticed.
In our latest, 8th issue of the Women4Women magazine, we want to change the narrative and honor women who are shaping the printing and graphic arts industry. Offering a fresh perspective and a completely new look and feel, this issue is aptly titled “Women and the Machine”. From the UK to Australia, we’ve collected over 20 stories of women from all across the globe, who bring change to the world of tech. They tell about their ups and downs, motivation and learning curves, how they challenged outdated stereotypes in the male-dominated field and what drives them to move on. On this inspiring journey, you’ll be accompanied also by evocative photographs taken in Italian factories in the 1980s by Turin-based photographerPaola Agosti.
“The stories we have collected in this new issue are all about a challenge. A challenge that has been quietly but not yet fully recognised, one that sees women and machines progressing and evolving together, demonstrating that technology, in this case applied to the printing industry, is not a men-only activity. These magnificent women tell us how they are able to create empathy with these mechanical ‘hearts’ and thanks to the strong ‘bond’ that is created, it has been possible to achieve results that we can describe as artistic. Business aptitude is not enough to do this,” – says Luana Porfido, European Head of Corporate Communication and ESG Management, FUJIFILM Europe GmbH.
The magazine features insights from the souls of Fujifilm, including Makiko Numata, Mihoko Endo and Isabelle Katrina Morales, who highlight the importance of innovation, perseverance and breaking down long-established barriers. At the same time, there are stories of external contributors, such as Lisa Farinati, Head of Business Administration of Faservice Srl, and Chiara Bezzi, Editorial Manager of Innovative Press, who discuss the transformative power of female leadership and the importance of sustainability and inclusion in the industry. Zhu Min, Vice President of C&C Joint Printing Co. Ltd, also shares her journey and achievements, including winning the prestigious “Bi Sheng Printing Outstanding Achievement” award.
“Our goal is to bring together diverse ideas, unique skills and extraordinary people to change the world. Women4Women is a concrete example that testifies to the path we have taken towards Diversity, Equity and Inclusion,” – Yoshiki Kimura, President, FUJIFILM Europe GmbH.
Paris is getting all set to host the anticipated Fujifilm INSTAX Undisputed breaking event as a part of the Playin’Paris festival. On May 24, Forum Les Halles will turn into the international stage for the top breakers. Competitors from different corners of the world, including Bboy Victor from the US, Ana Furia from Spain, and Raygun from Australia, will show their extraordinary talents and compete for top honours. The event will feature competitions in both male and female solo categories, as well as crew battles.
The Undisputed connects the most prestigious breaking competitions into a world series with respective winners competing at a Masters championship. Started back in 2013, they held competitions in London, Amsterdam, and Los Angeles. After a brief pause due to the pandemic, Undisputed Masters is now back, and we are proud to remain their headline partner.
“As breakers once revolutionised the dance scene in the 80s, they stand poised to ignite a new era for breakdancing. The FUJIFILM INSTAX brand is proud to continue to partner with Undisputed Masters as breaking grows in stature and popularity. Together, we celebrate the bold spirit of these athletes who defy limits, push boundaries, and put on incredible shows,”
– Shin Udono, Senior Vice President, Imaging Solutions, FUJIFILM Europe.
INSTAX Undisputed Recap | London, 2022
“Paris is the perfect backdrop for our event, with its vibrant culture and rich history in the arts. We’re bringing together the world’s top breakers to showcase their incredible skills and creativity, and I can’t wait for audiences to witness the magic first-hand. It’s an electrifying moment for the global breaking community,”
– Tyrone Van der Meer, Undisputed Masters Creator.
Three months after the Tokyo Summit, we’ve just celebrated our second X Summit in 2024 taking place in Sydney. And, of course, with new awesome launches! Today, we introduced our new cameras and lenses in the X and GFX Series, showcasing their advanced features together with professional photographers who got a chance to test our newbies in the field. Here’s a short glimpse into what’s new.
Fujifilm X-T50
The first newcomer introduced at today’s X Summit is a FUJIFILM X-T50 camera. It is sleek and compact, which makes it an ideal camera to carry with you wherever you go, without compromising on quality or performance. It has maintained the classic look but with a new rounded shape for a better holding grip experience. Despite being slightly larger than its predecessor, the X-T50 grip feels snug, making it feel smaller in your hand. The thumb grip extends smoothly outward compared to previous models, providing a better ergonomic feel.
What’s exciting, it’s the first X Series camera to feature a Film Simulation Dial, with 20 simulations to choose from, including the “REALA ACE”. Turning this dial on the top of the camera while shooting lets you enjoy the colours, as if changing film in real-time.
Looking inside, you’ll find the 5th generation X-Trans CMOS 5 HR sensor and the X-Processor 5, enabling high-speed and accurate autofocus and subject detection. The new camera also features a 5-axis IBIS image stabilisation, up to 7.0 stops, achieving clear, high-resolution 40.2MP images. Not to compromise the X-T50’s compact size, we reviewed the structure and arrangement of various parts and units required for IBIS implementation. So, now you have the 7.0 stops IBIS performance in the compact size of X-T30II.
“With the 40.2MP I’m finding that I’m able to really zoom in on the image, even when it’s on the screen and it’s showing so much detail. It’s really amazing to both get that detail when you’re shooting wide and you’re shooting close up as well. It just is holding so much data and I’m absolutely loving it,” – Rachel Claire, travel and lifestyle photographer.
FUJINON XF16-50mmF2.8-4.8 R LM WR
This new featherweight zoom lens elevates the capabilities of the X-T50, taking it to the next level. It is compatible with the X-T50 and other 40MP models with the X-Trans CMOS 5 HR sensor. At merely 240g, it is the lightest zoom lens in the XF line-up. Equipped with dustproof and weather-resistant features, it is a perfect choice for all weather conditions. Covering a popular wide-angle of 16mm to a mid-telephoto of 50mm, it offers high-speed, high-definition AF for exceptionally clear shots.
Given it’s a standard zoom that you carry all the time, close-up performance is very important. That’s why we’ve incorporated the maximum magnification of 0.3x and the minimum focusing distance of 24cm, enabling close-up photography at 15cm from the lens tip.
FUJINON GF500mmF5.6 R LM OIS WR
With a focal length of 500mm, it’s the longest telephoto prime among our GF lenses which offers one of the highest-class quality and resolution. Size and weight really make it stand out. The weight of the lens is only approximately 1,375g, while there’s absolutely no compromise about image quality. Chromatic aberration is minimized to the limit. The new lens is equipped with a powerful 6.0 stops image stabilization system, enabling comfortable handheld shooting and significantly minimizing camera shake. Its AF drive system with linear motors allows for fast and high-precision autofocusing that overturns the conventional wisdom of large-format cameras and lenses.
“The autofocus is so good. It just snaps onto the bird, so like when the bird’s in the sky, I get out and bang, you’re on it. And then you just as you move with the bird, the tracking is fantastic,” – Shelley Pearson, bird and wildlife photographer.
“The thing that really stood out for me is that especially being a large-format sensor system, I can fit this in my bag with the lens on the camera. And that’s incredible, because, normally, when I’m traveling I’m always worried about the weight restrictions on airplanes and how to get it into one bag. And then, of course, we’re on a pretty adventurous trip, so being able to carry it around all day and not need to use a monopod – I think that was a really big advantage,” – Matt Krumins, wildlife, nature, and underwater photographer.
“One of the scenarios we had was in rapids in a river, and these birds were just sitting dead still on the logs. And the ability to handhold a long exposure shot to get the movement of the water, but still capture the 102MP of the birds was just fantastic. It’s an F5.6 lens, but when it’s paired with a large sensor format, it doesn’t actually behave like an F5.6 lens from a depth-of-field perspective. It is great for wildlife,” – Matt Krumins, wildlife, nature, and underwater photographer.
Fujifilm GFX100S II
Since we first launched the GFX100 in 2019 as the first 102MP large format camera, it has become a favourite among many professionals for its outstanding image quality, AF and IBIS. Additionally, we launched the compact GFX100S, a smaller model offering the same user-friendly experience as the GFX100, making it very accessible. Aiming to bring the appeal of large-format photography to more photo enthusiasts, we’ve created the GFX 100S II.
This camera makes no compromises, delivering top-notch performance. It is equipped with the newly developed 102MP sensor, GFX 102MP CMOS II, and our cutting-edge X-Processor 5, maintaining the best of the GFX 100S… and advancing even further. Weighting only 883g, it’s the lightest 102MP model in GFX Series. The GFX100S II offers the highest image quality in the GFX Series. By improving the pixel structure on the new sensor, we’ve extended the standard sensitivity to ISO 80. This means you can now capture images with a wider dynamic range and lower noise.
What’s more? You will definitely make use of the Face/Eye Detection AF and subject detection AF. Advanced AF prediction algorithms have improved the detection accuracy and tracking performance of moving subjects, so you can leave autofocusing to the camera and concentrate on the shutter release opportunity and composition. In addition, we’ve upgraded the IBIS performance too. The gyro and acceleration sensors accurately capture even the slightest movement, and the correction accuracy is improved, providing up to 8.0 stops of anti-shake performance.
Open up more possibilities with Film Simulations
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of our Film Simulation, we’re also launching the Film Simulation special content website. On this platform, you will learn more about all our film simulations, compare their characteristics, and open new possibilities for experiments that you’ve never thought about before. Stay tuned to be in the first row to check it out!
