Fujifilm Corporate Blog

X-Photographer’s Spotlight – Kerry Hendry

by Fujifilm EMEA May 26, 2015 Comments0

Tell us about yourself and what got you into photography? How did you develop your style in photography?

I was really into photography as a teenager – I remember saving up to buy my first SLR camera and two kit lenses from Dixons! I won’t mention brands but I soon moved onwards and upwards to a beautiful Nikon SLR, shooting grainy black & white film and then developed an addiction to Fuji Velvia. I spent many an evening cycling and driving round chasing sunsets and beautiful light.

Style-wise has taken a lot longer – I had a big gap in photography when horses and work took over – until I revisited my then hobby, about 12 years ago.

Since then photography has become a significant part of my life and now business. I’ve shot portraits, boudoir, bumps, babies, business portraits and even an odd wedding or two, but that didn’t do it for me. I found myself shooting images to keep others happy – not fulfilling my own creative destiny.

These days, subject wise, I’m entirely focused on my other passion in life: horses. I have ridden all my life, and I truly believe if you totally love and connect with your subject, it makes your work stronger.

X-T1 – ISO 200 – f/4.5 – 1/1250 – XF50-140mm

Why did you choose Fujifilm cameras?

I’d been carrying around heavy Nikon kit for years and frankly was quite tired!

I started shooting mirrorless fairly early – and given my love of Fuji way back, it seemed the logical place to start. Plus, there is no denying the cameras are beautiful. I love beautiful things… I love the images which the Fuji kit produces, I love the handling – and I love the lightness and flexibility the system affords me.

I’ve tested, tested and tested a bit more – some days I think my X-T1 might actually go into meltdown shooting high speed horses day in day out, but it continues to deliver.

Alongside my workhorse 50-140mm, I’ve also become a complete convert to the fast Fuji prime lenses. The quality and sharpness is amazing. Favourites include the 14mm, 23mm and 35mm lenses.

X-T1 – ISO 200 – f/5.6 – 1/1000 – XF50-140mm

Do you have a photographic philosophy you live by?

I guess my philosophy is a recent and personal one: Follow your dreams and shoot what you love.

As a photographer you have to develop a thick skin – and that’s something I wasn’t good at! I’ve spent most of my life trying to keep everyone happy all of the time. Obviously a fruitless task, but I still do my best!

Especially when you shoot one very niche subject, some people will love what you do, others just won’t get it. So long as I stay true to my core and get to the end of each year with images I am proud of, I’m happy. I shoot horse pictures for horse lovers – they get it, they see it, they feel it.

The fact that people then buy those images for their own walls is a huge compliment. It was a real buzz when prints were first sold to overseas clients in the USA and New Zealand – the hard work is paying off.

X-E2 – ISO 200 – f/9 – 1/1000 – XF18-55mm

Key inspirations – What & who inspires you?

Wow, how long have you got?! I was the kid who saved up her pocket money to go into Waterstones (still love Waterstones!) to buy the Ansel Adams calendar each year. When the year was done I framed the pictures. My world was black and white, surrounded by snow-laden trees and lived under inky skies.

I’m a book person – and the bookshelf is crammed with a variety of beautiful publications which I revisit regularly: Helmut Newton, Herb Ritts, Colin Prior, Paul Kenny, Tim Flach, Amanda Lockhart, Jonathan Chritchley and most recently Michael Levin. Michael’s work is a quest for modern perfection – I admire him tremendously.

Mother nature also inspires me – light, breeze, weather, the ocean and of course, horses.

Do you have any tips or tricks you could share with us?

My tip is to stay true. There’s another good quote I live & work by: ‘A flower does not think of competing with the flower next to it. It just blooms.’

Another photographer recently said to me that ‘I make my life more difficult trying to shoot horses with a mirrorless camera’ – why didn’t I shoot an easier subject? What would be the joy or fulfilment in that?!

Do your own thing – if it’s difficult, try harder. If you have an idea – work out how to achieve it. If you are not sure – seek & learn!

What’s next for you?

I’m off to Wyoming to a remote ranch to shoot…you guessed it, horses!

It’s a completely new location for me. If I don’t shoot different horses soon, I’ll be ‘the woman who was obsessed with grey horses’.

The Polo season has just started too, so I’m working on a creative idea to produce beautiful art prints from this adrenaline fuelled sport.

I’ve also just taken on a beautiful but slightly broken racehorse. She’s likely to feature in future work – and she’s NOT GREY!

In fact this is her, in her previous life…my amazing girl.

X-T1 – ISO 800 – f/18 – 1/1000 – XF18-135mm

Contact info

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Filed under X-Photographer

Elephant Close Up – Story Behind the Photo

by Ben Cherry April 17, 2015 Comments3

Pygmy elephants are endemic to the island of Borneo, famous for their slightly smaller size, they are endangered with a population of roughly 1,500 left in the wild. This species is increasingly vulnerable to human impacts as a result of deforestation and conflict with palm oil development. They are the least understood elephant and in my opinion the sweetest, with their oversized ears and long tail to keep them cool and usher away insects.

Our first encounter was through an opening where there were about twenty elephants grazing. Our presence obviously wasn’t too big a concern as we were still observing different behaviour which is only seen in relaxed environments, such as play fighting and suckling.

Elephants play fighting — Taken with the XF50-140mm.

We moved on in our boat and headed around to a more suitable location and the view that greeted us was unbelievable!

I didn’t think the XF16mm would get much work but I was wrong. Having that mounted on one X-T1 and the XF50-140mm on another, sometimes switching to the XF16-55mm too, made for a brilliant set up.

One set up that proved to really work was the XF10-24mm and the X-T1 on a monopod fired via wireless triggers. Using the electronic shutter mode meant that I could have the camera really close to the elephants with no sound being produced so they stayed nice and calm. I couldn’t have done this with an SLR or in mechanical shutter mode. Using that set up on a monopod meant that I could shoot from a really low (or high) angle and still stay on my feet incase I needed to move. The tilting screen meant that I could see exactly what was in the frame and I used continuous auto focus as I trusted it to keep the focus on the subject. the wide perspective really worked well with these large animals, they may be called pygmy elephants but the adults still stand 2.5 meters tall! The other advantage of this lens was the OIS which worked fantastically. Considering I was holding the camera on the end of a 1.5 meter poll, in a busy environment and still getting sharp photos at 1/60sec is a testament to the OIS.

Elephant Close Up — The lower perspective offered by this set up helped to place the elephants in their environment.

However when the conditions were particularly gloomy and I didn’t want to push the camera past ISO3200 (ISO6400 is fine but on this occasion I decided not to) I switched to the ever-present XF16mm and utilised the F1.4 aperture. Though the angle of view was much narrower the benefit of the faster shutter speed was huge. This was particularly important as when the sun was shinning it would often create very strong dappled light which would often result in blown highlights. As a result the best results were usually from overcast conditions as it meant that everything was correctly exposed, but this meant there was less light available.

16mm-8 — A mother and baby share a quite moment.

16mm-6 — An elephant checks out my remote set up. XF16mm.

16mm-4 — Walking along an elephant pathway through the undergrowth. XF16mm at F4.

To get some close ups I used the ever-present XF50-140mm utilising the wonderful sharpness at F2.8.

Elephant (6 of 36) — F2.8 – This lens is so sharp wide open.

This was a truly incredible experience, one that I will never forget and I am so pleased that the X-Series produced photos to do the interactions justice. From the XF50-140mm to the XF10-24mm, the Fujinon lenses were exceptional across the range. We were even lucky enough to see the elephants beside a river just as the evening light reached its vivid climax.

16mm-3 — The XF16mm being utilised again at F5.6.

I hope you have enjoyed this series of photos, let me know your thoughts. The X-Series is developing into a great, lightweight wildlife system, I can’t wait for the forecasted XF100-400mm to complete this fantastic system!

You can find more of my work via the following links: Website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

Filed under Be Inspired Travel Wildlife

Python Close Up – Story Behind the Photo

by Ben Cherry April 16, 2015 Comments3

I have been lucky enough to be using a prototype of the XF16mm F1.4 since March and I have to say it is brilliant. I wasn’t entirely sure what I’d end up using it for, but as it turns out it is an extremely flexible lens and helped to produce some shots that would otherwise have not been possible.

This particular story has a bit of an unusual beginning. The location is the Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Malaysia, I was in this region with another photographer, Christian Loader from Scubazoo who I’m currently doing some work with. I have to thank Christian for some of the photos of me here. One morning, we headed up river briefly as our guide Osmon wanted to show us something he had spotted the previous night. We slowed underneath some low lying branches. Before I knew what had happened we had come across a relatively young python and… it fell in the boat! At which point I almost jumped out, much to the amusement of the other two who have handled snakes extensively before. The snake then decided to snuggle up to my Millican Dave camera bag! They calmly caught it and we relocated it inside the forest on a nice tree branch, in return it kindly sat still allowing us to take some pictures.

The close focusing capabilities of this lens really impressed me and allowed me to get some really close wide-angle shots, allowing me to fill the frame with the python and to also capture the environment.

I used the X-T1 with the XF16mm F1.4 attached as well as a Nissin i40 flash I used a rogue flash bender. But because this would involve getting very close to the snake I decided to put the camera on a monopod and used a wireless trigger set up to keep me working at a safe distance. To stress, the snake was absolutely fine and did not once try and strike the set up. The angled screen on the X-T1 was very helpful here as it meant that I could see exactly what was in the frame, regardless of slight angle changes to composition.

Ben shooting in Sabah - Christian Loader - Scubazoo Images-15 — Here is the set up. Please excuse the ‘jungle hat’!

Because I was using the i40 flash in TTL mode, I couldn’t shoot above 1/180sec so I had to stop down to F8 for much of the photos. The location was very dark and flat as the vast majority of the tropical sunlight is absorbed by the canopy above. Thankfully the XF16mm seems to have very quick and accurate autofocus, even in these less than ideal conditions.

In an up and coming blog I’ll show the benefit of the F1.4 aperture when photographing Pygmy Elephants.

You can find more of my work via the following links: Website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

Filed under Be Inspired Travel Wildlife

Embracing the Abstract by Simon Weir

by Guest Blogger April 14, 2015 Comments2

by Simon Weir

This February I was once again in Yellowstone National Park running MagicIs photographic workshops with some really extraordinary people. Over the two weeks I learned a little about nuclear physics, banking, metallurgy, reconstructive surgery, hitech roof construction, information technology, farming and how a 12 year old boy sees the world through a camera…

In return I showed them some of the most extraordinary sights on earth and endeavoured to give them some of the skills to translate what they saw before them into images – be they wildlife, landscape, or something more abstract.

At the beginning of each course there was much talk of aperture, shutter speed, ISO and autofocus modes – the core building blocks behind understanding how your camera works. Then came the understanding of how the technology in your camera sees the world and makes judgement on the camera’s settings – I like to think of this as “The Small Man from Japan” who lives inside our cameras and tries to guess what it is we are photographing and how it should be exposed.

Then gradually as a group we talked more about composition and in particular about understanding how we, as cognitive human beings, see the world around us. We have our familiar tools of depth, time, framing and tone, but before we can use these we have to learn to “see”.

02_Abstract_SW_DXT28598-Edit-2 — “Homage to the Small Man from Japan” – Fujifilm X-T1 – XF14mm – 1/15s at f/22 ISO200 with vertical panning

Every time we pick up a camera and look through the viewfinder we create an abstract – by framing our subject and capturing it in an intrinsically two dimensional device we move away from external reality and instead seek to achieve its effect using shapes, colours and textures. Some of these abstractions can be literal and immediately recognisable for what they are, others are more ephemeral and create an impression or a feeling of what is before us that may or may not be understood by the viewer.

But there is a huge difference between “looking” and “seeing”.

When we “look” at something we think that we are taking it all in at one instant. In fact our eyes and brains form a complex image by scanning and storing small parts at a time and assembling them into a whole. Some parts of this are borrowed from memory and used as a stopgap until that part of the image can be scanned. I am sure many of you will have experienced that feeling, when glimpsing at a wristwatch, that the second hand takes a few moments before it appears to move regularly – this is simply our brain applying the known static image of our watch, processing everything around it and then realising that something within the watch is moving and giving that some focus and detail. The phenomenon is called Chronostasis and gives us a fascinating glimpse into the way our visual perception actually works.

01_Abstract_SW_DXT28529-Edit — “Gibbon Falls” – Fujifilm X-T1 – XF50-140 @ 75mm – 30sec at f/2.8 ISO400 – Firecrest IRND4.8 stopper

When we learn to “see” we bring many factors into play. We can pre-visualise the way we want to represent a subject in terms of depth or time. By understanding how the brain interprets shapes and forms we can compose our framing to help the mind’s journey through the photograph. If we can reduce and simplify the image to tell a clearer story then we can strengthen the viewer’s emotional connection with the subject matter.

Seeing involves thought and time and is part of a process we call mindfulness – “the intentional, accepting and non-judgemental focus of one’s attention on the emotions, thoughts and sensations occurring in the present moment”. It comes from the Buddhist meditational practice anapanasati and is widely used in the treatment of obsessive compulsive disorders, anxiety and drug addiction. And mindfulness is a key building block in creative photography.

Let me show you an example using bison… There are many thousands of bison in Yellowstone and they are rather wonderful animals to photograph. No two are the same and as the weather conditions change they take on many different appearances. For some time now I have been seeking a very specific image of a bison – one that tells as much about the animal’s habitat as it does about the animal itself, showing both the harsh environment and the creature’s strength.

By thinking about this conceptual image I now find that I see and photograph bison in a completely different way, using the camera’s tools to create abstractions that try to convey something more about the essence of bison…

04_Abstract_SW_DXT28803-Edit — Fujifilm X-T1 – XF50-140 @ 140mm – 1/900s at f/2.8 ISO200

This image is as much about snow as it is bison – the falling snow (rendered pin sharp by the high shutter speed) is the subject in focus, shallow depth of field and a panoramic crop gives a sense of distance to these slow lumbering beasts.

03_Abstract_SW_DXT28721-Edit — Fujifilm X-T1 – XF50-140 @ 70mm – 1/200s at f/5.6 ISO200

Here the focus is on the speed and power of the bison ploughing through deep snow. The relatively slow shutter speed allows representation of movement through blur while the horizontal panning keeps just enough sharpness in the bison to show its purpose.

However neither image is the one I carry in my mind – the single image that combines everything that is “bison”. Most likely I will never make this “perfect” image, but I will certainly keep looking for it and finding new ways to see this magnificent creature and its frozen habitat.

07_Abstract_SW_DXT18834-Edit — “New Life from Old” – Fujifilm X-T1 – XF18-135 @ 135mm – 1/40s at f/11 ISO200

Abstraction and mindfulness together open the photographer’s eyes and allow us to see both the tiny detail and the wider environment – the microcosm and the macrocosm. We become more aware of our surroundings and more attuned to our environment, and in doing so our images begin to connect with the viewer and tell a story – every photograph should tell a story…

11_Abstract_SW_DSCF7196-Edit-Edit — “Frozen” – Fujifilm X-Pro1 – XF55-200 @ 200mm – 1/500s at f/7.1 ISO400

For more information about MagicIs photographic workshops and safaris visit www.magicis.com

If you are interested in finding out more about the 2016 winter workshops in Yellowstone National Park then contact me via the MagicIs website at http://magicis.com/contact-us/

About Simon

Fujifilm X-Photographer 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/

Filed under Be Inspired Landscape / Cityscape / Seascape Travel Wildlife

Story behind the photo – Sheepish sunrise

by Ben Cherry February 5, 2015 Comments10

This story started out with a glance at the forecast the night before. With heavy fog and cold, mirky conditions on the table I had to at least try and get out in the early hours and capture these often photogenic conditions. Though Curbar Edge is very convenient for me to get to in the Peak District, I was beginning to feel like a one trick pony so decided to head over to a hill called Higgar Tor, which has lots of beautiful rock formations and a great view. Thankfully the main roads were well gritted and there is a car park very close to the hillside so my journey to the top of the hill was pretty straight forward, which is just as well as I arrived just the sun had come up, above the horizon… Funnily enough, there was hardly any fog and the sky was quickly clearing and it was turning into quite a spectacle.

I was not alone at the top of this seemingly lonely mountain though, there were two other photographer’s who were already there and in the prime positions for the sunrise. To avoid breaking the unwritten code of standing in front of another photographers shot, I had a little think to myself on how to approach the situation. While scouting around I came across a small herd of sheep, which seemed to have adapted well to the wintery conditions, as if their white coats were designed for this all along! As soon as I saw them I decided to use them as my main subjects for the morning.

Without a subject, I find it quite difficult to connect with landscape pictures, so having the sheep to focus on helped me focus on how to do the beautifully unravelling situation justice.

Since I had the Nissin i40 flash in my bag I decided to give it a go in the challenging conditions with the X-T1 and the 18-135mm lens. It quickly turned very bright and made the little flash work hard, which did result in relatively slow refresh times, but this could have been due to some slightly older batteries in it. What I wanted to do was to use the flash to give the sheep a tiny bit of definition in the part shaded from the sun. I deliberately moved so sheep were initially between me and the rising sun.

Now it may not look like the flash was used here, but if you look closely, particularly at the left front sheep’s eye then you can see a little glint. That was from the flash. I had the exposure compensation down a notch or two to try and retain a bit of the sky, otherwise it would have burnt out, as at that moment in time I wasn’t using any filters. The flash was on 0 exposure compensation and I attached the diffuser. Again, to reiterate I didn’t want the flash to be obvious in this picture, instead I wanted it to just give a little glint, to highlight the eye, which it did. What I liked about back lighting the sheep with the low sun is the wonderful warm glow given to their outlines.

The sheep then headed down the side of the hill to continue their grazing.

I decided to use the Velvia film simulation for much of the morning as it really gave a punchy finish to the photos, though sometimes the contrast was a little too high so I would sometimes change it to Provia.

Though the more I compare the above images, the more I lean towards the Velvia image as it is so attention grabbing. It is great having the options at your finger tips and being able to change the look of the image so easily and I haven’t even mentioned Classic Chrome yet!

As it was slippy under foot, I was very happy to have had the 18-135mm attached to the camera, as it gave me the versatility required to adapt to where I could move to and where the sheep moved! The first shot below was taken at 36.6mm, while the image after was at 135mm.

As the sun rose and the intensity of the colour faded I started using Classic Chrome more, to yet again change the look and feel of the pictures.

Though the sheep were seemingly trying to hide on occasion..

Using a longer focal length reduced the angle of view, which was helpful for this example as it gives focus on the sheep and the snow covered hill behind.

Though freezing conditions (literally), the gear performed flawlessly, even if the batteries suffered a little due to the cold. Certainly something to consider if spending a long time in cold conditions, having multiple batteries will save you from frustration.

Leaving the sheep to graze, I decided to test out the i40 flash in another filler situation. Using the 10-24mm and a tripod I set up the exposure compensation to capture the surrounding area how I wanted it to look and then adjusted the TTL function on the i40 to fill in the shaded area of the rocks.

This was the set up… The i40 looking the piece on top of the X-T1.

To change up my photos again I decided to use the same techniques as discussed in the previous Story behind the photo blog, using filters for long exposures. On the other side of the adjacent valley was a factory/power station of some description and it looked like it could look pretty cool if slowed down. This was a 28 second exposure.

What do you think to the photos? I hope it shows that the adaptability of the Fujifilm X-Series. Any questions please leave a comment below.

Until next time, go out, shoot and share your results with us!

Filed under Be Inspired Landscape / Cityscape / Seascape Wildlife

Wildlife photographer Chris Weston puts the new XF16-55mm f/2.8 through its paces

by Fujifilm EMEA January 9, 2015 Comments1

Fujifilm’s new XF16-55mm f/2.8 weather-resistant lens lives up to expectation. With a new type of nano-coating that reduces flare, the optical excellence of the lens matches the supreme quality I have come to rely on in the very best Fujinon lenses.

_DSF5616 — X-T1 with XF16-55mm @ 55mm. 1/4000th, f/4, ISO800

Photographing birds of prey at a local falconry, I was astounded by the depth of detail, sharpness and contrast of the pre-processed images. It feels great in the hand. The aperture and focus rings give me confidence when I need it most while the build quality exceeds my often-exacting need for equipment that can cope with the most extreme and harsh environments.