Mar 19, 2012 | Aviation
There’s just something about an airport before the sun rises. It’s calm, quiet, cool and the runway lights take your imagination to the horizon. We’ve been the guests of Stallion 51 for the last few days for a little business, a lot of pleasure and for our Air2Air Workshop. One of the cool things we get to do at Air2Air is play with the planes. We start early in the morning, before the sun is a hint on the horizon unstacking aircraft and pulling those out we want to photograph. This is the iconic “Crazy Horse,” the pride and joy of Lee Lauderback.
I started shooting at the very first clue of color in the east. The exposure time was 15sec. “Crazy Horse” wasn’t moving but Dave, who was busy positioning the Twins was and I counted on that when I went click. It’s that movement that made me want to click. It gives life to the scene, movement to a still image. Just 10min later and the whole scene changes as the sun rises.
Then at sunrise, the Twins (“Crazy Horse” & “Crazy Horse2”) are parked to have their portraits taken. The first two photos, I shot down low to incorporate the ground fog. The last image I went to a second story balcony to element sky. The folks at Stallion 51 are simply amazing, providing not only their aircraft and logistical support, but permitting us to basically have our way as we shoot to our hearts content. Of course, knowing we’d be flying air to air with them ina few hours does provide a bit of electricity to the atmosphere and a purpose to the statics.
Mar 14, 2012 | Aviation
Hey, I admit it, I have to sneak up on portraits. I guess if I had a day or a week to think about it, I could set up the scenario for the scene and make a good or great portrait on the fly. But when I have 5min to place and shoot, I feel totally useless lacking any real skill. I had three things going for me that saved the moment. The background just don’t suck, the B-25 “Maid in the Shade” is a one of a kind background. Two, I’ve got a great model dressed as a WWII bomber pilot. A tad old but otherwise perfectly dressed and more then willing to pose. Finally, I’ve got sweet light for the whole thing, no flash or fill used. I shot wide open, f/2.8 and long, 200mm to control the background. Being a member of the famous and amazing AZ Ground Crew, I know I’ll have another opportunity, but great light never comes around twice. This is a skill I’ve gotta improve dang it! I know I’ll have more opportunities like this and I want to make the most of them. Sometimes knowing there is more photography I’ve gotta master drives me nuts!
Mar 9, 2012 | Aviation
Flight, I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be a bird. I mean, there’s a Peregrine on a cliffs edge and without what seem no forethought, it seemingly falls forward, opens it’s wings and then rip ass through the sky without a beat. Just what the hell is that like?! You sure don’t get the sense of flight in a commercial just and while I’ve been spending a lot of time hanging out of an aircraft, that doesn’t give the sense of flight. So when my good friend Bob told me we were going to fly in a Breezie, my first thought was, “Will this be like what birds feel?” So we pulled Ode’s Gullwing out of the hangar, jumped and and flew down to where the Breezie is hangared. This is a simple 5 image HDR of Bob flying the Gullwing down to the Breezie. He loves to tell you what you’re seeing out the window and below as you fly!
01.01.2013 Pages are in the process of being updated. In the meantime you can watch our videos on our YouTube Channel as well as all Videos are available on iTunes as Podcasts!
The video will start and on the left you’ll see the Gullwing we flew over in. This is just a small clip of the 30min flight. I posted a compressed little clip of this flight a couple of weeks back. That compression lost a few things in translation. You might notice now for example that some of the time, we’re flying below the cactus and the fence. We saw coyote, rabbits, snake and a whole lot of earth as we screamed along. You’ll see we even rip past a car on the highway, we were going fast. I shot it all with a D3s, 14-24AFS that I just handheld. Flying with Bob which I’ve done a lot now, you never think about the “flying” thing, just the sheer enjoyment of the act of flight. And I can honestly say now, I have a slight idea what it would be like to fly like a bird. My arms never got tired but the sensation of freedom while cruising over the landscape is something I will never forget. Thanks Bob!!! Enjoy!
Feb 23, 2012 | Aviation
So I had seen some pretty cool images taken at night of planes with their props turning. Working on an article, I wanted a photograph of the TBM Avenger so it appeared to be on the flight deck of a carrier for a dawn launch. I just so happen to be incredibly lucky to have become dear friends with Dale who just happens to have a TBM Avenger.
Prior to heading down to AZ where the TBM is home, I started to do some homework. The first thing I did was to contact Dale and see if he was up for such a crazy shoot. Understand, working with aircraft at night with the prop turning is extremely dangerous. I only considered it because the folks I was working with are the best! With Dale on board, I then contacted an aviation photographer I have a lot of respect for, Tyson Rininger. He was a HUGE help giving me some great places to start. So with those pieces in place, I went to AZ ready to go.
Everything was going great, had place and airplane so the plans were coming together. Then it came to that day and I started to look for water to wet down the tarmac. I looked for a bib for a hose and you know what, there was none. Why did I want water? Well, flight decks were often wet and because dry tarmacs suck (much as dry rocks suck). Dale asked me what I was up to so I told him. He then asked what about the fire dept. I said that would be great but how do you call to ask that? He pointed and said, “That’s our fire dept right there, dial 911 and ask them.” Beaming me that big Dale smile, I said, “Here’s my phone, you call.” He said he would go knock on their door, what time did I want them? I said, “18:30.”
After messing around with some other little projects and moving some planes, we tugged the TBM into place and I started to get lights set up and gear in order. Right at 18:30 this giant, airport hunking fire truck comes up the tarmac heading our way. The house capt is driving the truck no less and with a big smile asked what I wanted. I showed him the area of the tarmac I wanted wet. He said, “I’ve got 1500 gallons, standback!” And just like magic, the tarmac was soaked!
And that’s where the story has to end for now. That’s because the final photos won’t be online until the article comes out. I can say that when the Capt say the wings of the TBM unfold, he thought it was the coolest thing he’d ever seen. After all was said and done, we shook hands and the Capt said, “When are we doing this again?” To the Falcon Field Fire Dept & Dale, I say thanks for some really great fun!
PS….you’ll never guess how I lit it…too much fun!
In the Bag
Feb 22, 2012 | Aviation
My good friend Robert Odegaard asked me if I wanted to go flying, without hesitation I said yes. When you get asked to go flying with one of the best, there is no other response. He said we were going to go flying in the Breezie. At first, I didn’t know what he was talking about so got on the iPhone to look. I know now! We flew to another airport in his Stinson Gullwing and then pulled out the Breezie and went for a flight of your life! I don’t think we ever got higher then 50′ off the deck. Here’s a small clip from our flight. I shot it with the D3x & 14-24AF handheld. Enjoy!
Had to really compress the vid to get it posted because of internet connection…will edit and put up a more riveting cut soon.
Feb 22, 2012 | Aviation
It was one of those mornings when what clouds were present were leaving Dodge fast! That was a bummer because we had the amazing Arizona Ground Crew crew with us and I had “Cripes A’ Mighty” pulled out of the hangar for them to use for a backdrop. Now to be totally honest, pulling out a bunch of flash units and setting up a set just was something I didn’t want to do. It’s simply a pain in the ass and slows down photography in my book. So we started to work with what light we did have. I took Scott and first, put him as silhouette and went click.
And while that seemed like a kinda good idea, it really wasn’t. I went to a five image HDR to make something happen visually. The side of the Mustang was hot and the silhouette needed to be black while I wanted to keep the color and HDR was the best option. OK…made a click but it was a waste of the talent and the background. What to do?!
I turned around then to see the DC-3 that just the day before went into annual being kissed by the sun. A second later we had abandoned the set the Crew and set up around Cripes and were over at the DC-3. Now the DC-3 when in military use was called a C-47 and it’s the plane that is best known for dropping the boys into Europe during D-Day. Well the Crew were all over this new set in some gorgeous light!
Now here’s the deal with the Arizona Ground Crew. These guys who I think the world of, are the only re-inactors who are ground crew, most are pilots. Everything they have with them from pencils to overalls are authentic from 1940s military, they are not repos. And their props, from the Whole Nine Yards to tables, ladders, hang engine warmer, thermos, everything is from WWII! And, they know their history and planes! And the best part, they are funnier then %*(# ! It’s hard to shoot because you’re laughing so much. And they don’t stop, they just keep on going and going and going.
This shot was so simple to take. The light was hittin the boys and by simply moving to the left, the DC-3 in shade made for the perfect backdrop to make them pop. Then, I simply watched the boys and when I saw the geometric design you see here, I went click. There is no way in a lifetime I could set up enough flash units to get a feel to the light like we got from the photo gods that morning.
As the sun came up, the soft glow went away so I went looking for scenarios where the harder light would lend itself to the Crew and DC-3. I don’t really give any staging to the Crew, they just pick a them and go at it. But what I do do after a little while is simply yell shift! When I do, the Crew being the professionals they are simply find a new “repair” to make and go at it. They move ladders and props and themselves and create a whole new set with just the simple que.
What I love best about the Crew is their effect on photographers. The crew were brought in for our Air2Air Workshops and there always seems to be one photographer not “thrilled” to be photographing models. But this crew melts even the coldest fish and within minutes have everyone laughing and shutters flying. One of my favorite people, Pedro from Brazil said half way through the shoot, “I’ve already shot 400 frames, I would have never thought….” What you see here are just a couple of clicks from the morning. There are more with some stories that will come in the future. And as for the Crew, they are already signed up for our Fall Air2Air in AZ. It just wouldn’t be the same without them!
