Wednesday 20 January 2016

Gannets of Muriwai

 Putting the XF 1.4x TC WR through its paces...


X-T1 with XF50-140mm f2.8 and XF1.4x TC - 1/2000th at f5.6 ISO800 at 196mm

The rugged New Zealand coastline west of Auckland is famous for its black sand beaches and Muriwai, a 60km strip between the thundering surf and the dunes, is popular with tourists and locals alike.  At the south end of the beach, Otakamiro headland is home to a small but accessible gannet colony where about 1200 pairs of gannets nest from August to March each year.


Friday 1 January 2016

Lighting Up 2016

New Year Fireworks at Central Square, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London


X-T1 / XF16-55 @ 16mm / ISO200 / 6.5 sec at f/22
What better way is there to see in a new year than a fireworks display and with the "big" London display being a ticketed only event this year I headed to Central Square in Hampstead Garden Suburb where the residents association put on their own display to welcome in 2016.

Friday 11 December 2015

Photography Live and Uncut

Episode #75: Simon Weir

I spent a very enjoyable hour last night as a guest on Paul Griffiths' show "Photography Live and Uncut". A prolific webcaster, Paul has recorded video interviews with photographers from all around the world and I was delighted to be asked to join him.

We go back many years to Nikon Owner meetings in London and have since both become avid users of Fuji's X System cameras - inspired by me, Paul even has an InfraRed converted XE-1...

The discussion ranges from my childhood photography to my work in classical music and my passion for black and white and especially infrared...





You can see a full list of Paul's other guests on the Photography Live and Uncut website

Sunday 21 June 2015

Wet & Wild with the XP80

Now please understand - I dont normally write equipment reviews and the XP80 isn't strictly an X series camera, but this little marvel deserves some serious praise!




I have just returned from the south of France where for the second year running I photographed at the classic yacht race Les Voiles d'Antibes as part of a Create Away workshop I ran with fellow Fuji user Serge Kruglikoff.  This year I thought it might be fun to have a waterproof camera to get some really "wet and wild" shots.  Nauticam produce a superb X-T1 hosing called the NA-XT1 - it is a full spec dive housing for the serious underwater photographer - and will set you back an eye watering £1500 - worth every penny if that is how you make your living but a little expensive for an experiment...

Sunday 5 April 2015

Embracing the Abstract

Creating images in the mind...

"Line of Trees" - Fujifilm X-T1 - XF18-135 @ 90mm - 1/110s at f/22 ISO200

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.

Saturday 10 January 2015

Chasing the Wind - Les Voiles de St Tropez

At the start of a new year I often find myself looking back over the shoots from the preceding 12 months and in 2014 one in particular stands out: Les Voiles de Saint Tropez.


Les Voiles - literally "The Sails" - take place from April to October across the French riviera.  Each race brings together some of the most beautiful traditional wooden yachts alongside the most extraordinary modern sailing boats for a week long regatta in beautiful ports such as Antibes and Saint-Tropez.

Monday 14 July 2014

Forever blowing bubbles...

Another set of pics from last months Marylebone Summer Fayre - this time of Lucas Wintercrane and his fabulous bubbles...


Lucas is a professional juggler, British champion unicyclist and lifelong all round circus performer who charmed the adults and children alike with his myriad of bubbles.