Feb 21, 2012 | Aviation
7000 filed images later and I’m still jumping! I flew down to AZ last week and I’ve not stopped shooting since and it’s been great! What you see above is the B-25 “Maid in the Shade,” a WWII combat veteran with 17 missions. The volunteers at the AZ CAF Wing keep her in great shape an flying. You’ll be able to see her at a number of events this year including the Doolittle Reunion in OH in April (I’ll be there). We had an evening shoot with here and is was great!
I’ve shot 18 aircraft now air to air since arriving in AZ! Yikes! Had two commercial shoots and I’m not down. This gorgeous PT-17 Stearman was one of those shoots. I even tried something new involving the airport fire dept and a carrier deck with TBM at NIGHT! I can’t wait to tell you that story. Well, it’s time already foe me to head out for more shoots and some flyin…stay tuned!
In the Bag
Feb 9, 2012 | Aviation
My second aviation cover story is out for the year. The story of Super Corsair #74 and the Odegaard Family that brought it back to racing is one dear to me as I was so fortunate to be included in the project near its end. It was an honor to be apart of it and the first to fly air to air with #74. Classic Wings is a great magazine from down under. You can find it on the news stands at bigger bookstores if you don’t have a subscription to it. I hope you enjoy it, I had a blast bringing it to you!
Jan 31, 2012 | Aviation
“Why did you go that way?” Damn good question for lots that I have pursued with a camera over time. The Cockpit Panos we’ve posted seem to be the cause of a lot of work time spent lost goofin with them. At the same time, questions keep coming in with this being the latest. Why? The answer was pretty simple when you look at my early cockpit portraits. OK, light is OK and the clouds so so but then what? You really can’t get a feel for the cockpit since you don’t feel like you’re sitting in it. You can really read any of the instruments. It’s, just there! Thought shot with the same 16Fish, you the viewer don’t really get much an experience from it and that’s the whole idea.
Both of these are hand held HDRs, 5 image captures taken at f/2.8 because I was too lazy to get a tripod. That’s because I knew that the end results would be what you see here. What you’re seeing here is the Lone Star Flight Museum’s DC-3, a gorgeous plane you see on the airshow circuit. You’ve got the main cabin and the cockpit here. As the viewer of the image, how are you to get a feel for this romantic period in flight from these photos? (Can you imagine getting our carry-ons on this plane?) It was parked in a hangar when I made these clicks and there sure is a lot more PS craft then camera craft in these couple of images. Since that’s not my style and they really don’t convey the whole experience, I had to find a better what of communicating that experience. That’s how I went looking for what we now call our cockpit panos.
In the Bag
D3x
16Fish
Lexar 32GB UDMA
Jan 25, 2012 | Aviation
We are constantly amazed at the growing base of fans of my aviation work has brought us. Thanks! Many had asked a few weeks back about upcoming articles I had coming out. I wanted to let you know about this one because you can download the issue for free on your iPad if you’re not already subscribing to Aeroplane. You’ll want the March, 2012 issue. Enjoy!
Jan 23, 2012 | Aviation
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Our Cockpit Panos have become quite popular. We posted two new ones over the weekend, once from a Stinson V-77 Gullwing and another from Super Corsair #74. I really love the “steering wheels” in the Gullwing and truly appreciate the history in #74. I’ve been flooded with one question, “How did I light these cockpits?” It’s all done with one SB-900. Prior to actually making the pano, I determine the lighting for the entire cockpit using just the one flash. Why just one flash? Since I’m using a 16Fish, any type of lighting system would be seen in the frame. At the same time, most cockpits don’t have a whole bunch of space for much more then one flash. Some have asked for a behind the scene video which would be a great idea. That’s if I had a recipe to offer you but at this time I don’t. My original post lists what I suggest you can use to get started if this intrigues you. I was surprised how many emails I received asking about the gear used to create these. That’s listed below again. Thanks for all the love notes. Don’t fret, there are a lot more coming!
In the Case
D3x
16Fish
SB-900
Lexar 32GB UDMA
PocketWizard MiniTT1 with AC3 and FlexTT5
The Box
Really Right Stuff Ground-Level Tripod
Jan 20, 2012 | Aviation
This country has known many great heros who have made it possible for us to enjoy the freedoms we have today. One group of men played a part in not just winning a war, but changing minds. It is amazing to me that today, their battle still seems to be on going. Even when one of the men was interned today in Arlington. The Movie Red Tails is released today telling the story of the Tuskegee Airmen and their contributions to WWII. I guess what amazes me that even after their sacrifice for their country, our country, it was so hard for Hollywood to get behind Lucas bringing out this story. There are many ways you can learn more about the Tuskegee Airmen. You might want to see the movie, I can highly recommend you check out the CAF Red Tail Project especially when you find them at an airshow. Learn for yourself this part of our history and make up your mind just how it impacted the world we live in today!
