Photography – Page 22 – Fujifilm Corporate Blog

Fujifilm X Magazine – Issue 1 reader images 1/3

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

VICENTE DASÍ LÓPEZ – STROLLING WITH MY X100

Vicente won his X100 in a Fujifilm-sponsored competition. “The theme was street photography and I entered an image taken in Valencia using my X10,” he says.

Now that I’ve got the camera, I often go walking around Valencia and take it with me; that’s where I took this image. I find the X100 is really comfortable to carry and delivers excellent results with the high-performance Fujinon lens; it’s perfect on detailed subjects like this. There’s very little noise when working with high ISO settings and I like the way the controls are distributed – the design helps me enjoy taking every shot and encourages my creativity.

http://vdlfotografo.blogspot.com.es/

BERND TWIEST – DUNCAN

This is my dog, Duncan. It was one of the first shots I took when I went out testing my new X-Pro1 in a forest near our home in Holland.

I love black & white photography, even more than colour. This image was taken using the Monochrome Film Simulation mode and I tweaked the colour temperature in Adobe Lightroom to give the image a real vintage look.

The X-Pro1’s size and weight are crucially important to me. My health limits how much photography I can do and if the camera was too heavy, I wouldn’t be able to take pictures at all. I also like the image quality – the pictures are sharp straight out of the camera. 90 per cent of the time, I shoot JPEG instead of Raw because the quality is that good. The ISO performance is magnificent, too

I don’t feel scared to push it to ISO 6400.

SHANEA GAIGER – FRECKLES AND SPECKLES

This is my daughter Derryn who has for a long time had some severe body dysmorphic issues. We had talked about a ‘demon-confronting’ shoot for a long time and the idea was to create a few images of her without make up, without retouching, just using natural light, so she could see how beautiful she actually was, despite her own feelings. It worked, so well, in fact, that she gained enough confidence to take up modelling as a part-time hobby.

I moved to the X-S1 from an S100FS and it feels much more solid and produces better results. I was recently asked to do a basic photography lesson with a young autistic lad interested in photography and we used the X-S1. He had never attempted to use a ‘real’ camera before but he found it really easy to get to grips with and by the end of the day he was talking about buying one himself.”

http://harpyimages.deviantart.com

What to shoot in November – Longer wintry nights

Remember, remember, there’s plenty to shoot in November! Don’t put your camera into hibernation just when the nights are drawing in – try our pick of this month’s most photogenic events

Couple walking in night lights.

Australian seascape at sunrise

Starry sky in winter

Manhattan

Boats on shore of Lake Motosu with Mount Fuji in background

The end of October saw the clocks shuffle backwards by an hour across the whole of Europe, giving early risers a little more daylight, and earlier sunsets at the end of the day. Don’t be disheartened by the encroaching dark or use it as an excuse to hang up your camera until the spring, though – there’s plenty to shoot in these shorter days. For starters, why not try your hand at some low-light photography? Before you even leave the building, do a little planning.

Think about where you’d like to shoot, and be sure to tell someone where you’re headed – or better still, convince an equally shutter-happy friend to come along for the ride.

Don’t let your quest for the perfect shot get in the way of personal safety, and be sensible about where you plan to stop and take pictures. Cities and remote landscapes alike can be beautiful once the sun’s gone down, but they can be scary and potentially dangerous as well – so be safe.

Low-light landscape pictures can be incredibly impressive, but getting a great shot when there’s little light around is a real challenge – longer shutter speeds are essential, so make sure you’ve got a tripod or other support on hand to ensure pin-sharp details. Keep your ISO setting low and set a shutter speed of around 15 seconds to capture as much light as you can. Set your lens as wide as possible and ensure your aperture’s also as wide as it can go, which will help to retain details and make the most of available light. Adjust your camera’s white-balance to change the mood of the image: you might find that cooler, bluer tones give you more of a midnight feel, so don’t forget to experiment while you have the chance.

Want to capture a lifelike scene at dusk? You could always test-drive the built-in HDR feature on most X-series cameras to layer exposures and achieve as much detail as possible in your final image. And if your dramatic sunset landscape has turned out cloudy, try using the X-series’ Film Simulation modes to shoot a moody black & white twilight scene with real drama in the skies above. Most importantly, don’t forget to take a torch, keep a spare camera battery cosy in your pocket and wrap up warm, because the more comfortable you are, the more you’ll enjoy your low-light shoot.

First frost

If the month lives up to its reputation we’re in for chilly mornings – but this means beautiful images of finely-detailed frost for you. Get close to the fronds of plants in your garden, or seek out a frozen cobweb for a glorious late-autumn shimmer. Just head out around sunrise before any thaw and don’t forget your gloves!

Winter wildlife

Wild creatures are readying themselves for the rigours of winter, so this time of year is an ideal opportunity to see beasts out and about collecting their food. If you’re a fan of feathered subjects, try setting up a feeding station in your garden and see what local birds you can lure in front of longer lenses like the XF 55-200mm.

Christmas lights

The big switch-on seems to happen earlier every year – but that just means more time for shooting the decorations! Larger towns and cities become a festive light show, but make sure you time your shooting for twilight so there’s still some blue in the sky – it’s this contrast of natural and man-made light that will make your shots sparkle.

Festive markets

With Christmas just around the corner, you’ll find festive markets aplenty in your local towns and villages. Seasonal crafts, twinkling decorations, cheerful crowds and a variety of unusual foods present ideal subjects, and if you’re shooting handheld, remember to switch your Optical Image Stabilisation on for sharper shots.

Traffic trails

Long exposures change the way you see the world, and a great example is when shooting the rush hour. Using a shutter speed of around 10 seconds turns crawling cars into an amazing stream of light and with its shortened days November is the perfect time to try it out – you can even shoot a few on your way home from work.

FUJINON XF55-200mmF3.5-4.8 R LM OIS lens test

Sample 4 — 200mm setting, 1/2000sec at f/6.4, ISO 320
At the 200mm setting, the lens can produce frame-filling shots from the side of a track. This was taken in a public area through a mesh fence

FUJINON XF lenses are all about quality. Quality of build, quality of performance, quality of results. With prime (single focal length) lenses, quality is to be expected by virtue of their more simple optical construction. But good results are less of a foregone conclusion when it comes to zooms. Until recently, the XF55-200mm f/3.5-4.8 R was the only telezoom in the Fujinon line up. It’s since been joined by the XC50-230mm f/4.5-6.7, which was launched alongside the X-A1 and is designed for mid-range X-brand models. But the XF55-200mm remains top dog by virtue of its faster maximum aperture and more solid build, making it the perfect accompaniment to the X-E and X-Pro models. We tested the lens on the latter model.

Sample 1 — 141mm setting, 1/1250sec at f/5, ISO 320
No problems with vibrant colours, and the level of detail is impressive, as is the car!

The first thing you’ll notice about the XF55-200mm is its impressive build quality. It looks and feels as though it’s built to stand the rigours of daily use and feels reassuringly solid in every aspect of construction. The zoom collar is both large and very smooth to use, while the manual focusing ring at the end of the lens and the aperture ring near the body are both well sized and a real pleasure to control. It comes supplied with a deep lens hood to keep a tight control on flare, plus there’s a switch to turn Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) on and off, alongside the automatic or manual aperture control switch. The OIS is worthy of note. Offering up to 4.5 stops of compensation, we found that even at the 200mm setting, we were able to shoot with shutter speeds around 1/20sec without any evidence of camera shake.

Sample 2 — 164mm setting, 1/20sec at f/4.6, ISO 400
Optical Image Stabilisation is excellent, this shot was taken at 1/20sec but there’s no hint of blur

With the XF55-200mm attached to the X-Pro1, the combination is neither heavy nor bulky – it’s fine to sling over your shoulder while you’re out for a walk, plus the zoom action is constructed in such a way that there’s no zoom creep, even with the lens pointed down.

A focal range equivalent to 84-305mm on a 35mm camera means the lens offers plenty of versatility. We used it for a wide range of subjects, from portraits through to sporting action. The focusing proved accurate and the out-of-focus areas were lovely and smooth thanks to the seven-blade aperture diaphragm.

Sample 3 — 200mm setting, 1/120sec at f/4.8, ISO 400
Regardless of focal length setting, the lens delivers high-quality results. You can count every hair in this dog’s fur

The real beauty of the lens, though, is in the quality of the results. In keeping with the Fujinon XF philosophy, the resulting images display impressive levels of sharpness thanks to the combination of high-quality optics and the X-Pro1’s wonderful X-Trans sensor. The lens also showed great consistency through the focal range and aperture settings. Whether you’re shooting wide open at 55mm or stopped down at 200mm, you can be confident of getting great results every time.

At 55mm, the lens allows you to capture plenty of your surroundings

Zoom to the 200mm setting and you can crop in tightly on your subject

Lens tested by Roger Payne

Macro Photography Tips

An emphasis on detail, texture and pattern is what makes macro photography so
complex and unique. If done properly, macro photography can give you mind-blowing
results. In this article, let’s go through a few tips which will greatly improve your macro
photography skills and help you take dramatic and high impact shots.

Turn on macro mode: This may seem like a tip for dummies, however many beginners
forget or do not know because they’re too lazy to scan through the thick manual. Macro
mode is usually represented by a small flower on the setting dial. This lets you bring the
lens of the camera closer to the subject.

Use a tripod: Since macro photography is all about sharpness and clarity, you must use
a tripod to avoid any form of vibration that may occur. A tripod will greatly help you in
getting a sharper image.

Focus manually: When the subject is very close to the lens, the auto-focus would tend to
search backward and forward for something to focus on. It would save you a lot of time
to manually focus on the subject and would also be a lot more precise. For starters, shoot
stable objects like flowers where you can take all the time in the world to get your focus
spot on. In time and with practice, you can shoot insects and other wildlife.

Turn the flash on: A shadow can completely ruin your picture; so don’t forget to use
flash. However, you should idly shoot in brightly lit spaces. Use a reflector if you have to
fill the shadow. It would be perfect if you could adjust the intensity of the flash on your
camera, however if you cannot, tape a piece of tracing paper to the top of your flash to
adjust the brightness of the flash.

Aperture: Having the freedom to adjust your aperture settings is a big plus point as it
allows you to control the depth of field. Certain cameras do not allow you to change the
aperture setting once in macro mode. However, if they permit you to do so, you should
use a large aperture in order to blur out the background.

Macro photography is great fun and will keep you preoccupied for ages. You can
endlessly experiment with it on a variety of subjects. It will literally open up worlds
within worlds, so let those creative juices flow and let your camera go wild.

Originally posted by Fujifilm India http://www.fujifilmblog.in/macro-photography-tips/

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