Exploring the beach with the Fujifilm X-A3

Whether it was the warmth of the sun on my cheeks, the sound of the waves breaking or mile upon mile of soft golden sand, it was a glorious morning to be at West Wittering. Located in West Sussex, this is normally a popular spot with people travelling there from far and wide. Not today though, the beach was deserted with the exception of a few dog walkers and a handful of surfers. What a perfect day for taking some more photographs with the Fujifilm X-A3 (do read our review here).

There are beach huts aplenty at West Wittering. Much of the appeal is the contrast between the decrepit and lovingly renovated interspersed with sporadic pops colour. Perhaps it’s because I adore these beach huts but I find it impossible to visit and not photograph the varying styles, textures and tones.

I’d normally capture the beach huts on my SLR with a few images taken on my smartphone. The latter is often frustrating though as the end result is often pixelated and fuzzy. The Fujifilm X-A3 on the other hand produced super sharp high resolution images, just using the landscape or beach settings, and the colours just popped. Even setting my focal point to the right, rather than central, with the LCD touch screen produced clearly defined images with the colour balance I was looking for.

The LCD touch screen rotates 180 degrees and while I’d normally be more comfortable behind the camera, this feature is excellent. Rather than stand awkwardly waiting for someone to take a photograph or me, I can do it myself. It feels less forced somehow and it’s much more fun – I do need to work on my position and expressions though! Six year old POD is loving the selfie option too so we’ll have more photographs of the two of us in no time. Hopefully minus half a ham sandwich in her mouth!

While the Fujifilm X-A3 has an array of settings to suit all photography styles, you can keep it as simple or as complex as you like. I’d normally use shutter priority for capturing people on the move although the sport setting is great for freeze framing any action. Like the windsurfer below or POD running then diving backwards in an attempt to catch a rugby ball.

I like to capture the detail in my posts so aperture priority is another go to setting. The Fujifilm X-A3 allows you to control the depth of field which is great for eliminating background noise. I tend to alter mine depending on what I’m photographing but it’s an absolute must having this flexibility.

I’ve had a great time experimenting with the advanced settings on the Fujifilm X-A3. The filters especially are great with all kinds of options to suit your taste or need. My favourite is using the black and white filter with one colour (there are six to choose from). The photographs can be pretty dramatic with the right subject and colour combination – the red is superb! There’s also a colour pop filter for adding extra saturation to an image plus a range of other options like fish eye, panoramic and double exposure.

If you want to know more about the Fujifilm X-A3, do check out our review. It’s certainly proved to be a winner in the Dove household what with all the options available and the quality of the images. I can edit, share and print photographs from my camera too plus there’s less of a need to take my SLR and lenses everywhere. My back is going to be very happy about that!

Disclaimer: I’m working with Fujifilm and BritMums in a paid relationship, showcasing the new X-A3, a mirrorless digital camera perfect for people who love taking pictures. Find out more here.