FUJI - WEC/ELMS At Silverstone

I am going to start with saying WHAT A WEEKEND!!! Absolutely brilliant. Loved every minute of it, Even when I was moaning about all the walking lol. Yes I am human and walking long ways was getting to me.

Anyway, What a weekend, Its my annual trek to Silverstone for the FIA World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans Series, Its always one of my headline weekends and a must visit for all motorsport fans, Especially to see the amazing machinery that takes part in this brilliant event.

 Arriving down mid morning on Friday I unfortunately missed the morning AM brief but not to worry it gave me time to relax and prepare for the afternoon action, After FIA Media rep Jeff Carter Fuji Ambassador ( https://tinyurl.com/JcarterMaclean) finished with our safety brief it was time to break out the amazing XT-2 and get off out there to shoot some of the afternoon action.

Once again it was great to hear the roar of raw engines sounding like they should. It was all go from there with ELMS/WEC action to keep me entertained for the remainder of the day. First up I must say, To see the Toyota Gazoo Racing (https://twitter.com/Toyota_Hybrid) going through the Maggots/Becketts section at Silverstone will blow your mind. Throughout the practice sessions the most entertaining track action was from the sounds of the Factory Porsche cars in fact all of the porches through the weekend sounded spectacular, Once again the Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT cars looked beautiful and its a pleasure to see these amazing cars driven so well.

With some amazing action during the sessions it was time to head back to the media room and sort out the images and as you can see I hog the desks a bit, I do like my space :)

Images downloaded onto the SSD it was time to get the editorial work started and sent away, I did have my very yummy sandwich to keep me occupied while I did the boring work HAHA.

Now its not often when I am around a circuit I will approach people as I like to keep a low profile get in and shoot and get out, I made an exception on Saturday and am I happy I did, I met with some guys from FujiFilm UK ( Carl - https://twitter.com/Carl_Hare) and I got the amazing opportunity to get my hands on the amazing all new Fuji XH-1 for the start of the ELMS Race. 

I was a happy boy as I walked away with this amazing piece of kit to shoot the start of the race. What an epic piece of kit it is, The EVF is a game changer, So clear and bright and so much bigger than the XT2, The shutter button is very responsive and will snap at the slightest of press.

The over all burning question I asked myself was, Could this replace my XT2 for the £££ well.... No if I am honest, Yes, The EVF is spectacular, Yes the grip is much more comfortable to hold over the slim XT2 but there is something charming about the size of the XT2 and with it basically being an XT2 on a fat gain who enjoys shooting video then I am happy to stick with what I have. 

I am in no way putting the XH1 down, I loved it and I loved the opportunity to shoot with it but I will wait for the XT-3 before I see about upgrading, 

P.S - John Rourke (https://twitter.com/AdrenalMedia) had the Fuji 200mm f2 all weekend and I didn't manage to get my hands on that, One day I will get the shot to see how that will stack up but until then I am happy with my set up.

All in all a brilliant weekend again with some amazing racing and great people, It would be a dream come true to be able to work in this environment as a full time job opportunity, I have proven my skill level, I just need the opportunity to come my way. Thank you to everyone who supports me and my pages I am grateful for every like and share. Be sure to stick around there is plenty more to come and I will not disappoint.

WEC Gallery - https://tinyurl.com/wecelmscmcimages

First Bike Meeting with XT2

This season has been a great learning curve so far with the amazing Fuji XT2, Having been so used to Canon it was time to change and make photography interesting again. Shooting the annual visit of the British Superbike Championship at Knockhill with Fuji XT2 had brought some new learning experiences.

 Shooting bikes is very different from shooting cars, It requires a different technique and the approach to shooting bikes to to capture action and pin sharp images. My Fuji lenses on my XT2 bodies are the amazing 100-400 which is an unreal lens and produces some of the most stunning images I have seen. Examples below of how good this epic lens shoots.

I am sure you will agree this is one spectacular lens with the detail and depth of field for such a large apature of 4.5-5.6 is stunning. It is by far my favourite lens to shoot with and its light enough to shoot hand held.

 The other lens I shoot with is the 50-140 f2.8, This lens is mind blowing how sharp it can be, The design and weight it is perfect to keep on your camera at all times. Panning shots with this lens are made simple with the small size, Doing some research into shooting bikes Pan shooting a technique that is less used than when shooting the car side of Motorsport but even that I like to get some panning shots in there just to show the ability of this outstanding equipment. Below are some examples from the 40-150.

Shooting the BSB is one of the highlights events of my season, Its always great to be in the paddock with these guys and the amazing talent and bravery and to shoot them with this amazing kit to capture the spectacular things they can do on a bike is brilliant.

  One again I am blown away with the kit and hopefully you enjoy the images I have put up. Again if your looking for any more information on the Fuji kit please ask. 

 Next up for me this weekend is the annual Silverstone Classic, Again a new test of the kit with the challenges of Silverstone are always interesting. I will share my views and news after the event. Keep up with my images on Facebook , CMC-Images and Instagram, @cmcimages.

Thanks for reading. 

Shooting Motorsport with Fuji XT2

I have recently upgraded my camera equipment from a seasoned Canon Shooter for many years to a better (In my opinion) system, it was a tough decision over winter to make the decision but when I decided to sell all of my Canon equipment including my pride of  joy the Canon300mm f2.8, I decided to move to the Fuji XT2 system it was a huge step into the unknown for me.

  My decision was confirmed for two reasons, One - weight is a massive thing for me, The kit is incredible how light it is over the Canon equipment especially the 300mm f2.8 I was carrying round with me everywhere. I now have the same reach with 1/2 the weight and Two - The image quality is superb with fuji producing some of the best lenses I have ever used, Build quality and glass quality produces some of the sharpest image quality i have seen.

The image quality and detail shown in the image above shows the amazing clarity and dynamic range the fuji system has. 

The XT2 also shoots at an amazing 14fps meaning you will never miss that vital shot. There is one major bonus with the XT2 and that is dual memory SD card slots and with 2x San Disk 64GB Extreme cards the buffering is non existent and an eternal 128GB in both cameras.

One thing I love and its one step above the rest is the EVF (Electronic View Finder), What a difference it makes shooting especially when a group shot passes through the frame.

Setting the focus delay in the menu the camera will continue to track the selected focal point and won't jump to the passing car creating the arty scene above, The EVF works inside like a mini HD TV and gives an instant preview of what the image will look like, It will take some time for anyone looking to make the change from Canon or Nikon to get used to the new set up but once you know the system its second nature.

 I am not by any means telling anyone to run out and swap over your systems, I am simply putting an opinion out there. I have known people who haven't gotten on with the Fuji system and realised the mistake they made in changing. I have still to experience it shooting Bike racing and also at various circuits such as Silverstone but so far Donington, Knockhill and Croft have been successful for me and I will get the opportunity later in the season.

I hope you have enjoyed reading my opinion on the Fuji XT2 and if you are ever looking for more information on the system or maybe looking to make the big change then visit my work page and see some of my images from other events this season.