Mar 30, 2011 | Aviation
It’s PreCon day at Photoshop World which means we take the show on the road and infect photographers, with photography! For a change of pace, we took our Safari to Fantasy of Flight, a marvelous place with some great aircraft like this Tri-Ford for subjects. The whole goal of the safari is to explore light and this time, we explored it while learning a little history while having a whole lot of fun!
I’m the first one to admit I’m not the best at shooting statics (parked planes) so heading out to teach folks this fine art was a bit of a nail bitter. But when the planes took to the air like this Duck, lens were pointed up and my nerves settled down. I take NOTHING for granted nor put labels on this stuff or photographers, I go out and deal with the cards dealt and with students, in that process try to teach from the ups and downs. So while the sky might not have been perfect, it did have enough character then when being picky with your background, there were photos to be made.
A step back in time with barn stormin, that’s just one thought that came to mind when this old biplane giving rides crossed the field. Working tight to bring in the background was the point, leaving only the slight gap for visual separation. The group got lots of panning practice while learning that getting a sharp image with the image in the right part of the frame ain’t as easy you might think. You can’t get old and rest on your laurels no matter what you focus on in photography. Constant practice is a must!
While some didn’t understand or get it when I said that aviation is all about the people as the aircraft, I think this click sums it up. Those folks out barn stormin had the biggest smile when they landed, who couldn’t help but feel the thrill of flight or photography for that matter when looking at those faces. The first half of the day rocked, we had great subjects and great folks to share it with. After that, nothing else really mattered!
Photos captured by D3x, 200-400VR2 on Lexar UDMA digital film
Mar 29, 2011 | Aviation
Off to Sun & Fun for them, back to Punta Gorda for me. Thanks guys for a great flight!
Mar 29, 2011 | Aviation
John of History Flights offered me a ride in their AT-6 to do an air to air I was so high I didn’t need a photo ship. The weather this morning nearly did us in. We had a very small window to go up and shoot before the weather closed in around us. From take off to landing, it was just a 18min flight but it was a great 18min. Here’s a quick image from the flight, not the best but it was near the end of the file so I could quickly get it posted. It’s no the best because the feature making this plane unique, the canon, is not visible. I did get that shot but that’s still uploading in the computer as I type. I can’t thank John and History Flights enough for this and upcoming opportunities. I can’t wait for our next project in 45 days!
Photo captured by D3x, 24-120VR on Lexar UDMA digital film
Mar 29, 2011 | Aviation
Just talking with folks this past weekend at the FL Int’l Airshow brought tons of great opportunities to my door. This is one of the coolest. This is the only B-25H flyin and what makes it unique is the tank canyon mounted in its nose for attaching ships. It’s an amazing plane with an incredible history. Its pilot / chief bottle washer John of History Flights (check them out, they do incredible work!) instantly took us in and started to tell us Barbie’s story. That led to getting a tour of inside the B-25 and that led to this morning. We were to meet at 08:30. at 07:30 the skies opened up with thunder, lightning and a downpour. At 09:00 our photo mission was back on and to the airport I flew!
Both of these are handheld, 5 frame, handheld HDR images. Shooting right into those backlit clouds, HDR was the only option. Handheld because I was about to climb into a AT-6 and go shooting so I had no tripod. RC, forgive me since I threw these together really quickly, I didn’t give them the TLC you taught us last week. And where does the blog post title comes from? The top images was taken with my ass in the air as I kissed the ground to get the angle. Then, once in the AT-6 and with the props turning I took the second image. Top image is inches from the ground and the bottom image is nine feet up. I’m not sure which angle I like the best. I’ll have to stare at them for a while and take some note. The wet tarmac was to die for: note to self, bring water truck to all static shoots! Something learned shooting, that’s the icing on the cake!
Photos captured by D3x, 24-120VR on Lexar UDMA digital film
Mar 28, 2011 | Aviation
Part of the airshow are the pyrotechnics set up to simulate bomb drops. They are a HUGE crowd pleaser! When they go off you can feel the heat from the blast. Some pilots tend to avoid the fire and smoke while others seem to gravitate right to it. I like those pilots because I’ve had some great success shooting the planes in the smoke. The A-10 Warthog pilot today was one such pilot who made his first pass through the smoke as you see here during his tight bank turn demo.
His next pass he changed his orbit and orientation so now we’re looking down on top of the plane. The best part is the smoke is diffusing the light to some degree giving a better lighting pattern then I had shooting without the smoke. It was simply a cool photo op that happened for just a moment.
Photos captured by D3x, 200-400VR2 on Lexar UDMA digital film
Mar 28, 2011 | Aviation
You might have seen it, but there are some really great fighter images out there with amazing vapor waves forming around the aircraft. The vapor waves come from humidity in the air being excited by the airstream going over the fighter. We’re here at the FL Int’l Airshow this weekend shooting my next Kelby Training video and when the F-16 took to the air and I saw the vapor saves, I thought that I might get one of those cool shots. I tracked that fighter for every inch of its flight but the best I can do is what you see here. I had my hopes up but no cigar for that killer wave shot.
What is so, so, so cool about this airshow is you are up close and personal with the planes. That F-16 on one pass as you can see was right on top of us and it banked and turned. It was a killer photo op! Now how did I captured this photo? You’ll have to check out the aviation class when it’s posted on Kelby Training. I was miced the entire time and we recorded hours and hours of click by click commentary (sure glad I don’t have to edit that thing). How soon will the class be posted? Contact the folks at Kelby Training and ask them, the more you ask, the sooner it will get posted.
Photos captured by D3x, 200-400VR2 on Lexar UDMA digital film
