Feb 28, 2011 | Aviation
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/dpazcaf1709.swf, 595, 484 [/swf]
Our good friend and supporter Bob acquired a new plane, this 500s Shrike and she’s a beaut! I personally have never seen one so never photographed it. Since it would be one of our air to air targets, I wanted to get a few static shots of it.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/dpazcaf1717.swf, 595, 484 [/swf]
By the time I moved over to the Shrike the clouds had already closed in. To make the most of the opportunity though we pulled the plane out and positioned it on the ramp. It just amazed me how our hosts, the AZ Wing of the CAF treats us like kings and spoils us.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/dpazcaf1749.swf, 595, 484 [/swf]
With that ability to position the planes as we need for the available background, even with the clouds change we can make the image. I like both images for different reasons. The 1st Shrike because of the graphic, the 2nd because of the gesture and the NanChang, well that’s obvious, the red.
Photos captured by D3x, 24-120VR on Lexar UDMA digital film
Feb 28, 2011 | Aviation
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/dpazcaf1645.swf, 595, 484 [/swf]
I was proud of this find, not bad for me. Wait for it…..
Feb 28, 2011 | Aviation
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/dpazcaf1581.swf, 595, 484 [/swf]
Our 2nd Air2Air Workshop began under a cloud, the cloud of bad weather shutting us down. While weather in landscape photography is a great thing, when planes are involved it’s not so good. None the less before sunrise we were on the tarmac with one of my favorite subject, B-17G Sentimental Journey. And we were in place before the sun peaked out from under the clouds lighting up the storm front. Yummy!
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/dpazcaf1597.swf, 595, 484 [/swf]
There is one thing you need to think about when shooting aviation and that’s distorting the wings. Those large lifting bodies have a distinct shape that makes the plane, the plane so I really prefer not to redesign them with my lens.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/dpazcaf1606.swf, 595, 484 [/swf]
It is really a small matter but you can see here that just by closing in a little physically shooting at the same focal length, 18mm, the distortion I’m talking about. Photography can be that way, little details that most might not ever notice but you know about. Take the time to deal with those little details you notice in your photography and you can’t help but improve it!
Photos captured by D3x, 14-24AFS on Lexar UDMA digital film
Feb 25, 2011 | Aviation, B&W Photography
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DPAZCAF1515.swf, 595, 484 [/swf]
We’re down in Phoenix getting ready for our Air2Air workshop which is based out of the AZ Wing of the CAF. These great folks open up their doors and hearts and make us feel right at home. This is the home base for the B-17G Sentimental Journey and the B-25 Made in the Shade you see here.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DPAZCAF1536.swf, 595, 484 [/swf]
The AZ CAF does an amazing job putting people together with our history which I personally think is so important. I wasn’t able to photograph it, but today a WWII B-17 radioman who was shot down and was a POW was flying in Sentimental Journey. When if got back down he was nothing but smiles. That’s an aspect of aviation photography I truly enjoy. I’ll be blogging through out the weekend, give you something to do as the weather is looking to keep many in.
Photos captured by D3x, 24-120VR on Lexar UDMA digital film
Feb 24, 2011 | Aviation, Photography
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/A36_DPA2AA360023.swf, 595, 484 [/swf]
I wasn’t really into GA (General Aviation) photography until I meet this lovely A36 Bonanza one gorgeous Sunday morning in the Phoenix skies last fall. It wasn’t old (warbird old) and not really that rare so photographing it at first just didn’t put lift under my wings. While my lovely wife is second seat, I didn’t think I would comeback with much until I saw the light! The soft morning light wrapped itself around everything and gave it that desert morning freshness that you just can’t pass up. You’ve gotta embrace it and make it yours. You do that by how you assemble the elements within your viewfinder to make the image. It doesn’t matter what the subject is, a rock, horse, rocking chair, weed, stick, all these elements and more can come to life in this kind of light. In this case, this photo has become a favorite for many reasons. #1 – it opened my eyes that GA photography can be rewarding to me. #2 – the light on the golfers make them a very important part of the image which is why I framed it the way I did (they have great shadows stretching across the green). #3 – the light on the sand trap makes for a killer background for everything. And that’s all because of the light!
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/A36_DPA2AA360254.swf, 404, 600 [/swf]
Then just heartbeats later the background changed but that sweet light was still with us. The background went into shadow of the mountains we were passing while the morning light literally wrapped itself around the A-36. You can see from the prop we were flying into the light and that makes it all work. The all white fuselage can be a very unforgiving form in the wrong light as we experienced just minutes later as the sun rose in the sky. I have a very well earned reputation from my workshop participants for getting up and going at o’dark thirty. That’s because so often that sweet magic of light comes and goes so very quickly. It makes or breaks a photograph and I personally like the make part a whole lot more then the break part. And in this case, light taught me another very important lesson, this time about aviation photography and myself. I love chasing light, I love more when I catch it!
Photos captured by D3x, 24-120VR (handheld 1/60) on Lexar UDMA digital film
Feb 4, 2011 | Aviation
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DPBCMA0120.swf, 595, 482 [/swf]
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DPBCMA0129.swf, 595, 482 [/swf]
It was only a short visit, but the photography was fun and that’s what it’s all about.So with a few quick grab shots on the ramp, it was time to take to the air. The vid has a few little surprises and at the end, you might see a totaly different angle to an old subject. Enjoy!
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!
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DPBCMA0385.swf, 595, 482 [/swf]
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DPBCMA0690.swf, 595, 482 [/swf]
Photos captured by D3x, 24-120VR / 70-200VR2 on Lexar UDMA digital film
Video captured by D7000, 10.5 on Lexar UDMA digital film
