Jun 2, 2011 | Aviation
In aviation photography, the self portrait taken while doing an air to air is called The Hero Shot. Not sure where the name came from but I was in desperate need of a new self portrait, aviation style so this seemed like a great opportunity to work on it. So, have YOU ever taken a portrait of a person with a fisheye lens? Well, if you look up good portrait lenses, the 16Fish doesn’t usually make the list unless you’re trying to make someone look really funny. What it does to eyes and noses is just not complementary. But in aviation when it comes to The Hero shot, it is the lens!
The top shot shows the first thing you must guard against, putting yourself on an outside edge of the photo. While it’s not a total distortion of the face, it’s not perfect. Since we are the best judges of what we look like, we know when it’s right or wrong. Moving past that, there is the light and the story. You have the subject, that’s you of course since it’s a self portrait, but you need to be in good light. When you’re in a plane that’s flying around, the lighting never stays the same. The best light often is when it’s in your eyes so to make the most of that light and not have slittie eyes, I wore sunglasses. And the story, I was torn between it looking like I was being flown or I was flying. I’m still torn after seeing the final images. I do like seeing Mike in the background and his being smaller in the frame make him part of the story of a great flight.
Of these three, this bottom one I like the most. I’m smilin, that’s a rare photo but when I’m in the air, I smile all the time. I like the story being told but most importantly, I like the drama in the lighting. Did I know at the time I went click that was the lighting pattern? Not at all. Did I have a guess as we turned back into the sun but I didn’t know. I did move my head about with the plane, made sure my hair was in the slip stream to make it look as good as I can, but otherwise it is by guess by golly shooting. As for the actual picture taking, the D3x with the 16Fish was held with both hands (real tight) up against the wind screen. I put it dead center. I then would place myself centered in the cockpit because being a plane, those things are all squared up. The only trick was getting the finger on the shutter release.
Photos captured by D3x, 16Fish on Lexar UDMA digital film
Jun 1, 2011 | Aviation
You might be wondering, “Is it hard to sit in a seat in the wind and shoot?” It really isn’t, it’s not as windy as you might think, at least it wasn’t as windy as I thought it would be. What was hard was to think about photography and not just sit there and enjoy the flight. In fact, there were many times when I did just that, sat, look, stared, dreamed and watch the countryside slip by. I can’t thank Mike enough for not only the opportunity but the amazing night. Whata flight!
OK, back to work. With the limited buffer of the D3x and since we were flying which means things go by quickly and there is no repeats, taking care with picture taking is important. So the first think I watched was the lighting on the wings and the ground. Look at the top photo, see how the wings are in shadow? This to me isn’t light and airy and doesn’t communicate the sheer joy of being in an open cockpit plane flying. With that in mind and Mike did the wing overs I would first enjoy the banked turn and then watching the light, bring the camera up with the strut shadows could be used to lead the eye into the frame.
After that, it was all about the background (it’s always about the background with me) and in this case, it was earth. I wanted the curved horizon which from our angle and the 16Fish was easy to do. If the wing weren’t in the middle of the frame like the top frame, you see the curve of the earth looking a little off to say the least. This meant the wing need to be centered so the curve would look correct. So you add up lens, light and background in the bottom photo and you get the kind of images I was after while having the time of my life!
Photos captured by D3x, 16Fish on Lexar UDMA digital film
Jun 1, 2011 | Aviation
Just hang that camera out there and go click. Schweet!
Jun 1, 2011 | Aviation
After 20min Sharon was safely back on the ground (only literally) and it was my turn to climb in and go up. Mike has the Stearman set up with not one but two safety belt systems, just in case when you’re inverted and one fails, you don’t fall out. That is a comforting thought because the one thing I’ve always wanted to do was go inverted in an open cockpit plane (we didn’t do it since we didn’t have the 3rd safety measure, parachutes). So seated and strapped in, off we went!
Oh man, is this ever big time freakin fun! Seriously, one of the best flights I’ve ever had. The skies were clear, the winds nearly zero, it was a slow, romantic flight over the Kansas landscape. As you might tell from the top shot that Sharon took (that’s her shadow on the wing), a 16Fish was attached to the D3x. There isn’t a whole lot of room in the cockpit of a Stearman to take a bag of gear with you. The photo mission really was not the landscape below no anything air to air, it was all about the flight and for that photo mission, the 16Fish rules king!
The one thing that might be confusing you about the two bottom images is the lack of “Fish” look to the photos. The wings and horizon line are pretty straight, you’re not seeing a whole lot of curve not even in the struts. That’s because the camera/lens are being held pretty much “level” so the horizon line is going right through the middle of the frame. Then, I’m being very conscious of keeping vertical lines away from the side of the frame so they don’t bow. This way, you just see the 180 amazing degree view that I was enjoying from the cockpit. Wow, what a flight!!!!
Photos captured by D3x, 16Fish on Lexar UDMA digital film
Jun 1, 2011 | Aviation
If I’m in Wichita and with my best friend Kevin, I know that in some way, I’ll be up in the air. The day before we’d flown down to Ponca City for lunch. We’d spent this morning 650′ underground so what better way to finish off the day then a flight. Kevin had arranged a flight in a PT-17 Stearman at what no better place, then Stearman Field. When our pilot (a great pilot) Mike asked who wanted to fly, the first with their hand up and most eager was Sharon. She loves to fly (I’m incredibly fortunate) so in the front seat she went.
Here’s the problem, get a photo of the wife flying. Talk about pressure! The top shot was easy, simple portrait in the cockpit before launch. It was after this things got dicey. Kevin & I grabbed our 200-400 and ran across the field (I mean ran) so the plane would be front lit on lift off. After getting permission, off we ran and we got into place. This was the first time I’d been on that side. The Stearman went to the end of the grass strip and warmed up the plane. He was going to take off on the grass strip that was right in front of us. I’d never photographed from this location a plane taking off on the grass strip. As the Stearman started down the strip, it became obvious I had too much lens from the get go. While the 70-200 was on the ground next to me, there wasn’t time to grab it. By the time the Stearman with Sharon were in front of me, I was at 200mm and so close to the plane, it was screaming by. There was no way I could swing the lens fast and smooth enough for a sharp photo. Not a good thing!
Once off the ground, it was far enough away and simply just pulling away from us so getting a sharp image was simple. It’s that up close, lots of lens and fast swing which is a killer when it comes to panning and getting a sharp image and I failed.
And here’s the great thing about photography. Once off the ground, Mike took the Stearman and Sharon for a great flight. They circled up and over the field before heading out and turned on the smoke at they went overheard. We can’t see it in the photograph, but Sharon is looking down at us. She knows that, we don’t so this last photograph is the one the means the most because it was the special moment. And that’s what photography needs to be about, capturing those special moments so we can relive them as time goes by. It’s kinda funny how many clicks we make in that process and when it’s all boiled down, it’s just the one that often sums it all up.
Photos captured by D3x, 200-400VR2 on Lexar UDMA digital film
May 10, 2011 | Aviation
This is an original TP-40N. There were something like only 40 TP-40N produced, the T standing for Trainer. This is an original, not modified twin seat TP-40 and that makes it very special. Now if it had growling teeth and a big on on the front cowling you might recognize it better. The P-40 Warhawk is what the Flying Tigers flew in China prior to WWII, this being the plane they would have trained in prior to shipping out.
I now regret I didn’t spend more time shooting details of the TP-40 (it’s the only plane of the five I didn’t). What I find personally so fascinating about it now is just look at how different the same plane looks in different light. It’s never the same and now I wonder if that’s the genius of the paint scheme or just the light by itself. Of course, it also makes me wonder which one I like the best so next time I’m in the air with it, I can make the most of it. So much to learn, so much to remember…..
What I particularly liked about out orbits this morning with the TP-40 were the incredibly varying backgrounds. Each one was unique and said a little something different. I find backgrounds to be a real challenge when you’re doing air to air. The first challenge is, where are the good and great backgrounds? Unless you fly the area and scout the backgrounds prior to the shoot, you really don’t know. Then if you find one during a flight, getting back exactly to that same background to duplicate or improve it is another challenge. Again, so much to learn, so much to remember. I love it all!
Photos captured by D3x, 24-120VR / 70-200VR w/TC-17e on Lexar UDMA digital film
