Tag: Photography

Do you recognize this image?

We are sure that almost everyone is familiar with this. Exactly! This image depicts the famous default wallpaper hill of Microsoft’s Windows XP™ operating system.

A ‘digital window’ overlooking a green hill and blue sky in the Los Carneros American Viticultural Area of the California Wine Country. This photo, named Bliss, consistently makes a Windows XP™ PC recognisable.

However, if you think Microsoft© created it in one of its design studios, you are wrong. The Bliss is a completely original photo with slight editing.

Charles O’Rear, former National Geographic photographer, took the photo in January 1996 and Microsoft© bought the rights to it in 2000. O’Rear used a 1980 Mamiya RZ67 SLR camera and Fujifilm Velvia film to take the image, a film often used among nature photographers and known to saturate some colours.

Since it was the beginning of the millennium and technology was not as advanced as it is today and it was not possible to send the photos digitally Microsoft© decided to obtain the actual negative film for the best results. Microsoft© decided to have O’Rear fly in to have the film delivered personally: it was the cheapest and fastest way to get his hands on the film that would become one of the world’s most iconic photos.

The photo is mostly as it was taken in reality. Although there was later speculation that the image had been created with software such as Adobe Photoshop, O’Rear claims that it never was.

Microsoft© retouched the photo by slightly darkening the green spot on the hill, but other than that, O’Rear’s camera did the rest. The saturated colours are the result of Fujifilm Velvia film, which is known to saturate colours somewhat.

Microsoft© gave the photo its current name and made it a key part of its marketing campaign for XP.

It is estimated that billions of people have seen the image, making it perhaps one of the most viewed photographs in history.

Look the iconic hill on Google Maps.

Experience FUJIFILM live at the PHOTOPIA 2022 in Hamburg

October 16th marked the end of the second PHOTOPIA trade show in Hamburg and with it four exciting days where photography enthusiasts and customers could experience FUJIFILM’s products in a unique environment. More than 10,000 visitors were inspired by the setting, built from 350 shipping containers, took part in workshops or learned the art of photography from professionals like our X-Photographers.

The design of the large FUJIFILM booth in particular attracted many visitors, as much awaited them on, in and around the custom-designed shipping containers: in front of a custom-made tape art wall, INSTAX fans could capture the unique photo festival experience with our instant cameras and try out the INSTAX cameras and printers for themselves. A camera rental and cleaning service was also offered to visitors. On a stage directly integrated into the booth, basketball players, break dancers or skateboarders performed regularly, a perfect motif to try out the unique X-cameras for yourself.

The print results from the FUJIFILM onsite printers could also be admired hot off the press, as well as the Printlife exhibition in a container. Take a look at the video to get even more impressions of Photopia 2022!

All in all, it was a highly successful exhibition with many interesting encounters, informative exchanges and, most importantly, a lot of fun. We would like to thank everyone who made this great trade show possible and made it a special experience.

September – Beginning of Grape Harvest Season

That’s right, grape harvest season is here and it is probably the favorite season of all wine lovers and connoisseurs.

X-Photographer Thomas B. Jones is a German/American photographer specialized in portrait and documentary photography. Meeting interesting people, exploring exciting places and capturing otherwise fleeting moments nourish his passion for photography. 

In Germany, grape harvesting usually starts around mid-September, fitting this occasion, we found this xX-story documentation “Generation change at the Kusterer winery” by @thomas_jones_fotografie.

Since July 2020, Maximilian Kusterer has been the owner of the Kusterer Winery in Esslingen, which he took over from his parents. In 2012, he created his first own wine and today, he focuses primarily on elegant fruit and a discreet use of wood.

How to: Creating Light Painting

You might have seen it a few times already, but probably not under its correct name… We are talking about light painting, or also called light drawing. Most of us are familiar with the term and photo technique ‘long exposure’ (longer exposure time). Light painting is a form of long exposure, but brings it to the next level whilst creating an art piece that looks like it has been drawn even though it was taken with a camera.

Terry Hall with FUJIFILM X-T2 + XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR – F18, ISO 200, 10.0 sec

Light Painting

We all have seen those stunning images of streets where streetlights or headlights on cars become trails and melt together, creating something special without seeing the actual vehicle. This unique effect in cityscape images can be created while shooting at night or in low light with longer exposure times. Of course, this is nothing new, but creating and sketching scenes and photographs specifically to use the unique effect of long exposure to create something similar to a painting is referred to as “light painting”. Photographers are specifically looking for a moving light source such as a candle, flashlight, LED lights or another light source, aiming to alter an image while using long exposure. Thus, light-painters not only take the picture as-is instead add another element by highlighting a subject, creating trails of light, flashes, and other special elements like these.

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X-H2S Meets FPV Drone

“In the wake of excitement and fulfillment after each project passes, our desire to go bigger and do more continues to go on,” explains the filmmaker duo Double Vision from New Zealand. One major aspect that needs to be addressed appropriately is the seemingly endless equipment.

Every photographer or filmmaker will at some point be part of a project where all you can possibly carry is just one compact system covering it all. In their last two projects, the duo tested the FUJIFILM X-H2S hybrid camera system without experiencing any other X-Series camera before. Therefore, having a totally unbiased approach towards the X-H2s and its performance.

They never shot with an X-Series camera before, they never shot a mountain bike movie before, and tested the camera to the fullest by putting it on an FPV drone.

How to: Capture Better Travel Portraits

Walking through the streets of Paris, Barcelona, Rome or just taking a stroll along the promenade of Dubrovnik, Croatia. Traveling through different countries, cities, and cultures is probably something we all love. Slowly our lives are turning back to a more routine and less restrictive daily life. Thus also travel becomes possible again. Spring season is in full swing too and many people are ready to travel to different locations and countries again to admire and capture special sceneries. To get pleasing results, we have some helpful tips to make your memories unforgettable.

People are the heart of any culture, so when you journey to other countries or cities, you will find travel gold in their faces and the way they live. Street portraits and candids are two different types to capture those moments. While shooting a candid, your subject is likely to be unaware, or at least unconcerned, of your presence. Portraits are more likely to be posed, and will perhaps include eye contact, with the subject fully aware they’re being photographed. Consequently, some tricks are important to keep in mind…

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