Pic(k) of the week 9: SUNRISE ON THE SKI SLOPES, LES MENUIRES - Fujifilm X-A3

Sometimes one clicks the shutter knowing straight away a winning shot is in the bag. Although photography is mainly about vision, composition and obviously some technical expertise, one can hardly deny there is a bit of luck involved from time to time...

I had seen the dramatic sunrise over the Les Menuires ski slopes, the days before. As I was waiting for the sun to come from behind the mountains on day 4 of my recent ski holiday, a contrail of an airliner flying westbound appeared, adding to the image composition. I shot a serious of images moving slightly in order to have two parallel lines between the sun flare and contrail. Having immediate feedback on the LCD was vital in getting the shot below!

I especially like how the lifts on the left reflect the early morning sunlight while there were a handful skiers coming down from their hotels/chalets for their first run. The image was made around 0845am, 15 mins before the ski lifts opened for the day.


Image details:
  • Fujifilm X-A3 with the pancake 27mm f2.8 lens
  • ISO 200, 1/340s, f14
  • RAW file development in Iridient Developer 3.1.3
  • Nik ColorEfex pro 4 with Neutral density filter and Pro contrast 
While I initially envisioned to do a full "First Look" review of the new Fujifilm entry level X-A3 camera, I eventually elected not to do so as the firmware installed was early pre-production and still had quite a few bugs. Checking with Fujifilm Japan, I've been told that all has been cleared in latest 1.0 production firmware but unfortunately I wasn't able to do a quick firmware upgrade while I was away on the trip with the camera.

In any case, being one of the smallest of the X-series cameras, the X-A3 was great to take with me while skiing; especially with the little pancake 27mm f2.8 and small 35mm f2 lenses. The image quality of the 24 Mpx APS-C "non-X-Trans" sensor is great. If interested in more X-A3 images, check out my dedicated gallery for the trip: "Les Menuires, 3 Vallées, France".

On the last day of my weeklong trip, I had a small ski accident, going home with an injured left shoulder and lower leg. Although I presently have a very limited mobility, I do plan to use the probably 3 to 4 weeks off from the day-job, working on an upcoming "single hand photography" project...  More to come soon!

Remember: "There is no gain without pain"

BJORN

Comments