Aug 4, 2010 | Aviation
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DAPOSHK0449.swf, 585, 473 [/swf]
Capturing the action, the peak of action no matter what you’re photographing depends on your concentrating on the subject. If you’re worrying about metering, trying to focus or panning let alone trying to find the subject in the viewfinder, you loose. Then there is deciding when is the moment to go click.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DAPOSHK0450.swf, 585, 473 [/swf]
These two images were taken just a heartbeat apart. Yet the two images are really different. The top image was taken with a side angle with the tires barely off the ground. The bottom image is more of an ass shot with the tires more in the air. I like the side position of the upper image with the height of the tires in the second image. I don’t like the minimum tire height in the first or the ass view of the second. When you have a jet taking off, do you have time to make the decision in the viewfinder? Not really but you do when it comes to which you put out to the public. So while you might have been thinking the post title has to do with the camera, I was thinking more of the mouse click making the decision which images represents the subject, the moment and your photography.
Photos captured by D3x, 200-400VR2 on Lexar UDMA digital film
Aug 4, 2010 | Aviation
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DAPOSHK0461.swf, 585, 473 [/swf]
After cruising the statics for a while, we walked over and got a so-so place for the afternoon airshow. They do a military solute / demo before the actual show and with the skies I was really excited. While I have a special place in my heart for the old prop warbirds, after this demo I started to make little extra room for the old jets.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DAPOSHK0462.swf, 585, 473 [/swf]
Here you have a A-4 Skyhawk trainer and F-86, two real classics. They were two of a three plane formation but with their speed, the background and how I wanted to place them in the frame, the third jet simply didn’t make the cut.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DAPOSHK0463.swf, 585, 473 [/swf]
What you’re seeing here are the images in the sequence they were taken with the D3x cranking at top speed of 1.8s. The time between the first and last photo is just 3 seconds. Of the 3 images, the center is my favorite and that’s because of the background. Many like the last image because of its larger subjects. But I feel that most know what a plane looks like without having to show it large in the frame. This leaves room to bring in a little something extra and in this case, the middle frame has the background that just says speed a little better than the others. Can’t forget that even with planes, being visual communicators is still the roll we fill as photographers.
Photos captured by D3x, 200-400VR2 handheld on Lexar UDMA digital film
Aug 3, 2010 | Aviation
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DAPOSHK0391.swf, 585, 473 [/swf]
That’s all I got of this MiG21, 1 click and it wasn’t enough. Hot Plane!
Aug 3, 2010 | Aviation
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DAPOSHK0328.swf, 585, 473 [/swf]
Simply put, the C-17 is one BIG ASS plane! When it was parked, I tried photographing it with the 16Fish while standing next to it. Couldn’t get it all in the frame. How to make what appears to be a lumbering giant look like anything but that?
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DAPOSHK0330.swf, 585, 473 [/swf]
Well, can we change the story with simple image size? You get the idea it’s larger but without scale, still don’t really know it’s a giant. Darn hard to get a pickup truck parked next to it when flying for scale. Putting a nicer cloud behind it doesn’t hurt. But it still looks just like it’s there, not really much romance to it.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DAPOSHK0340.swf, 585, 473 [/swf]
Change the angle, make it larger and even with a solid blue sky background, looks better but still not there. Showing more belly though seems to help, that coming from the angle spreading more light across the belly giving shape and form.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DAPOSHK0349.swf, 585, 473 [/swf]
OK, the old “going away” angle works especially with that cloud background, but it’s still not there.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DAPOSHK0371.swf, 402, 600 [/swf]
Then lets go vertical. OK, a little drama, a little cloud, a little belly and the overall photo, a little better. Be it a rock, pond, bird, mammal or plane, look at the elements you have at hand, light, lens, position and subject attitude and bring them together the best you can to bring back what you see and feel. This is hole even the dullest, boringest, ugliest subject can come to their own in your photos!
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DAPOSHK0812.swf, 585, 473 [/swf]
Now to just get this Bigger Assed C-5 in the same frame with the C-17….then you would see scale!
Photos captured by D3x, 200-400VR2 handheld on Lexar UDAM digital film
Aug 2, 2010 | Aviation
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DAPOSHK0153.swf, 585, 473 [/swf]
One of the big events at Oshkosh this year was the massive gathering of DC-3 / C-47 aircraft. This are really cool vintage planes that our parents flew in when they wanted to cross the country on vacation. they also were a cornerstone of WWII transport. This is just your basic shot, not much to it other than size in the frame. Can we do better?
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DAPOSHK0161.swf, 585, 473 [/swf]
The DC-3s are making orbits around 36 so you have the opportunity to improve with each pass (they made about 6 passes). As you can see, clouds are in the background so that provides a whole bunch of opportunities if you take advantage of them.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DAPOSHK0182.swf, 585, 473 [/swf]
With a white and blue background, it only takes a little bit of color and not size to get the eye instantly to the subject.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DAPOSHK0219.swf, 585, 473 [/swf]
But just throwing any old cloud behind the plane isn’t good enough.What’s the right combo and how do you see it in the instant it’s appears in the viewfinder as you’re panning with the plane? In all seriousness, that’s the challenge which is no different then anyother photography when catching the peak of action makes or breaks a shot. I’m shooting with the D3x so the normal solution of just blasting away don’t work, not shooting at 1.8fps. I tend to “block” out the plane and concentrate on just the pattern in the background and when I see that pattern I think will work, I go click.
Another challenge at Oshkosh that I wasn’t prepared for is the obstacle of smoke. The stunt pilots put out a ton of smoke during their performances. This tints the air and you can see it here in 2nd & 3rd image where I didn’t remove the color cast in post. I did remove it in the 1st & 4th image using the Color Correction eyedropper in ACR. It’s a must unless you want to have your images look like they were shot in downtown LA. Because once you have the clean puffies in the background, you don’t need to fill the frame and can bring in some of the romance of flight.
And the gum? Will there are not pressurized planes so back in the day, the stewardess all dressed in their uniforms would pass out Chiclets gum to all the passengers so you could get you ears to pop. And you know what, the gum was free. Now those are the days of air transportation!
Photos captured by D3x, 200-400VR2 (handheld) on Lexar UDMA digital film
Aug 2, 2010 | Aviation
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DAPOSHK0058.swf, 585, 473 [/swf]
The Sky Crane, wow! We arrived to the airshow in time to see this demo. Mtc on this monster!
