Explore the world of Fujifilm
A collection of inspirational blog posts that will give you some great new ideas and cause you to pick up your camera and go out shooting
In collaboration with Millican, Freedom Through Photography follows award-winning X-series photographers David Cleland, Derek Clark and Andrew James for a day in the Lake District, England.
This time, Andrew James spends a day with Lakeland fell farmer Tom Lorains on and around his farm, High Snab, in Newlands Valley. Sweeping landscapes, close-ups of Tom and his dog Moss, and some great vignettes from Andrew, all shot on the Fujifilm X-M1
Watch video:
By Simon Weir
I started 2014 leading a workshop in Yellowstone National Park for Chris Weston‘s safari company “Magic Is” – I am now working regularly with them as a group leader and instructor.
Yellowstone in winter turned out to be an IR photographers paradise and my IR modified X-E1 with the 14mm did great service as the images below show. This camera blows me away every time I use it and there was a great deal of interest from the 12 photographers in the group – so much so that I ended up doing a full presentation on Infrared photography one evening while we were there. My X-Pro1 and the XF55-200 also did good service as shown in the two bison shots at the bottom of this post.
Also pleased to report that both Fuji cameras worked faultlessly down to temperatures as low as -30C – even the batteries held out really well.
Here’s a selection of shots from the IR modified X-E1 using the XF14mm lens:
The following 2 shots were taken on the standard X-Pro1 and converted to B&W in Silver Effex Pro2:
Simon Weir specialises in photographing live performance (particularly classical music), contextual portraiture and nature. To see more of his work, check out his website http://www.simonweir.com/
X-series users from across the globe share their finest images and the stories behind them
Here’s another selection of users’ images published in our Fujifilm X Magazine. If you would like to see your images in our magazine, and if you’re an X-series user, we’d love to see your shots. Email your images, along with details of the story behind them and some information about you and your photography to: xmagazine@bright-publishing.com
Matt Hart – Whitby Pier
“Whitby in north east England is a timeless place. So far, it has been left untouched by developers so it is largely unspoilt and has real charm. I think it’s a place you can walk around all day and all night with a camera in a very relaxing environment.”
“The image was taken one evening using my X-Pro1 hand held – I just love its ease of use and the stunning sensor. I have just sold all my Nikon equipment because of this camera – people think I am mad going from a D3s to the X-Pro1, but I fell in love with the X100 and once I had used the X-Pro1 for a few days I was completely hooked.”
Rex Adams – Birling Gap
“I love black & white photography as I feel the results are less cluttered than in colour. A black & white photograph draws your attention to the subject without the distraction of colours which may or may not be an intentional part of the image.”
“I took this image with the X-Pro1, which I chose as I wanted a camera to carry around without having to lug a heavy DSLR. The X-Pro1 is the most versatile camera I have used, and the images produced are as good if not better than my Canon DSLR.”
“Personally, I am excited with the direction Fujifilm is going at the moment and am particularly interested in the Fujifilm X-E2 which may end up in my bag before too long! I like the way Fujifilm listens to users’ suggestions, and many of these have been incorporated into firmware updates. This demonstrates that it’s a forward-thinking company that puts its customers first.”
Gerald Robinson – Dead Calm
“I was after a sunrise, but it wasn’t going to happen so I decided to shoot an alternative image using a long exposure. I don’t usually shoot landscapes in black & white, but in this situation it wouldn’t have worked in colour.”
“I used my X-Pro1, but I also shoot with an X10 and X20 as they are ideal pocket cameras for any occasion. I recently changed all my gear from the Nikon DSLRs with a selection of lenses to the Fujifilm X-series and various lenses, and for me it was the right move. I just love the full manual control the X-Pro1 gives me.”
X-series users from across the globe share their finest images and the stories behind them
Here’s another selection of users’ images published in our Fujifilm X Magazine. If you would like to see your images in our magazine, and if you’re an X-series user, we’d love to see your shots. Email your images, along with details of the story behind them and some information about you and your photography to: xmagazine@bright-publishing.com
Paulo Bizarro – Carcavelos
“This was shot near my house on the beach at Carcavelos just outside Lisbon. It’s an area I know well, and I have recently started shooting a personal project there. I’m making a series of long exposures around sunset (some up to six minutes) of this pier and the sea. The idea is to get the locals to view the area differently. For this photo, I also applied a Velvia preset in Lightroom; I have used Velvia slide film for almost 20 years!
“I am a recent convert to the Fujifilm X-series after using Canon EOS for more than 20 years. I like to photograph travel, landscapes and people. For these subjects the Fuji works very well and the prime lenses are really good. I now have an X-E1 and X-Pro1 with three lenses: 14mm, 35mm and a Zeiss 50mm F2.”
Francisco Godoy – Malaga
“Here’s my contribution to the excellent Fujifilm X Magazine. It was taken at sunset a couple of weeks ago in Malaga and I love the colours in the sky and on the lookout post.”
“I used my Fujifilm X-E1 and standard zoom lens. They’re a great combination and I’m really impressed with the quality of the lens and sensor – they deliver images with strong colours and great detail. The camera was tripod mounted to avoid camera shake.”
X-series users from across the globe share their finest images and the stories behind them
Here’s a selection of users’ images published in our Fujifilm X Magazine. If you would like to see your images in our magazine, and if you’re an X-series user, we’d love to see your shots. Email your images, along with details of the story behind them and some information about you and your photography to: xmagazine@bright-publishing.com
Ken Ratcliffe – Relaxing in the park
“I live in Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, and photography has been one of my hobbies for about 30 years. I took this shot at Blenheim Gardens, in Minehead in Somerset. I take all my infrared images hand-held, with no tripod – the fixed lens/sensor/ viewfinder combination on the X100 allows you to use it like this with the Hoya filter.
“I’ve been shooting with digital for the last seven years, and the Fujifilm X100 has been my best purchase – pound for pound, it’s the best camera on the market. It’s so adaptable and versatile, yet easy to carry, and you get super image quality. My best piece of photography advice would be to always have your camera with you – it’s when you’re not expecting it that the best images happen.”
Willy Verhulst – Belgium
“This image was taken early one morning in the Ardennes region. I like to be at one with nature and try to create atmospheric images, which I think I managed here. Doing this generally means paying particular attention to how the light is falling on a scene.
“I’m 59 years old and have been taking photographs since I was around 12. I’ve had several exhibitions, but now I simply enjoy taking photographs while I’m traveling. The Fujifilm X-Pro1 is perfect for this – it’s light enough to be carried all day and delivers brilliant results.”
One photographer, one Fujifilm X-series camera, a whole lot of great images
X-series cameras are perfect for street photographers. Combining light weight and portability with fantastic performance and a great range of lenses makes them the perfect combination for shooting on the move. Rob Mitchell is a commercial photographer and X-Pro1 user based in Belgium, but he took these shots on a dedicated day of street photography in the Shoreditch area of London. Along with his friends, who were also shooting with X-series cameras, Rob used the X-Pro1 along with 18mm and 35mm lenses and most of his pictures were shot from the hip in a true documentary style. Continue reading to find out why the X-Pro1 was a perfect companion for a walk around London.
MARKET STALL NEAR COVENT GARDEN
“This was just a passing snapshot of the market stall. With the combination of low light and large contrast range, I didn’t expect for one moment that the X-Pro1 would deliver a good shot, but it did. This was taken at ISO 800 with the 18mm lens at its widest aperture of F2. This helped me to get a fast enough shutter speed to successfully hand-hold the shot, and the X-Trans sensor took care of the rest. A truly impressive result with digital noise virtually non-existent.”
MIND THE GAP
“Anyone who has travelled on the London Underground will know that the ‘Mind the Gap’ slogan is everywhere. I don’t remember the exact station that it was taken, but it was on the way from Epping to Liverpool Street. This was a real shot from the hip, which the X-Pro1 is perfect at. The train pulled into the station and as the doors opened, I saw the opportunity to grab this image. Using the rear LCD, auto exposure and rapid focusing, I was able to compose and get this perfectly exposed image before the doors closed again. I don’t think I would have had the time to capture this with a DSLR.”
MAN ON PHONE
“The X-Pro1 is very subtle in use, a DSLR is just too imposing and I simply wouldn’t have been able to get this shot. As I walked past this man in Shoreditch, I had the camera hanging over my shoulder, so I just held it in position and fired off this image without lifting it to my eye or looking through the viewfinder. Although the man is looking at me, I’m pretty sure he didn’t know he was having his picture taken. With the 18mm, you can easily approximate the focusing point and with such a large depth-of-field I could shoot at F2 and still be confident that almost all of the image would stay in sharp focus.”
THE ORANGE BUFFALO
“Taken at the Truman Brewery car park in Shoreditch, this is a sort of mismatch of the US and London. An Airstream caravan, Chevy truck and Buffalo Wings stuck in a rather hip area of town with just the sole client. The four picnic tables would suggest it gets busy there – not at that moment though. What I’ve noticed with the X-series is that I experiment more; I feel less constrained and if I only have a 18mm lens on the camera I just work around that. I could say it’s almost like going back to the roots of innocent experimentation and the discovery of photography.”
PUSHCHAIR, ELDER STREET
“Typically anonymous flats are made up of a pattern of window-door-window-door. I spotted this pushchair in front of one and thought that it broke up the pattern to give a glimpse into the lives of the people who live there. I love the Fujifilm image quality – the fact that I still own and use my old Fujifilm S3 Pro is testament to that fact. The X-Trans sensor in the X-Pro1 certainly hasn’t lost any of the quality of colour accuracy of that older DSLR – I’ve already used it on a couple of commercial projects.”
COFFEE SHOP WINDOW
“This was shot from inside a coffee shop, overlooking Pancras road – I deliberately wanted to get an obscured portrait of someone sitting outside, complete with an iconic London symbol in the background. The X-Pro1’s metering and sensor have combined to get a great result here. With the large shadow area in the foreground, I expected the camera to overexpose the main subject, but it’s dealt with the contrast well and got detail in both the dark and light areas.”
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Robert Mitchell is a British commercial photographer based in Belgium. To see more of his work you can follow him on Twitter and Facebook or follow his blog.
