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...

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.

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.

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.

Blurring the Lines - Twisting with the X-T1

Dance is one of the most brilliant and yet most difficult things to photograph well.  It involves split second timing, precise technique and a deep understanding of your subject.

So sometimes it is much better to throw away all the rules and try something completely new...!

Shooting in the dark...

X-T1 / XF55-200 at 200mm / 1/40s at f/5 / ISO6400

Photographing Classical Music often involves shooting in low light levels - especially when the concert involves multimedia and projections - and just such an event took place at London's LSO St Luke's earlier this month when the Aurora Orchestra, conducted by Nicolas Collon, performed "How Pure The Sky" with the countertenor Iestyn Davies and projections by Stanton Media.

LSO St Luke's is one of my favourite venues.  An 18th century Grade 1 listed Hawksmoor church, it has been beautifully restored to become a state-of-the-art concert hall and is a regular performance venue for the Aurora Orchestra - one of London's most innovative young chamber ensembles.

I have worked regularly with Aurora over the last 10 years and their events never fail to provide photographic opportunities - capoeira dancers, 3D printed miniature players, and Wallace & Gromit have shared the stage with them.  But on this occasion it was light - or lack of it - that gave the photographic challenge.

Zoë and Magpie show jumping

My 13 year old daughter Zoë is horse mad and every spare moment she has is spent at the Trent Park Equestrian Centre where she volunteers as a helper in return for rides and lessons.

She has several "favourite" horses there but top of the list at the moment is "Magpie" who she rides when ever allowed and this bank holiday Monday she did her first show jumping competition with him.

Now, Zoë is a headstrong girl and Magpie is a headstrong horse so you might think they are perfectly suited to one another - however that doesn't always make for successful or elegant jumping and clean rounds were not happening for them with Magpie refusing at several jumps.

Nonetheless much fun was had and many polo mints were consumed by Magpie - and rather a lot of photographs were taken by a very proud Dad.

These were all taken with the Fuji X-T1 and the XF 55-200 zoom.  The jumping arena was incredibly dark even though it was a bright day outside - to get the shutter speed up to 1/250 - high enough to freeze the motion - meant working at ISO 1600 to 3200 most of the time but the out of camera JPGs were crisp and clean.