Nov 15, 2011 | Aviation, Field Reports
I love this line from Dirty Harry, it just rings so true. Now I’ve been incredibly fortunate to watch Joe McNally work his magic for nearly a decade in situations his videos don’t come close to depicting. I also know light and a little but of flash. I also know I’m no Joe McNally, what he does with flash and people is simply not in my skill set. I own has many flashes as Joe but I’m not stupid enough to think I can do what he does. I’m no Joe McNally! So with that determined, how do I make the most of this situation? That’s what photographers do, they solve problems. I go with my own strengths and that’s available light. And with that big silver reflector of a B-17G “Sentimental Journey,” I went to mental work.
These guys were simply terrific! They knew their history so when they suggested this scene of prepping engines, I went for it. The light from the fading storm was enough to create the drama and their body language started to tell the story. I started to feel the grove and in my mind started to see possibilities and so started to work the scene. Once in my mind I realized flash wasn’t the way to go for me this moment, pieces started to fall in to place.
Photos captured by D3x, 24-70AFS
Nov 14, 2011 | Aviation
OMG, these guys were great! OMG, was I caught with my pants down! When Richard asked if I’d like a couple of WWII Grnd Crew reinactors to come and work with us on Sunday morning while we shot statics, I said sure. A couple of SB-900s and light modifiers I figured would take care of it so that’s all I brought. We’re out shooting the stormy light when Sharon runs up to me to tell me the folks had arrived and wanted to drive onto the field to bring in their trailer of props. And there were 7 of them! Props, 7 reinactors, B-17G for a background…OMG! Two SB-900s with no plane with 1 hour of time wasn’t going to work. I was presented with an amazing opportunity and for the first 30min, I was totally lost. Walking around with 1 flash and shooting just one person wasn’t working for me, I have a whole crew and a very special opportunity with the drama in the light. So I finally snapped out of it and started to get my game back. This was the first click of making the most of the opportunity. Come back to see if I strike gold or end up sucking dirty pond water.
Photo captured by D3x, 24-70AFS
Nov 14, 2011 | Aviation
We are VERY excited to be able to offer a 2012 Air2Air Workshop series! This is a one of a kind workshop in the world bring photographers and amazing aircraft together in the skies of North America. There hasn’t been one participant who, by the end of just the first day wasn’t changed by this experience!
The dates for winter (with more to come) are 17-19 Feb AZ (5 seats available) and 16-19 Mar FL (7 seats available) with each workshop holding just 8 participates. In AZ we’ll be back again to the AZ CAF wing with subjects from B-25, T-6, DC-3 and formations of GA aircraft. We will also have our amazing WWII ground crew reinactors back. We’ll be hosted by Stallion 51 so this is going to be amazing! In FL one flight will be a four ship of P-51D Mustangs, T-6 Texan and L-39 Jet along with solos of all of these aircraft.
We are especially excited that because of the growing support of the aviation community for our workshop, we are able to bring our 2012 series to you for less! The price for the workshop is $2995 in 2012, a reduction of $500! One of the main reasons this very unique workshop is continuing is because of the history we are preserving photographing and the romance we are bringing to that photograph. I have been thoroughly amazed and rewarded by the participants who have joined us this year by the huge change in not only their appreciation of aviation in our history, but in their photography. I’ve really never experienced anything quite like it in photography and hope you have the opportunity to join us and experience it for yourself. To sign up (50% deposit required to hold a seat), call 661.204.1506.
Nov 14, 2011 | Aviation
This is such a common question, in my own mind when I’m shooting and asked of me by other photographers. “Is there a recipe for when you should shot one way or the other” Jim just wrote me and asked. I actually think of this as a cropping question as much as anything else. I think of it in this way because the format you select often crops the subject like you see here in the B-17G “Thunderbird.” I selected these image to illustrate my point because in these photos, the background plays no part in the decision. When that happens (which is rare), then it’s a matter of how you want to speak about the subject. In this example one format depicts grace while the other depicts bad ass. Just changing the format in this case seems to be a simple question of what you want to say about the subject.
In this example I used the luxury of no background to make a simple point. Add in a background and the question to format gets more complicated but I think the bottom line is the same. What and how do you want to speak about the subject? Either format crops into the subject and that’s where problems can arise from the wrong decision. This is a very common question when photography big game. An awkward crop will render your beautiful big game subject into looking like some wall mount in somebodies game room. Not good. So in my own mind when asking which format I ask myself, “What is the subject saying,” “Which creates the most visual depth,” and “Which is not awkward?” It’s difficult to help others when I don’t have my own formula for formats since it is usually decided on the fly as the subject presents me the options. But hope this at least answers Jim’s question.
Photo captured by D3x, 70-200VRII w/TC-17e
Nov 11, 2011 | Aviation
I tend to not pick favorites from my shoot, I stay a little more clinical, business oriented. I never forget that these images have to pay the bills. But there are those moments when light, subject, background, memories all come together in the viewfinder and that always grabs my attention. Why? Because that is a special moment in photography that just doesn’t happen everyday, week and sometimes year. As it turned out, the corsair in all its forms has dominated my year so I’ve seen in many ways in many places. There is no way you could plan this shot or ever duplicate it again! The hole in the clouds we punched through and then altered by our turbulence, the light bouncing all around, top and bottom, the angle of the plane and having the right lens on at the right moment, there is more going on here then luck or skill. I’m just glad I’m around when those moments happen!
Now you might be wondering if this is the only aircraft I shot. Actually, I came back with 4768 images, keepers from our two hours of air time last weekend and I’m just now getting through them. I have a lot more to go and what am I doing? I’m in AZ shooting aircraft for the next four days. Yikes, I will be horribly back logged but it’s so much fun!
Photo captured by D3x, 70-200VRII w/TC-17e
Nov 11, 2011 | Aviation
We climbed above the clouds and then the background is simply heavenly! We orbited front lighting the F4U-5N Corsair from Lone Star Flight Museum, and I saw my opportunity to make the click I wanted. Fear! Having read Whistling Death & Jolly Rogers this year (both on the corsair), I had a bunch of ideas in my head. The Japaneses called the Corsair “whistling death” for a very good reason. This massive fighter was to the Pacific theater that the P-51 was to the European theater. It simply is one bad ass plane and I wanted that one click that said just that. I lucked out, I ended up with more then one. So then it comes down to editing and deciding which one image to put out there that says just that. That’s really the trick in photography so many photographers just don’t get. You wanna put out not ever click you make, just the ones that make the impact.
Photos captured by D3x, 70-200VRII w/TC-17e
