#482. Fuji’s X-Pros do seascapes

Pre-sunrise over the Kogelberg – shot with the Fuji X-Pro1 and Fuji 90mm f2

The northern end of the Kogelberg – shot with the Fuji X-Pro1 and Fuji 16mm f1.4

Pre-sunrise – X-Pro2 with Leica Summilux 50mm f1.4

It’s nearing the end of autumn – it’s been a fantastic summer down here on the Southern Tip (of Africa). The temperatures started to rise during October and by Christmas, we were all wondering where the seasonal winds had gone, as day after day passed in a welter of clear skies and balmy temperatures.

The Cape Doctor* (our seasonal south easterly wind) finally arrived late in December and put a stop to our luxuriating for several weeks, finally moving away only in March and making a sneaky return for a final go-round in early May.

In between, the post Christmas period has been beautiful; warm days, clear skies, starry nights – the best the Cape can offer.

Rooi Els river valley – shot with the Fuji X-Pro1 and Fuji 90mm f2

Pre-sunrise over the Kogelberg – shot with the Fuji X-Pro1 and Fuji 90mm f2

So, time this weekend to get the cameras out and do a bit of coastal exploring.

Both sets of images were taken in the hour before sunrise. The first on Saturday, the balance this morning (Monday). The locations varied; on Saturday, I walked just beyond our neighbour’s property to an area known locally as Roman Rock. Today’s pics were taken above the village on the road to Pringle Bay and the balance near Kogel Bay – a favourite spot just along the coast towards Gordon’s Bay.

Looking NE along the Kogelberg – X-Pro2 and Fuji 35mm f1.4

As is now my habit, I concentrated on the Fuji X-Pros. I’ll be touring the far north of Scotland in a couple of months and want to ensure my Fuji skills are up to the job. Aside from not being able to find the ISO menu option and having to content myself with Auto ISO, everything else worked fine.

5 frame Kogelberg pano – shot with the Fuji X-Pro2 and Fuji 16mm f1.4

Anyway, I think I’m making progress and shot with Fuji’s 16mm f1.4, 35mm f1.4 and 90mm f2, plus my Leica 50mm f1.4 Summilux, although the latter proved to be a bit long for what I was trying to achieve. In addition, I used an ND grad to control the brightness of the sky – this is Africa and from pitch dark to full sunlight is a surprisingly rapid transition.

Looking NE along the Kogelberg – X-Pro2 and Fuji 16mm f1.4

* Named because it blows so hard that it (figuratively) rids us of all the poor weather. Mind you, it’s hard to see the benefits when it’s howling at 80km/h – 100km/h outside and delivering a thick coating of salt spray everywhere. The sun may be shining out there and the thermometer reading in the high 20s, but it’s still inadvisable to open a window – lest the furniture, pictures and pets all get blown away.